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And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails
One spirit, Ten cocktails, and Four Centuries of American History
And a Bottle of Rum tells the raucously entertaining story of America as seen through the bottom of a drinking glass. With a chapter for each of ten cocktails—from the grog sailors drank on the high seas in the 1700s to the mojitos of modern club hoppers—Wayne Curtis reveals that the homely spirit once distilled from the industrial waste of the exploding sugar trade has managed to infiltrate every stratum of New World society.
Curtis takes us from the taverns of the American colonies, where rum delivered both a cheap wallop and cash for the Revolution, to the plundering pirate ships off the coast of Central America, to the watering holes of pre-Castro Cuba, and to the kitsch-laden tiki bars of 1950s America. Here are sugar barons and their armies conquering the Caribbean, Paul Revere stopping for a nip during his famous ride, Prohibitionists marching against “demon rum,” Hemingway fattening his liver with Havana daiquiris, and today’s bartenders reviving old favorites like Planter’s Punch. In an age of microbrewed beer and single-malt whiskeys, rum—once the swill of the common man—has found its way into the tasting rooms of the most discriminating drinkers.
Awash with local color and wry humor, And a Bottle of Rum is an affectionate toast to this most American of liquors, a chameleon spirit that has been constantly reinvented over the centuries by tavern keepers, bootleggers, lounge lizards, and marketing gurus. Complete with cocktail recipes for would-be epicurean time-travelers, this is history at its most intoxicating.
And a Bottle of Rum tells the raucously entertaining story of America as seen through the bottom of a drinking glass. With a chapter for each of ten cocktails—from the grog sailors drank on the high seas in the 1700s to the mojitos of modern club hoppers—Wayne Curtis reveals that the homely spirit once distilled from the industrial waste of the exploding sugar trade has managed to infiltrate every stratum of New World society.
Curtis takes us from the taverns of the American colonies, where rum delivered both a cheap wallop and cash for the Revolution, to the plundering pirate ships off the coast of Central America, to the watering holes of pre-Castro Cuba, and to the kitsch-laden tiki bars of 1950s America. Here are sugar barons and their armies conquering the Caribbean, Paul Revere stopping for a nip during his famous ride, Prohibitionists marching against “demon rum,” Hemingway fattening his liver with Havana daiquiris, and today’s bartenders reviving old favorites like Planter’s Punch. In an age of microbrewed beer and single-malt whiskeys, rum—once the swill of the common man—has found its way into the tasting rooms of the most discriminating drinkers.
Awash with local color and wry humor, And a Bottle of Rum is an affectionate toast to this most American of liquors, a chameleon spirit that has been constantly reinvented over the centuries by tavern keepers, bootleggers, lounge lizards, and marketing gurus. Complete with cocktail recipes for would-be epicurean time-travelers, this is history at its most intoxicating.
294 pages, Hardcover
First published July 25, 2006
447 people are currently reading
5140 people want to read
About the author
Wayne Curtis
29 books41 followersNew Orleans-based writer Wayne Curtis is a contributing editor at Garden & Gun, Imbibe, and The Daily Beast, and a former contributing editor to The Atlantic magazine. He's also written for American Scholar, Yankee, Smithsonian, Saveur, the New York Times, Architect, Wall Street Journal, Sunset, enRoute, and American Archeology. His newest book is The Last Great Walk, an account of a remarkable 4,000-mile journey taken in 1909, and why it’s relevant today. His previous book was a cultural history of a loathsome intoxicant: And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in 10 Cocktails.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 370 reviews
November 6, 2017
This book really surprised me. I've been curious about liquor and the various types for a long time, so when I saw this title, I knew I had to check the book out, especially because I've been into microhistory books the past five or six years. I wasn't expecting such a funny, entertaining, passionate, and well-told story about rum, a liquor I don't even drink.
The book begins with rum's early history, and it tells the story of the colonial Caribbean isles (a more romantic, rum-soaked word than "island," I think) and their pirates. It moves forward to Colonial America and then the era of New England rum distillation, Prohibition, post-Prohibition, the tiki bar craze, and modern times. I was surprised to see people on GR state that the beginning part of the book was boring, but it got better. Pirates!! When have pirates ever been boring?? This makes no sense to me. I actually found the whole book fascinating, and I think Curtis does an excellent job of stirring interest in whatever aspect of history he's working with.
I love that this book is so much more than a "history of the New World." It's really a cultural history--he discusses the "whys" behind the various phases of rum's existence--for instance, that we liked vodka instead of rum in the 1940s and 1950s because we were looking for transparency after WWII and during the Cold War, an idea supported by all the clean lines of mid-century modern architecture and art. It's fascinating to me that cocktails and liquor can tell us more about ourselves and allow us to understand trends and mindsets that would otherwise pass by undocumented.
I also found this interesting because I didn't drink in college, so I never drank just to get drunk. Because I drank as an older adult and also have always loved the taste of drinks in general (I used to mix Kool-Aid, orange juice, and soda when I was younger), I find the whole artistry and rationale behind the cocktail culture fascinating. Millennials don't have much money, and they don't own homes, they are in debt, and they either live with their parents or a roommate or two, but they do understand that good food and good drinks can't be cheap, they can't be rushed, and they can't be guzzled. I enjoy the craft bars and distilleries popping up. There's a local whiskey distillery in the Hudson Valley, one that puts forth an excellent product, used in breweries and privately-owned restaurants to support other local businesses but also to make better cocktails than one can make with Jack Daniel's or Jameson.
