Puncheon rum
Type of Caribbean rum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Puncheon rum (or puncheon) is a high proof heavy-type rum produced in Trinidad and Tobago. The name 'Puncheon' is derived from the giant wooden casks, known as 'puncheons' in which the rum was stored.[1] Though puncheons have been used for centuries to store rum,[2] the first "Puncheon rum" of the style was manufactured in the early 1930s by the Fernandes family. Today, three local brands, Forres Park,[3] Caroni, and Stallion, produce Puncheon rum, bottled at 75% alcohol by volume. In Trinidad and Tobago, it is sometimes referred to as "firewater".[4]
A bottle of Forres Park Puncheon rum | |
| Type | Distilled beverage |
|---|---|
| Origin | Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean |
| Introduced | 1930s |
| Alcohol by volume | 75% |
| Color | Clear |
| Related products | rum, overproof rum |
| Carcinogenicity: IARC group 1 | |
History
Puncheon rum dates back to the early 1930s, when the Fernandes family acquired the Forres Park estate in Trinidad. The Fernandes family set up a distillery on the estate, and started distilling rum to sell as Vat-19, a gold rum. However, they also made additional rum for their own personal consumption, and for their estate workers.[1] The rum was stored in massive wooden barrels called puncheons.[5] However, the interest in this rum escaped the estate, and soon it was also produced for the market. It gained a stigma for being associated with hooligans, called "baa-johns", who regularly consumed it to demonstrate their toughness.[5] In 1973, Angostura bought the Forres Park rum company from the Fernandes family.[6]
