Both have long histories of production (both industries have distillers which are centuries old). Both mature their product in Oak casks. Both are very popular

Both have long histories of production (both industries have distillers which are centuries old). Both mature their product in Oak casks. Both are very popular drinks in their blended/cheaper form so there's a wide variety of people out there who do drink rum just not the better quality aged rum. 20 years ago most people drank blended Scotch, the boom in single malt has been a relatively recent thing, I see no reason why Rum shouldn't follow a similar path.