I wish that Curtis had written his book more recently to include the next phase of drinkers, after the fans of the mojito, which he says resurfaced in the late 90s and early 2000s, partially because of references in movies like Die Another Day.
I really enjoy Curtis's clear appreciation for rum, not as something to make one drunk, but as a drink with a rich history, with many variations, and with the potential for pleasure. I recommend this book to people who are interested in the history that liquor reveals.
The book begins with rum's early history, and it tells the story of the colonial Caribbean isles (a more romantic, rum-soaked word than "island," I think) and their pirates. It moves forward to Colonial America and then the era of New England rum distillation, Prohibition, post-Prohibition, the tiki bar craze, and modern times. I was surprised to see people on GR state that the beginning part of the book was boring, but it got better. Pirates!! When have pirates ever been boring?? This makes no sense to me. I actually found the whole book fascinating, and I think Curtis does an excellent job of stirring interest in whatever aspect of history he's working with.
I love that this book is so much more than a "history of the New World." It's really a cultural history--he discusses the "whys" behind the various phases of rum's existence--for instance, that we liked vodka instead of rum in the 1940s and 1950s because we were looking for transparency after WWII and during the Cold War, an idea supported by all the clean lines of mid-century modern architecture and art. It's fascinating to me that cocktails and liquor can tell us more about ourselves and allow us to understand trends and mindsets that would otherwise pass by undocumented.
I also found this interesting because I didn't drink in college, so I never drank just to get drunk. Because I drank as an older adult and also have always loved the taste of drinks in general (I used to mix Kool-Aid, orange juice, and soda when I was younger), I find the whole artistry and rationale behind the cocktail culture fascinating. Millennials don't have much money, and they don't own homes, they are in debt, and they either live with their parents or a roommate or two, but they do understand that good food and good drinks can't be cheap, they can't be rushed, and they can't be guzzled. I enjoy the craft bars and distilleries popping up. There's a local whiskey distillery in the Hudson Valley, one that puts forth an excellent product, used in breweries and privately-owned restaurants to support other local businesses but also to make better cocktails than one can make with Jack Daniel's or Jameson.
I wish that Curtis had written his book more recently to include the next phase of drinkers, after the fans of the mojito, which he says resurfaced in the late 90s and early 2000s, partially because of references in movies like Die Another Day.
I really enjoy Curtis's clear appreciation for rum, not as something to make one drunk, but as a drink with a rich history, with many variations, and with the potential for pleasure. I recommend this book to people who are interested in the history that liquor reveals.
February 8, 2014
First half = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Second half = Thumbs Up!
As I'm not very interested in pirates, the British Navy, colonial America, or the post Colonial period either, the first part of the book was a real slog for me. If those areas interest you, your experience should be more pleasant.
For the later part of the story (after the Civil War), the emphasis shifts to American drinking habits in general, and rum's part in the tale, as its popularity varied by generation. This was the book I had in mind when I started, finding the second half fascinating.
Curtis' writing is fine, so I don't want my early disappointment to imply that was a problem.
Second half = Thumbs Up!
As I'm not very interested in pirates, the British Navy, colonial America, or the post Colonial period either, the first part of the book was a real slog for me. If those areas interest you, your experience should be more pleasant.
For the later part of the story (after the Civil War), the emphasis shifts to American drinking habits in general, and rum's part in the tale, as its popularity varied by generation. This was the book I had in mind when I started, finding the second half fascinating.
Curtis' writing is fine, so I don't want my early disappointment to imply that was a problem.
Read
March 6, 2022I like rum. I like daiquiris after work on my patio, mojitos on the beach, and even the occasional glass of 23 year old Ron Zacapa, neat. It is, as Walt Curtis would be the first to admit, a humble spirit, with its roots in a grimy industrial byproduct in the horrifying wake of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, and one that has yet to achieve the prestige status of either the Scottish single malts or the grand cognacs of the old world, or the small-batch bourbons and mezcals of the new. And as a result rum means many things to many people, and this is a compilation of those stories. It's hardly groundbreaking – I admit I have a high bar here, I partially earn my income from writing about the intersections of gastronomy with culture, history, economics, and geography, and so I'm likely to apply far more scrutiny than on a subject I'm less familiar with – but it is well-told. It's the sort of book you should lend to your uncle, if for no other reason than the fact that rum is a far better conversation topic at Thanksgiving than the thing that sent him into an a tizzy on his preferred right-wing media source.
October 5, 2018
The whole section on America's tiki craze just made my skin crawl with the blatant cultural appropriation and stereotyping of Pacific island cultures and no acknowledgement of how this was problematic. The history overall was interesting, but but the book was too long and a bit dull for me compared to other food history books.
