Rum cake of their way to pick up a Caribbean variety, more and more small U.S. companies are competing, much the way that craft beers are competing with the large beer manufacturers. Some offer baked-to-order rum cakes. Some infuse the rum directly into their cakes (instead of glazing). Many appear to have a decades-old special recipe. It is possible to become intoxicated from consumption of an excessive amount of rum cake, and some rum cakes such as Tortuga contain even more than five percent of certain grain alcohols, though some are made to consistently contain less than 0.5% alcohol. It is typically
Rum is also a theory that it comes from the Turkish name for Greeks, "Rum," as some of the earliest rum spirits were distilled by Greek Christians in the eastern Mediterranean. Other etymologists have mentioned the Romani word "rum", meaning "strong" or "potent". These words have been linked to the ramboozle and rumfustian, both popular British drinks in the mid-17th century. However, neither was made with rum, but rather eggs, ale, wine, sugar, and various spices. The most probable origin is as a truncated version of "rumbullion" or "rumbustion". Both words surfaced in English about the same time as rum did