Rum/Aguardiente
Sugar Factory, Plantation Asuncion, Cuba, 1857. Courtesy of Virginia Humanities and University of Virginia
Before the Abolition of slavery in Cuba in 1886, planters imported large numbers of Africans to plant, harvest, and process sugarcane. Aguardiente is distilled sugar cane spirits or rum. During the Christmas holidays planters distributed an extra measure of rum to the enslaved people they owned as a measure of their generosity. Enslaved people made culinary inventions from the rum such as Cakes, candies, and other holiday treats for their families and friends.