March 15, 2024
This book deserves all the praise it has ever received. Curtis writes a phenomenal story weaving together rum with just enough history to get the job done. His writing is captivating and often humorous as he tells the story of rum from its inception to the modern day. I have a newfound appreciation for the drink, not that I didn’t like it beforehand. The cocktails he highlights in each chapter are very interesting and were fun to read about. I genuinely have no complaints towards this book and was pleasantly delighted by it. Some people have mentioned not enjoying half of the book because they only like modern American history or the colonial era. I had no problems with this, mostly because I read this to get information about rum, and Curtis’s rendition of the history of rum was fantastic from start to finish. This is certainly a book I will revisit often, both for its historical knowledge and delicious recipes.
November 6, 2021
I enjoyed this history of rum (and colonization and piracy and international trade and Prohibition and Morey Amsterdam and marketing and tiki huts). I especially liked the early chapters, which described a time when rum could have a significant impact on a country's economy. At the end, the author makes many recommendations, but the main one to me is that he favors Mount Gay rum for his everyday drinking. It's high-quality enough to drink straight but also works well in a cocktail. Bottoms up.
March 13, 2015
While this book belongs squarely in the realm of "popular" fiction, it is fairly well researched and has a lengthy bibliography. That being said, there are some places where I felt Curtis was having to stretch his point a bit, and the "cocktails" overlap in many respects, so it doesn't work as well as "The History of the World in 6 Glasses" (which I absolutely LOVED). But, this was definitely an entertaining read - and a quick one, and Curtis certainly makes his point that rum, perhaps more than any other beverage, tells the story of our nation. I would recommend it to anyone who loves history and rum, though you should probably watch your consumption while actively reading. :)
May 2, 2021
I was sort of a teetotaler most of my life. Drinking was just never my thing. I was at a Stephen King convention at 21 when I first got drunk, on whiskey sours in little bottles by my new friends I wanted to impress. I drank very little since then until I was at a work function, and my friend Jenny had me try a "cabana boy," which is Malibu rum and pineapple juice. I loved it. I'd found my drink.
Over the years, that was my drink of choice wherever I went. If alcohol was being served, I'd grab that. If it wasn't available, or if I was feeling adventurous, a Malibu and Coke would do. I was in a holding pattern.
Then came tiki bars. It started with Trader Sam's Grog Grotto in Walt Disney World and sort of exploded from there. I loved discovering all these different exotic cocktails and finding out why I liked them and why I didn't. I didn't give all that much thought to the rum itself. Even when I started buying rum in mass quantities in Our Pandemic Year, I basically followed what the recipe said. If it asked for a white Puerto Rican rum, I'd grab a John Q Cristal. If it wanted dark Jamaican, Myers always did well. Then and still now, I was never really a rum connoisseur. I like what it does when it mixes with other things, and I'm unsure if I'm ever going to go beyond that.
But it still fascinates me.
My friend Josh gifted me Wayne Curtis' And a Bottle of Rum for Christmas, and I'd been eager to read it ever since. I love these history lessons when viewed through the lens of something specific (as I had when I read The History of the World in Six Glasses, because I apparently have a penchant for pop history books on beverages). (HA! "Pop." Beverages. Well I thought it was funny.)
Books like this are always packed with awesome stories and surprising facts, like the one where we learn that, at least initially, Captain Morgan wasn't all that into rum. How rum got big during the Depression, then sank, then got big again after WWII. It's fascinating to me how relatively often rum goes from classy to tacky and back again. Does any other spirit do that?
We start way back in the 1600s, when rum was called Kill-Devil, all the way to the 2010s, to the recent microstill movement in the States. Along the way, we learn about piracy and slavery, the tiki movement and Paul Revere's ride, and so, so much about Hemingway and Cuba. It's all fantastic. I'm a slow reader but I absorbed this book, and not just because of the tiki connection (although I will say whenever I'm about to dip into the Donn Beach or Vic Bergeron story again, I always feel a little cozy. It's the whole "I know this history; how is this guy going to tell it?" Really well, it turns out.)
I'm in the phase in my obsession when satellite obsessions are finally coming to the fore. I've now read a book on lowbrow art, and about Hawaii in the 1950s, and now the history of rum. Tiki is endless, and there is still so much more to discover and explore. I love this journey (and this book!)
Over the years, that was my drink of choice wherever I went. If alcohol was being served, I'd grab that. If it wasn't available, or if I was feeling adventurous, a Malibu and Coke would do. I was in a holding pattern.
Then came tiki bars. It started with Trader Sam's Grog Grotto in Walt Disney World and sort of exploded from there. I loved discovering all these different exotic cocktails and finding out why I liked them and why I didn't. I didn't give all that much thought to the rum itself. Even when I started buying rum in mass quantities in Our Pandemic Year, I basically followed what the recipe said. If it asked for a white Puerto Rican rum, I'd grab a John Q Cristal. If it wanted dark Jamaican, Myers always did well. Then and still now, I was never really a rum connoisseur. I like what it does when it mixes with other things, and I'm unsure if I'm ever going to go beyond that.
But it still fascinates me.
My friend Josh gifted me Wayne Curtis' And a Bottle of Rum for Christmas, and I'd been eager to read it ever since. I love these history lessons when viewed through the lens of something specific (as I had when I read The History of the World in Six Glasses, because I apparently have a penchant for pop history books on beverages). (HA! "Pop." Beverages. Well I thought it was funny.)
Books like this are always packed with awesome stories and surprising facts, like the one where we learn that, at least initially, Captain Morgan wasn't all that into rum. How rum got big during the Depression, then sank, then got big again after WWII. It's fascinating to me how relatively often rum goes from classy to tacky and back again. Does any other spirit do that?
