Saturday, October 21, 2023

Yo Ho Ho

For my birthday, The Queen Of The World got me (among other things) a really interesting book:

Wayne Curtis' book, And A Bottle Of Rum: A History Of The New World In Ten Cocktails.  You see, I've gotten interested in (good) rums in the last year or two, and she (heck - and you) know my interest in history.  This was a twofer.

It's way more interesting than you might think.  For example, if there hadn't been rum, there very well may not have been an American Revolution.  Really.

The book charts the history from the early funky and maybe undrinkable stuff to how rum conquered the New World in the early twentieth century - and how Prohibition almost changed it into something unrecognizable.

But it ends on a high note, with Tiki drinks - particularly the Mai Tai - is a chapter that is clearly a love letter to the lost Tiki Bar era.  It's great fun, and great entertainment.  This book comes highly recommended.

And the original Trader Vic Mai Tai is nothing like what you get in a bar today, unless you seek out one of the few great old Tiki Bars that Curtis writes about.  But we do have a recipe from Trader Vic, highlighted in this excellent Tasting History video from Max Miller:

Both book and video are heartily recommended, Me Hearties.

9 comments:

  1. GregOctober 21, 2023 at 8:22 PM

    Looks like a fun read. And it belongs on my bookshelves between two other very fun books:
    A History of the World in 6 Glasses, by Tom Standage and
    Steak, by Mark Schatzker, subtitled One Man's Search for the World's Tastiest Piece of Beef.

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  2. MichaelOctober 21, 2023 at 9:51 PM

    Happy Birthday!

    What no Dad joke?

    Rum a way to upsell cane sugar.

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  3. BorepatchOctober 21, 2023 at 10:01 PM

    Greg, I really enjoyed "The History Of The World In Six Glasses."

    Same idea, and rum was one of the glasses.

    - Borepatch

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  4. doubletroubleOctober 21, 2023 at 10:33 PM

    Happy belated Birthday young feller!

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  5. matismOctober 22, 2023 at 5:58 AM

    If there was no rum, what would the British sailors have gotten instead of their "rum ration"? without the rum ration, would Britain have been able to rule the seas?

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  6. libertymanOctober 22, 2023 at 7:29 AM

    I can recommend Zaya rum from Trinidad if you want to try it neat or on the rocks. For Rum and Coke - I like Mount Gay, it is not "too good" to mix, and I like the hint of vanilla in it.

    I will have to try the Mai Tai recipe, that was a good video history lesson. I didn't know the origin of the name, but I disagree with Trader Vic -- Tahiti is a beautiful place.

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  7. JaimeInTexasOctober 22, 2023 at 9:53 AM

    I cannot bring myself to mix aged sipping rums.

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  8. JaimeInTexasOctober 22, 2023 at 4:13 PM

    Zacapa 23 is at the top of my list. Neat.
    I will mix rums that are aged up to 8 yrs. Up to 12 yrs aged, mixing depends.

    And, happy birthday.

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  9. Overload in ColoradoOctober 28, 2023 at 2:36 PM

    Smuggler's Cove, a rum bar in San Francisco, also published a good self titled rum book.
    I went to the Trader Vic's in San Fran that created the Mai Tai. I had to get one. I don't like the Mai Tai in general, but love other rum drinks. Didn't like the O.G. Mai Tai, but recognized it as a good Mai Tai.

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