And a Bottle of Rum

A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails

By: Wayne Curtis

Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain

Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

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 10 cocktails, 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.

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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2007 Wayne Curtis (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[A] charming barhop through cultural history." ( Publishers Weekly)

Informative, but lots of tangents

"*AND* a Bottle of Rum" is an apt title, as the book contains a lot of general history that to me seemed to drag on at times. That being said, there's a lot of great insight to be gained from this book, and it's definitely worth a listen.

a Light and Enjoyable flow

Does a wonderful job of personalizing Rum through the years and it's relation to history

So much information I listened to it twice already

I really enjoyed this book. There truly is so much information. I find myself going back and referring to it often. It has given me multiple places to start my own research. I'm sure it won't be long before I listen to it again.

Really interesting!

If you like your booze with some history or vise versa this is a book for you.

Get the history and a tune up

Rum can lead you down many paths. This book fleshes our many of those areas while still giving you a broad over view of rums history. It also promises as a guide to many of the different styles, Nd what is and is not rum. I have read a few rum books in the past and while many are reasonable this one is what I would now recomment.

Incredibly entertaining

All things being honest I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. The narration was spot on and it has an interesting take on history. This has been one of the best books I've read all year.

Fun history of rum

Witty and interesting history of rum with a great guide of different rums at the end.

A nice intersection of history and rum

Honestly, I picked this book up on a whim. Audible was having a two-fer sale and there was another title that I wanted on the sale, so I got this one too, and I am glad that I did.

While I enjoy spirits, I am not a rum drinker. This book is more a history of the spirit, with each chapter nicely separated out as a period in the history of rum.

Each chapter is named after a run drink that was popular at the time. The author incorporates that drink into the telling about that period in history.

The author’s writing style is very engaging. Even though there are a lot of facts, it never drags on like some history books do.

Get the book. You will not regret it.

Extraordinary

I will never look at Rum the same way! Really interesting and fun book. Yo ho ho!

An American view of rum and it's history

If your just intrested in sociology drink history you're in the right place. If you want to know more about the history of rum itself you're in the right place. If you just want a few good rum drink ideas and directions on how to make them you're in the right place. If all that sounds good to you, buy the book