We start way back in the 1600s, when rum was called Kill-Devil, all the way to the 2010s, to the recent microstill movement in the States. Along the way, we learn about piracy and slavery, the tiki movement and Paul Revere's ride, and so, so much about Hemingway and Cuba. It's all fantastic. I'm a slow reader but I absorbed this book, and not just because of the tiki connection (although I will say whenever I'm about to dip into the Donn Beach or Vic Bergeron story again, I always feel a little cozy. It's the whole "I know this history; how is this guy going to tell it?" Really well, it turns out.)
I'm in the phase in my obsession when satellite obsessions are finally coming to the fore. I've now read a book on lowbrow art, and about Hawaii in the 1950s, and now the history of rum. Tiki is endless, and there is still so much more to discover and explore. I love this journey (and this book!)
January 13, 2017
Very interesting book on the American history of rum. Enjoyable and informative.
November 27, 2023
Well, I bought the audiobook based on the main title, thinking I was in for a ribald history of piracy--and while there was a great long section about Captain Morgan and Blackbeard, this is in fact a history of rum in the Americas. I don't really care for rum, which made the rough history of the spirit even more entertaining. This is a clever and amusing history that uses rum as a case study as a reflection of society over the course of the European colonization and development of America.
December 9, 2019
This was a research read...for reasons...It did the trick.
July 11, 2008
I am not so much a sucker for history books as I am a sucker for very focused, almsot gimmicky, history books. Andrew Carr's _Drink: A Social History of America_ is a similarly gimmicky history book that I (pun coming) ate and drank up furiously, and Wayne Curtis has provided an equally capturing read with _And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails_.
This book comes from the level perspective of a connoseur of rum, one who enjoys the depth of the drink, which includes the history of it and the stories behind it. Besides the unsolveable questions of who ever first invented something like the mai tai or who even first made the first batch of the molasses-based spirit, Wayne Curtis delves through a liquor that has been both a savior and a demon for America.
And that is the main point of this book that I truly treasure--for nowadays, rum is considered a very tropical drink, something more at home in a pina colada or a tiki bar than something attached to the dirty farmland of the New World, but Curtis reattaches rum to its colonial identity and heritage, along with solid associations with pirates and seafarers. Rather than being a light, sit-back-on-the-beach drink, Curtis attaches rum back to flogging and piracy and the Revolutionary War. And he does this in each chapter through identifying a particular way of serving rum (the mojito, the flip, or just plain grog) to examine how that drink played its role in history. Though rum is a liquor that can take many, many forms, Curtis looks at how all spirits were lumped into the term 'rum' for Prohibition, and also how rum came into grace, then fell out of it, and almost seemed to fall off the face of the Earth altogether, only to soar back, though in a new way that Curtis bashes thoroughly in the final chapter, which examines the industrialization of rum.
This is a very fascinating and readable book that is filled with humor and appropiate snobbery for a liquor that may not have the high rep of things like cognac and scotch, but certainly has the street cred to kick any other liquor's rear.
This book comes from the level perspective of a connoseur of rum, one who enjoys the depth of the drink, which includes the history of it and the stories behind it. Besides the unsolveable questions of who ever first invented something like the mai tai or who even first made the first batch of the molasses-based spirit, Wayne Curtis delves through a liquor that has been both a savior and a demon for America.
And that is the main point of this book that I truly treasure--for nowadays, rum is considered a very tropical drink, something more at home in a pina colada or a tiki bar than something attached to the dirty farmland of the New World, but Curtis reattaches rum to its colonial identity and heritage, along with solid associations with pirates and seafarers. Rather than being a light, sit-back-on-the-beach drink, Curtis attaches rum back to flogging and piracy and the Revolutionary War. And he does this in each chapter through identifying a particular way of serving rum (the mojito, the flip, or just plain grog) to examine how that drink played its role in history. Though rum is a liquor that can take many, many forms, Curtis looks at how all spirits were lumped into the term 'rum' for Prohibition, and also how rum came into grace, then fell out of it, and almost seemed to fall off the face of the Earth altogether, only to soar back, though in a new way that Curtis bashes thoroughly in the final chapter, which examines the industrialization of rum.
This is a very fascinating and readable book that is filled with humor and appropiate snobbery for a liquor that may not have the high rep of things like cognac and scotch, but certainly has the street cred to kick any other liquor's rear.
July 16, 2021
I wanted to be this author, reading through it many times I was telling myself I should write a book so I can go to exotic places in search of the perfect rum, walk the breezy streets of Havana in search of a biblicalesque daiquiri. That book would though have to be about rum and that could be problematic. The history is most definitely there, and I can see the pitch meetings to the publisher being very effective. Rum is certainly not a footnote spirit, but it's also questionable it can fill a whole book and be 100% interesting. My take away was alot of this could be condensed into 2-3 chapters of a more broader book on spirits and cutting out alot of fluff. There was alot here that was interesting, even fun. But that was the bookend pieces, while I found the mid section to be a bit more of a slog and just with rum more in the background. Like Paul Revere was in a tavern once that served rum. Who cares? Yes I'm exaggerating that, but it felt that way a few times. Filler may be too strong a word, but you get it. The author makes an effort to shine a light on rums historical value not just to the Caribbean, but the colonial US. I just think it goes too far. But hey the author got to go to New England and sip rums. For that I'm jealous.
