Rum cake associated with Christmas in Trinidad and Tobago. In Puerto Rico, rum cake is called "Bizcocho de Ron", and is a sponge cake, so as to absorb the rum. If fruit is added to it, it is fresh or dried. Raisins and sultanas may be soaked in rum for one day or one night. Bizcochos de Ron are given as gifts during the holiday season, but they are not considered an insulting gift, the way fruitcakes in the U.S. sometimes are. In the United States, rum cakes have been popular since at least the 1970s. While many island travelers go out
Rum ABV [86 proof]. A refined cane spirit has also been produced in South Africa since the 1950s, simply known as cane. Within Europe, in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, a similar spirit made from sugar beet is known as Tuzemak. In Germany, a cheap substitute for genuine dark rum is called "Rum-Verschnitt" (literally: blended or "cut" rum). This distilled drink is made of genuine dark rum (often from Jamaica), rectified spirit, and water. Very often, caramel coloring is used, too. The relative amount of genuine rum it contains can be quite low, since the legal minimum is at only 5%.