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National Rum Day

Drink ยท August 16

National Rum Day looks at rum, the spirit distilled from sugarcane products, and the many ways it is sipped, mixed and cooked with.

National Rum Day

National Rum Day falls on Monday, August 16, 2027. That is 293 days away.

Rum starts with sugarcane. Most of it is distilled from molasses, the dark syrup left over after sugar is made, though some styles use fresh cane juice instead. Yeast turns the sugars into alcohol, and distillation concentrates it into the spirit.

What comes out of the still is clear. Many rums then rest in wooden barrels, which give them color and notes of vanilla, caramel and spice. Light rums tend to be crisp and mild, gold and dark rums are rounder and sweeter, and spiced rums have flavors like cinnamon or clove added. Rhum agricole, made from fresh cane juice, often tastes grassy and bright.

People mark the day in a few easy ways. Some pour a small glass of an aged rum and sip it slowly, the way others might taste a whiskey. Others mix the classics: a daiquiri of rum, lime and sugar, or a mojito with mint and soda water. Rum also turns up in the kitchen, in rum cake, bananas cooked with butter and brown sugar, and glazes for baked ham.

If you are tasting, try two styles side by side. A light rum next to a dark one shows how much the barrel and the recipe change things, even when both began as the same sticky cane syrup.

For anyone who skips alcohol, many of the same flavors live in rum extract, a few drops of which go a long way in cookies and frosting.

Ways to celebrate

Dates

YearDate
2026Sunday, August 16
2027Monday, August 16
2028Wednesday, August 16
2029Thursday, August 16
2030Friday, August 16

All national days on August 16

Also on August 16

Categories: Drink days