June 29, 2022
3,5 stars: pretty insightful
The information: as I can count the number of rums I had in my life on one hand, basically anything in this book was new information (did you guys know they made this stuff from sugar cane?). I'm always a sucker for "A history of [insert world region] by [subject]" books though, so when I found this in a little free library I took it with me. It was cool to read about the impact rum had on the surrounding area, why some rums developed in a different direction than the others, and why sometimes rum's popularity was soaring, while at other times no one seemed to want to drink it.
The readability: the only downside for me is that this book is so, well... American. There's many references to things from the USA's history, notable people or daily life which I had difficulty following.
The structure: the chapters were all centered around a specific period in time, so there was a chronological order to it, but I had to flip back and forth to see how much time was between specific periods.
The information: as I can count the number of rums I had in my life on one hand, basically anything in this book was new information (did you guys know they made this stuff from sugar cane?). I'm always a sucker for "A history of [insert world region] by [subject]" books though, so when I found this in a little free library I took it with me. It was cool to read about the impact rum had on the surrounding area, why some rums developed in a different direction than the others, and why sometimes rum's popularity was soaring, while at other times no one seemed to want to drink it.
The readability: the only downside for me is that this book is so, well... American. There's many references to things from the USA's history, notable people or daily life which I had difficulty following.
The structure: the chapters were all centered around a specific period in time, so there was a chronological order to it, but I had to flip back and forth to see how much time was between specific periods.
March 17, 2020
Thoroughly researched and well composed, this is a perfect introduction to everything hidden behind the veil of public perception of rum. Rum is not just a sugary vodka or tiki quiche, it has deep roots, especially in North and Central American history. Even if you are not a rum fan, this is worth a read if only to see the ebb and flow of a products popularity and the ingeniousness born of necessity.
February 13, 2019
The history was interesting, drink comparisons, not so much. I almost have up on this book when in the intro the author compared a caipirinha to a daiquiri, it's more like a cousin of the mojito instead of rum, there's cachaca. Not sure about the author's palate, but the history of rum was informative.
September 5, 2021
If you enjoy histories, this is a decent read.
The author examines the history of rum since the discovery of the new world. Along the way, social and economic changes influenced the changes to this wonderful liquor. The book gives a pleasant and easy read about these distinct and evolving styles and tastes.
The author examines the history of rum since the discovery of the new world. Along the way, social and economic changes influenced the changes to this wonderful liquor. The book gives a pleasant and easy read about these distinct and evolving styles and tastes.
December 3, 2022
This book was quite interesting! I listened to it on Audible and didn't quite enjoy the narrator, but aside from that and some pacing issues, it was a good read. The history of this spirit is so rich -- from pirates to religious movements to tiki culture in the 60s (and it's revival in the early aughts), if you're interested in the spirit it's a great read.
July 24, 2023
This book was entertaining and informative. I enjoyed it more than I expected and I learned a great deal of new information about rum. Drink and the devil has done for me, but I need some rum. Cheers
April 14, 2024
Fun pop history. Easy read and great for people who want to learn about the booze market without being bogged down with technical details. I, however, want to be bogged down with technical details.
December 18, 2024
definitely lacked some nuance, i feel like it forgot to mention that colonialism and slavery was bad. overall interesting though
June 19, 2024
Quick, very interesting read in both the history of Rum and of the Colonial Islands and ultimately the US!
December 20, 2020
The history of Rum was far more interesting than I thought it would be. Good book.
June 19, 2023
Interesting listen about a beverage I've started to enjoy more and more. It got a little repetitive at times and some of the portions discussing times when other liquors became prominent carried on a little long for a book about rum but generally it was a fun listen.
August 31, 2020
I am not a liquor aficianado by any means - my cocktails of choice are ones that don't taste like liquor. Shots make me gag and the idea of sipping a glass of whiskey is my idea of hell. Alright, that's a bit dramatic, but you get my point.
Microhistories, though? Those are my jam. Especially history through a unique lens, or in this case, glass. Rum has a deep role in the forming and continued history of America. Or at least it corresponds with some major moments in American history. Through 10 rum drinks (from Kill-devil and grog to the sophisticated mojito), Wayne Curtis examines the evolution of rum as well as drink preferences, history, and eventually branding, and what these drink preferences say about the culture at the time.
The writing is extremely accessible and easy to read, with the bogging down of complex details. He can also be a bit funny, if at times a little too enthusiastic about the spirit of America, though that might be my bias about the current American climate showing. You can also feel his love for craft cocktails and finely made spirits, as well as the history of them.
I found quite a few fascinating or funny tidbits that I would be remiss in not sharing:
- For instance, can we go back to titling essays like this?
"An essay on spirituous liquors, with regard to their effects on health; in which the comparative wholesomeness of rum and brandy are particularly considered."
Or naming books like this?
"The Gentleman's Companion: Being an Exotic Drinking Book Or, Around the World with Jigger, Beaker and Flask"
- I learned (or re-learned, I'm so sorry to my junior year AP US History teacher if we learned and I forgot) that the War of Jenkins Ear exists.
