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
Puncheon rum Puncheon rum Puncheon rum (or puncheon) is a high proof heavy-type rum produced in Trinidad and Tobago. Three local brands, Forres Park, Caroni and Stallion produce bottles that are 75% alcohol by volume. The first puncheon rum is said to have been manufactured in 1627 by the makers of Caroni Puncheon Rum. The name 'Puncheon' is derived from the giant wooden casks, known as 'puncheons' in which the rum was stored. The first distillation of rum took place on the sugarcane plantations of the Caribbean in the 17th century. Plantation slaves first discovered that molasses, a by-product of the sugar