Most of our customers can’t help but ask when looking at our logo, “Is there “Rum” in your syrup?” We have to smile when we reply back, “To some degree, yes. But not quite in the way you might think.” To explain, we need to establish that Rum Creek Farms has two small water shed creeks that flow through the property and empty into the historical Rum River a short distance away. The Rum River is 151 miles long, starting at Mille Lacs Lake and emptying into the Mississippi River. The Dakota (Sioux) Native American Tribe who lived in this region named the river Watpa Wakan which translates into Spirit(ual)/Mystic River. In the late 18th century, Europeans interpreted the Dakota name for the river not as “Spirit” denoting a mystical force, but instead as “spirit” denoting alcohol and ever since it has been known as the Rum River. Therefore, when people ask if there is “Rum” in our syrup we explain how the same waters that feed our trees is the same water that flows into the Rum River. From that perspective we can say, “Yes…there is a little Rum in our syrup.”