- Nastyfacce was a common nickname for cooks' assistants on 19th century ships.
- By the late 18th century, the average American over 15-years-old drank about 6 gallons of absolute alcohol a year, which is the equivalent of 75 fifths of 80 proof rum, or about 5 shots a day.
- In the 1700s in Philadelphia, a man won a bet to drink 12 pints of fortified cider in half an hour, but promptly keeled over dead.
- "American bars" in Europe in the late 1800s created digusting coktails that supposedly tasted like hair oil but cost twice as much as English liquor, including cocktails named the Sustainer, the Silent Cobbler, the Square Meal, the Alabazam, the Bosom Caresser, the Flash of Lightning, the Corpse Reviver, the Heap of Comfort, and the Prairie Oyster. It just goes to show that awful puns have existed for a looooong time.
- During the prohibition, some people resorted to cutting smuggled liquor with antifreeze, hair tonic, or aftershave. ANTIFREEZE.
- A man in Massachussets invented a drink called Moxie Nerve Food and claimed it could relieve brain and nervous exhaustion, the loss of manhood, paralysis, mental imbecility, and more. It honestly became the top-selling beverage until the 1920s when the soft drink was introduced. If anything, it should've been named Moxie Snake Oil.
- Vodka supposedly didn't have the same effect as other liquors, i.e. didn't give its drinkers booze breath. Smirnoff's 1960s advertising campaign used the slogan "It leaves you breathles," to suggest you could suck down several vodka martinis at lunch and not be detected at work.
- Sailors during the 17 and 1800s would smuggle rum aboard after off-shore leave by filling a drained coconut with rum, seal it back up, and then sip from the shell, a process known as (and I kid you not) "sucking the monkey."
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Microhistories, though? Those are my jam. Especially history through a unique lens, or in this case, glass. Rum has a deep role in the forming and continued history of America. Or at least it corresponds with some major moments in American history. Through 10 rum drinks (from Kill-devil and grog to the sophisticated mojito), Wayne Curtis examines the evolution of rum as well as drink preferences, history, and eventually branding, and what these drink preferences say about the culture at the time.
The writing is extremely accessible and easy to read, with the bogging down of complex details. He can also be a bit funny, if at times a little too enthusiastic about the spirit of America, though that might be my bias about the current American climate showing. You can also feel his love for craft cocktails and finely made spirits, as well as the history of them.
I found quite a few fascinating or funny tidbits that I would be remiss in not sharing:
- For instance, can we go back to titling essays like this?
"An essay on spirituous liquors, with regard to their effects on health; in which the comparative wholesomeness of rum and brandy are particularly considered."
Or naming books like this?
"The Gentleman's Companion: Being an Exotic Drinking Book Or, Around the World with Jigger, Beaker and Flask"
- I learned (or re-learned, I'm so sorry to my junior year AP US History teacher if we learned and I forgot) that the War of Jenkins Ear exists.
- Nastyfacce was a common nickname for cooks' assistants on 19th century ships.
- By the late 18th century, the average American over 15-years-old drank about 6 gallons of absolute alcohol a year, which is the equivalent of 75 fifths of 80 proof rum, or about 5 shots a day.
- In the 1700s in Philadelphia, a man won a bet to drink 12 pints of fortified cider in half an hour, but promptly keeled over dead.
- "American bars" in Europe in the late 1800s created digusting coktails that supposedly tasted like hair oil but cost twice as much as English liquor, including cocktails named the Sustainer, the Silent Cobbler, the Square Meal, the Alabazam, the Bosom Caresser, the Flash of Lightning, the Corpse Reviver, the Heap of Comfort, and the Prairie Oyster. It just goes to show that awful puns have existed for a looooong time.
- During the prohibition, some people resorted to cutting smuggled liquor with antifreeze, hair tonic, or aftershave. ANTIFREEZE.
- A man in Massachussets invented a drink called Moxie Nerve Food and claimed it could relieve brain and nervous exhaustion, the loss of manhood, paralysis, mental imbecility, and more. It honestly became the top-selling beverage until the 1920s when the soft drink was introduced. If anything, it should've been named Moxie Snake Oil.
- Vodka supposedly didn't have the same effect as other liquors, i.e. didn't give its drinkers booze breath. Smirnoff's 1960s advertising campaign used the slogan "It leaves you breathles," to suggest you could suck down several vodka martinis at lunch and not be detected at work.
- Sailors during the 17 and 1800s would smuggle rum aboard after off-shore leave by filling a drained coconut with rum, seal it back up, and then sip from the shell, a process known as (and I kid you not) "sucking the monkey."
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April 3, 2024Great for anyone interested in cocktails, liquor, or American history. Funny and held my interest, also kept me thirsty lol I also appreciate that at the end there’s a kind of “rum cheat sheet” for what to know before going into the store, so you don’t have to sift through the entire book if you’re just looking for the difference between column and pot stills or something.
I liked this so much that I ordered a paper copy immediately after finishing the audiobook.
I liked this so much that I ordered a paper copy immediately after finishing the audiobook.
June 15, 2015
I love books. I especially love history books, serious history books, the sort that repel my mother to the point she several years ago swore she'd never, ever gift me a book again, and she was not joking.
