A Pirate’s Life: Henry Every

A Pirate’s Life examines the rum collections of infamous pirates, reimagining what they would drink in the modern day. A name that has lived on from the Golden Age of Piracy is Henry Every, one of the few brigands in history to escape with his riches and disappear into the annals of time.

Although Every’s pirate career only lasted two years, his story has become legend and it’s likely that he enjoyed a good deal of rum during his travels across the world. So, what kind of grog would he have in his collection?

A Pirate’s Life: Samuel ‘Black Sam’ Bellamy

A Pirate’s Life focuses on history’s most memorable buccaneers and imagines the types of rum they’d have in their collection. Getting rich was the ultimate goal of many pirates and although some may have had much longer careers, there was perhaps no one as rich as Samuel ‘Black Sam’ Bellamy.

Called The Prince of Pirates for his dashing appearance and merciful attitude, Bellamy’s pirate career lasted only a year, but he plundered what would be considered $120 million worth of booty in that time. So, it should come as no surprise that he’d have a pretty impressive rum cabinet!

A Pirate’s Life: Ching Shih

A Pirate’s Life focuses on the drinking habits of history’s most influential brigands, imagining the kind of rum they would drink in modern times. Ching Shih is widely considered the most successful pirate of all-time, having commanded a fleet of over 1500 ships and being so badass that she forced the Chinese government into giving her a pardon.

If Shih were alive today, she’d no doubt have acquired an impressive collection of rum plundered from all over Asia.

Rum Haiku 16

In another life
I could’ve been a pirate
rum is all I drink

A Pirate’s Life: Anne Bonny

A Pirate’s Life examines the drinking habits of history’s most infamous buccaneers and reimages what kind of rum they’d enjoy in the modern day. Anne Bonny is one of the most well-known lady pirates, having been featured in multiple works of fiction and been the source of much historical debate.

If she were alive today, Bonny would no doubt have a damn impressive rum collection, so let’s look at what kind of grog she’d stash.

Songs Of The Sea: Jolly Roving Tar

Sea shanties are musical snapshots in time. They convey a sense of what conditions were like for sailors during the heyday of piracy and many are still sung today to celebrate the history of ships and the navy.

Rum was a common theme in various shanties and it crops up a few times in Jolly Roving Tar.  A sea shanty with a bittersweet tone, Jolly Roving Tar has multiple interpretations.

Songs Of The Sea: Dead Man’s Chest

Sea shanties and songs have become synonymous with pirates, sailors and privateers, all looking to embrace the freedom of the ocean. Songs Of The Sea is a segment that analyses different shanties, where they came from and what they mean.

The Rum Ration is starting off with one of the most popular pirate ditties, ‘Dead Man’s Chest’ which might as well be the anthem of every swashbuckler who ever laced up their boots.

A Pirate’s Life: Edward Kenway

When it comes to rum, there are certain tropes that have become synonymous with the drink. Pirates are one of them. The idea of the rum-swilling, swashbuckling scallywag was thrust into popular culture in the pages of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, and since then, every buccaneer has yearned for their rum.

A Pirate’s Life is a series that reimagines real-life and fictional pirates in the modern day and the kind of rum they’d want to get their hands on. First up is the complicated and ambitious pirate Captain Edward Kenway of the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

Rum Haiku 2

A pirate’s life
should be about premium rum
ultimate treasure

A Rum Haiku

A day of plunder
why’s the rum always gone?
give grog over gold