Celebrate National Run Day!

Today is National Rum Day! Before you ask, no I didn’t invent the holiday…despite the fact that I do enjoy a good rum drink from time to time. Personally, my favorite way to enjoy it is with Coca-Cola (the classic Rum & Coke) or with Coca-Cola and lime (the Cuba Libre). Here is how I first heard the story of the Cuba Libre when I toured the Bacardi factory in Puerto Rico a few years ago:

“The world's second most popular drink was born in a collision between the United States and Spain. It happened during the Spanish-American War at the turn of the century when Teddy Roosevelt, the Rough Riders, and Americans in large numbers arrived in Cuba. One afternoon, a group of off-duty soldiers from the U.S. Signal Corps were gathered in a bar in Old Havana. Fausto Rodriguez, a young messenger, later recalled that Captain Russell came in and ordered Bacardi (Gold) rum and Coca-Cola on ice with a wedge of lime. The captain drank the concoction with such pleasure that it sparked the interest of the soldiers around him. They had the bartender prepare a round of the captain's drink for them. The Bacardi rum and Coke was an instant hit. As it does to this day, the drink united the crowd in a spirit of fun and good fellowship. When they ordered another round, one soldier suggested that they toast ¡Por Cuba Libre! in celebration of the newly freed Cuba. The captain raised his glass and sang out the battle cry that had inspired Cuba's victorious soldiers in the War of Independence.”[2] (From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba_Libre)

Please join me in raising a glass to one of my favorite spirits!