Rum is distilled from fermented molasses, sugar cane, or cane syrup. Sugar cane is not native to the Caribbean, where most of it is now produced. Spanish explorers brought it with them on their journeys. Columbus is even said to have planted it on his second voyage to Hispaniola and Cuba.

Triangular Trade began taking place between Europeans, Africans, and the Colonies in the 1500's. Europeans traded goods to Africans for slaves, and the slaves to the sugar plantations in Brazil and the West Indies in exchange for tobacco, coffee, sugar, and molasses. By the 1700's France and Britain had established a major influence in the West Indies. Molasses and rum were important imports to North America and Europe. British Admiral, Edward Vernon, nicknamed "Old Grog", ordered rations of rum diluted with water for his crew. Lime was added to prevent scurvy and the daily ration of grog became a British Naval tradition until 1970. This is where the term "Limey" came into being.

Rum was the drink of choice in the American colonies to soothe the hardship of the times. An American article describing Barbados in 1651 states, "the chief fudling they make in this island is Rumbullion alias Kill Divil - a hot hellish and terrible liquor." It became a profitable import and soon made it's way into Colonial life. It was traded for many commodities. Common Indian names for rum were, "ockuby" and "achobee". It wasn't long before the early New England colonies started their own Triangular Trade. Colonial rum was inexpensive and was traded in Africa for slaves. The slaves were then sold to the sugar plantations in exchange for money and more molasses, which was then sold back to the distilleries.

American history doesn't stop with rum distillation. George Washington campaigned with seventy-five gallons of free rum. This was distributed to the voters of Virginia, who in 1758, elected him to the House of Burgess. The Boston Tea Party was not just about tea. In 1733 and 1765, the British imposed a tax upon molasses that was not of British import, resulting in a new spirit, Rye, that was easily made from local rye grain. Medford was the common name for rum by New Englanders at that time. Paul Revere was said to have had two glasses of Medford before his famous ride in order to shout, "the English are coming!".