Rum

Rum, the favorite drink of Blackbeard himself! Both pirates and navy men used to drink grog, a potent mixture of rum, lime juice, and sugar water. The worst hangover I ever experienced was thanks to a bottle of rum. Merely writing about rum brings to my stomach a twinge of nausea.

Produced prominently in the Caribbean, rum is distilled from sugar and aged in oak barrels. Light rums are the most popular and are used in cocktails such as daiquiris. Dark rums are distilled through a slower process which allows them to develop a stronger, bolder character. Dark rum is normally sipped neat (straight up).