Try This Lavender Daiquiri Recipe to Celebrate National Rum Day

Let’s shake up summer with a luscious Lavender Daiquiri recipe just in time for another one of those holidays you're suddenly going to want to celebrate! August 16th marks National Rum Day. We're marking the occasion by getting to know Greenbar Distillery – and their very own rum made in Los Angeles' original distillery. National Rum Day, you say? Perhaps you’d be surprised to know that rum was the first spirit distilled in America’s, even before bourbon whiskey.

Rum has a history almost as interesting as its distinctive flavor and aroma. In the New World its origins trace to the Caribbean, ultimately a result of some 1,500 sugar cane shoots that Columbus carried from the Canary Islands to the region on his second voyage in 1493. Obtained from the fermentation and distillation of molasses or other syrups from sugarcane, the drink initially became popular in Barbados in the 1650s. Referred to as rumbullion and ‘kill devil,’ rum quickly became a major commodity in the infamous ‘triangular trade’ between Europe, Africa and the American colonies and was entwined with the nautical lore of pirates across the region.

Rum’s history is almost as long in the United States, particularly in the British colonies of the northeast. The first rum distillery in colonial America was set up in 1664 on Staten Island, in relative terms not far from where Van Brunt Stillhouse is produced today. Rum quickly became part of colonial New England’s largest and most prosperous industry. So valuable was it as a commodity, Rhode Island rum even joined gold as an accepted currency in Europe for a short period of time. In 1764 the British imposition of the Sugar Act cut into the profitability of the drink, causing protests among the American colonists and contributing to the onset of the American Revolution. For this reason, more than one historian has referred to rum as “The Spirit of ’76.”

Many are the names that have been given to rum, and many—like ‘[Admiral] Nelson’s blood,’ grog, pirate drink, navy neaters, and Barbados waters—reflect its nautical associations. With their insistence on the highest quality. Sailors were once afforded a daily ration of rum as part of their pay. Usually, this grog was more water than rum; but when they had performed valiantly in a bruising battle or had prevailed in heavy weather, a captain would dole out a little more ‘fortitude’ in the ration. When the ration was pure rum, sailors would happily declare that it was “Due North!”

Today Greenbar Distillery is bringing this spirit back to its place of origin in America with Los Angeles' own distinctive product, Crusoe Silver Rum. Greenbar Distillery produces and distributes only organic spirits all made by hand with real ingredients.

A fresh, crisp taste is produced with lush notes of ripe fruit, flowers, and brown sugar. The secret lies in cool fermentation, layered distillation and extensive mellowing.

I love this simple, clean Lavender Daiquiri recipe because Greenbar Distillery Crusoe Silver Rum offers delicate brown sugar notes to enhance the floral tones in the cocktail, without overpowering its flavor.

Our Guest Post today was written by anthropologist, Dr. John P. Homiak. Opinions and commentary are his own, and not an endorsement. 

Disclosure: USA Love List received some products in this post unconditionally for review purposes. Our opinions are always our own, and we aim to write fair and balanced reviews to promote only the very best of American-made products.