This is a serious history book...sort of. It's serious about rum how its life is interwoven with that of the New World. And it is so much fun to read! Whether you're a teetotaler, a classic cocktail aficionado, a voracious reader, or would like the ability to drop some unforgettable stories from our past at parties, I can happily recommend this book to you. From the tales of Captain Morgan torturing islanders to sampling mojitos in Cuba, you'll learn (and, I predict, retain) all sorts of things about not just rum, but the history of the New World, the United States in particular. From the earliest Caribbean rum vats to conglomerate distillers to, lo and behold, Americans hearkening back to the nation's earliest days by distilling and bottling their own rum, the reader learns not only how rum was and is born, but meets people ranging from thrifty and clever to almost delightfully devious (no, I'm not drinking, and no, I couldn't resist).
Curtis' writing style is in large part what makes this such a marvellous read and also, I think, what keep all of that information sticking in your brain. His method of relating our past is just dry enough that you can almost see him fighting down a grin as he types things out on the keyboard. Moreover, judging by the bibliography, Curtis more than did his homework for this book...undoubtedly with a fine rum or three in a nearby glass.
In addition to truly entertaining history, there are of course rum drink recipes for you to try out should you so please. This is also, in my opinion, wonderful vacation reading (I was saving it for our next holiday, but it may be a while considering our work schedule); typical 'beach reads' are almost never, ever my cup of tea (more like 'well, this is a decent coaster'), but this is very entertaining while also teaching you something about history. Can't go wrong with this one—in fact, I was recommending it to people even before I finished it.
This is a serious history book...sort of. It's serious about rum how its life is interwoven with that of the New World. And it is so much fun to read! Whether you're a teetotaler, a classic cocktail aficionado, a voracious reader, or would like the ability to drop some unforgettable stories from our past at parties, I can happily recommend this book to you. From the tales of Captain Morgan torturing islanders to sampling mojitos in Cuba, you'll learn (and, I predict, retain) all sorts of things about not just rum, but the history of the New World, the United States in particular. From the earliest Caribbean rum vats to conglomerate distillers to, lo and behold, Americans hearkening back to the nation's earliest days by distilling and bottling their own rum, the reader learns not only how rum was and is born, but meets people ranging from thrifty and clever to almost delightfully devious (no, I'm not drinking, and no, I couldn't resist).
Curtis' writing style is in large part what makes this such a marvellous read and also, I think, what keep all of that information sticking in your brain. His method of relating our past is just dry enough that you can almost see him fighting down a grin as he types things out on the keyboard. Moreover, judging by the bibliography, Curtis more than did his homework for this book...undoubtedly with a fine rum or three in a nearby glass.
In addition to truly entertaining history, there are of course rum drink recipes for you to try out should you so please. This is also, in my opinion, wonderful vacation reading (I was saving it for our next holiday, but it may be a while considering our work schedule); typical 'beach reads' are almost never, ever my cup of tea (more like 'well, this is a decent coaster'), but this is very entertaining while also teaching you something about history. Can't go wrong with this one—in fact, I was recommending it to people even before I finished it.
August 1, 2011
And a Bottle of Rum by Wayne Curtis draws its title from the pirate song penned by Robert Louis Stevenson for Treasure Island. In fact, Curtis's opening chapter includes an explanation of why he chose the title and how the phrase came about.
From there he explores two parallel histories: the creation of rum and its uses over the years. Along with his discussion of how rum has been used, he has some cocktail recipes and their histories.
My favorite pieces of the book were the history of grog (along with its recipe), the history of the mojito (a drink I've never had but was curious about) and the differences between the real Captain Morgan and the brand name.
Rum I remember from history class and the discussion of the sugar trade. Curtis has some thoughts about the triangle and makes some compelling arguments against the simplistic description of the relationships between slavery, sugar and rum. He's not saying there wasn't any correlation, just that it's not as straightforward as a triangle.
Another fascinating piece of rum's history, is its similarities with gasoline (petrol). I remember from my days of listening to my dad and his antique car buddies talk shop is that cars run on gasoline because in the early days of car tinkering (when they were primarily self built or engines but onto carriages), gasoline was cheap (if not free) because it was the waste product from making kerosene.
Rum came about under similar circumstances. The sugar refining process left tons of this black gooey mess that was a pain to dispose of, until some enterprising hooch makers found a way to distill it into a cheap (if not free) alcohol. The only problem, lead in the pipes often lead to poisonous liquor. But carting it around in barrels (yo ho ho!) leeched out those impurities. So in a strange turn of fate, rum shipped overseas (or kept on a ship and mixed with water and lime juice) was a much nice spirit than what was drunk locally on the islands.
From there he explores two parallel histories: the creation of rum and its uses over the years. Along with his discussion of how rum has been used, he has some cocktail recipes and their histories.
My favorite pieces of the book were the history of grog (along with its recipe), the history of the mojito (a drink I've never had but was curious about) and the differences between the real Captain Morgan and the brand name.
Rum I remember from history class and the discussion of the sugar trade. Curtis has some thoughts about the triangle and makes some compelling arguments against the simplistic description of the relationships between slavery, sugar and rum. He's not saying there wasn't any correlation, just that it's not as straightforward as a triangle.
