Rum! Lovely lovely Rum. If you ask anyone today what first springs to mind when you say the word you will get a variety of replies. Some will link it to Johnny Depp, shouting and demanding it in those recent films (I forget the name), some will attribute it to recent influential figures like John F Kennedy and Ernest Hemmingway who were known to count the Daiquiri as their favourite drink. And some will simply say “it tastes yummy” as they sit in one of the many, new Tiki bars opening in London, enjoying the unusually hot weather we’ve recently been experiencing. But its origins were not always saved for the discerning drinker. Members of both the British and US Navy used to drink a version of the Daiquiri on their long sea voyages. Faced with the problem of water going stale and becoming undrinkable in a matter of weeks, they solved the problem by adding significant amounts of rum to the water. Throw in a couple of limes (to stop your eyes bulging from Scurvy) and a bit of sugar for flavour, then you have an early version of Daiquiri that easily became one of the highlights on a long voyage away from home – I think they cut down the measures when too many sailors either fell overboard or decided to test the sharpness of their swords on each other’s bodies.

The love of Rum however has not diminished with time, if anything it’s become even more popular and is used in so many of our.....ok “my” favourite cocktails, The Mai Tai, Singapore Sling and the Zombie. Thank you Dom Beach.

So Rum, I salute you, thank you for the Tiki times and I hope we meet again so........oh there you are......hic.