A Rum Do

Rum is a type of alcoholic drink that is made from fermented molasses or sugarcane. The drink is quite often associated with the Caribbean because the drink is believed to have been developed in Barbados, its popularity amongst pirates and the British Royal Navy during the period of European colonization of the Americas, and for being a third of a triangular trade arrangement along with molasses and slaves. Each Caribbean location has developed its own particular style of rum. A common method of rum classification corresponds to language of the European colonizer of an area; English-speaking former colonies tend to make dark rum that tastes like molasses, French-speaking former colonies tend to make medium-colored rum that is sugary, and Spanish-speaking islands tend to make light rum that taste less like anything.

Kuya Fusion Rum (“Kuya”) is of the Spanish-speaking which makes sense considering the rum’s light gold color and because the appellation, the source of the majority of the grapes, is Puerto Rico. Though it was called a “fusion” rum, the term flavored rum would probably be more easily understood as the added flavors of citron, grapefruit, and vanilla with clove and spice accents were mostly fruit. The alcohol by volume was 35%/70 proof and therefore neither the strongest nor weakest drink.

Marketing for Kuya almost always mentioned Kahlúa which is a strongly coffee-flavored liqueur intended to be mixed with other drinks. I wonder if the strong association between the two drinks that reportedly were not alike were nonetheless thought of as being too similar to each other. Both products were owned and distributed by former British alcohol and restaurant conglomerate Allied Domecq which would have also commissioned this item considering that I acquired it in 2004. In 2005, French alcohol corporation Pernod-Ricard ⇒ acquired Allied Domecq. The new owners would later choose to remove Kuya from the market.

Do I?

The question of whether or not “you” Kuya is posed on the left long sleeve of this shirt. Me? Never.

Partying Is Such Sweet Sorrow

Nonetheless, I once bought a bottle of this stuff to donate to a party to which I was invited. Everyone had to bring some sort of alcohol which was not beer. I abstained from the consumption of alcohol then (and now), so I did not have any experiential knowledge from which to make an informed buying decision. I was inspired to buy Kuya because I had this shirt. I do not remember how much the bottle cost, but it should have been around thirteen American dollars based upon suggested retail price. This is the only time that I have gifted something based upon a free shirt.

Opinion on the drink seemed to be positive. I am not sure if it was a true positive, however, because I do not remember seeing seconds consumed. Then again, I did not think to look and remember because that would have been good information to have for writing a decent Free Shirt Archive dossier.

Otherwise, I do remember having a good time at the party. Granted, not the type of good time that is advertised through graffiti on bathroom stall doors. It was not that type of party. Just some friends getting together to hang.