Another fascinating piece of rum's history, is its similarities with gasoline (petrol). I remember from my days of listening to my dad and his antique car buddies talk shop is that cars run on gasoline because in the early days of car tinkering (when they were primarily self built or engines but onto carriages), gasoline was cheap (if not free) because it was the waste product from making kerosene.
Rum came about under similar circumstances. The sugar refining process left tons of this black gooey mess that was a pain to dispose of, until some enterprising hooch makers found a way to distill it into a cheap (if not free) alcohol. The only problem, lead in the pipes often lead to poisonous liquor. But carting it around in barrels (yo ho ho!) leeched out those impurities. So in a strange turn of fate, rum shipped overseas (or kept on a ship and mixed with water and lime juice) was a much nice spirit than what was drunk locally on the islands.
August 27, 2013
I read this book a while ago, after receiving it as a gift. I remember it be engaging enough that I recently picked it up for a reread, which is rare for me to do with nonfiction books. Thankfully, it holds up just as well as it did when I first read it.
Above all else, this book is about the origins and eccentricities of rum, the indomitable liquor fermented from the industrial waste of making sugar. Curtis covers ten different periods of history, focusing largely on the Americas and the Caribbean, and conflates each section with an iconic rum drink from that era. He begins with Colonial America, charting rum's course through military, piracy, and slavery, right into the Revolutionary War. Then, obviously, he delves into Demon Rum's role in the Prohibition years, and its fateful marriage with wartime Coca-Cola. This is followed by its decline in the 1950s and 60s, and its Renaissance in kitschy tiki bars and Cuban hotels. The book ends on the mid-2000s fads (mojitos), challenges (multinational beverage corporations), and possibilities (the return of American rum distillers).
This is definitely not a book for any historian that has their ascot on too tight. Curtis boasts a respectable bibliography at the end, but in the true spirit of a barroom discussion, a lot of the book's anecdotes are tempered with speculation and wild theorizing. Which is at it should be; the book is about rum, but it's also about pirates, bootleggers, and flamboyant mixologists. I'm not looking for a history textbook, here. I'm looking for a mythology. There are a lot of fascinating historical tidbits in every part of the book (though I personally prefer the early history in the first half), and plenty of cocktail ideas for those of us who prefer rum to other spirits.
In short, this is a scrappy, fun little piece of nonfiction. If you've ever done that leg-up pose from the Captain Morgan commercials, even ironically, you should read this and edify yourself.
Above all else, this book is about the origins and eccentricities of rum, the indomitable liquor fermented from the industrial waste of making sugar. Curtis covers ten different periods of history, focusing largely on the Americas and the Caribbean, and conflates each section with an iconic rum drink from that era. He begins with Colonial America, charting rum's course through military, piracy, and slavery, right into the Revolutionary War. Then, obviously, he delves into Demon Rum's role in the Prohibition years, and its fateful marriage with wartime Coca-Cola. This is followed by its decline in the 1950s and 60s, and its Renaissance in kitschy tiki bars and Cuban hotels. The book ends on the mid-2000s fads (mojitos), challenges (multinational beverage corporations), and possibilities (the return of American rum distillers).
This is definitely not a book for any historian that has their ascot on too tight. Curtis boasts a respectable bibliography at the end, but in the true spirit of a barroom discussion, a lot of the book's anecdotes are tempered with speculation and wild theorizing. Which is at it should be; the book is about rum, but it's also about pirates, bootleggers, and flamboyant mixologists. I'm not looking for a history textbook, here. I'm looking for a mythology. There are a lot of fascinating historical tidbits in every part of the book (though I personally prefer the early history in the first half), and plenty of cocktail ideas for those of us who prefer rum to other spirits.
In short, this is a scrappy, fun little piece of nonfiction. If you've ever done that leg-up pose from the Captain Morgan commercials, even ironically, you should read this and edify yourself.
March 23, 2018
I generally review books of this type based on a scale of "Did this provide me with too much knowledge about its central subject or not enough?" With Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World, I learned just the right amount of information about bananas. With Ichi-F: A Worker's Graphic Memoir of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, I learned way too much about how nuclear power plant workers take on and off socks and not enough about nuclear power plant disaster workers.
This book, unfortunately, varies so wildly in its information dumps that I don't even really know how much I learned from this book. It was both too much and not enough all at once. Was this book about rum? About mixed drinks? About liquor sales? About history? I have no idea. I learned a little about a lot but not a lot about a little and that was to the book's detriment. It needed more coherence; more time needed to be spent on the main conceit of the book which was the ten drinks the author chose to highlight. Instead, cursory information about the ten drinks was dumped into each chapter after pages upon pages about the basic viscera of Western Hemisphere's alcohols. I wanted more and I didn't get it. It's a shame.
This book, unfortunately, varies so wildly in its information dumps that I don't even really know how much I learned from this book. It was both too much and not enough all at once. Was this book about rum? About mixed drinks? About liquor sales? About history? I have no idea. I learned a little about a lot but not a lot about a little and that was to the book's detriment. It needed more coherence; more time needed to be spent on the main conceit of the book which was the ten drinks the author chose to highlight. Instead, cursory information about the ten drinks was dumped into each chapter after pages upon pages about the basic viscera of Western Hemisphere's alcohols. I wanted more and I didn't get it. It's a shame.
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