Alcohol was both a Godsend and Devil's Torment on board Naval and Pirate vessels. Thanks to Captain Billy Bones in the book Treasure Island, the alcoholic beverage most associated with pirates is rum. Of course, rum has a long association with the British and American navies because both navies had liquor rations and that liquor was usually rum. Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented molasses. At one time it was all the rage in the Colonies as well as Caribbean because of its inexpensive means of production.
Because water had a tendency to go bad on ships, due to bacterial growth, rum or other spirits was sometimes added to kill the taste. A dram (a small amount) of rum
Because water had a tendency to go bad on ships, due to bacterial growth, rum or other spirits was sometimes added to kill the taste. A dram (a small amount) of rum
