The Dominican Republic is a country in the Caribbean Sea, the second largest in the region after its neighbor Cuba. It occupies the eastern two-thirds of La Hispanola, the island it shares with Haiti, and spans approximately 240 miles (390km) east to west and roughly half that north to south. The Dominican Republic is not to be confused with Dominica (the Commonwealth of Dominica), a smaller island in the Windward Islands at the eastern edge of the Caribbean Sea.
The Dominican capital of Santo Domingo lies at a latitude of 18 degrees north which, combined with the tropical climate, makes the Dominican Republic unsuitable for quality viniculture. Although it is technically possible to grow wine grapes in this kind of environment (early ventures in Bali, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and nearby Cuba have produced unexpectedly good results), the year-round heat and humidity cause vine health issues and drive up vineyard management costs.
As with many of the Caribbean islands, and mainland countries with a Caribbean coast, sugar and coffee are two of the key agricultural products which underpin the Dominican economy. This has been the case since the Spanish first arrived in the 15th century, and only since the turn of the new century has tourism usurped agriculture as the most profitable industry. Coffee and sugar have been such successful exports over the centuries that the Dominican Republic is one of the largest economies in the Caribbean and Central America region (ranking either first or second, depending on the year and the data source).
In almost every country with a successful sugar industry, rum is an attractive by-product. By fermenting and distilling sugar-cane juice or molasses, a potent alcohol can be obtained – a discovery which warmed the heart of many a colonist during Europe's empire-building years. If aged, typically in oak barrels which have previously been used for ageing bourbon, rum quickly takes on a dark color and organoleptic complexity. The Caribbean is the spiritual home of rum, and since La Hispanola was the starting point of the European colonies in the Caribbean, it is possible that the land now known as the Dominican Republic was the site of the world's earliest rum production.
An iconic drink on La Hispanola goes by the name of Morir Sonando ('die dreaming'). While guests on the island often mistake this for an alcoholic beverage (as the name might suggest), it is in fact a blend of citrus juice (usually orange or lime), milk and cane sugar poured over crushed ice.
