Oh, the Nagua, she carried a very funny cargo

In an illustration of the way that history can accrete in separate little heaps in people's heads, I was reading this review of GrandTen Distilling's Medford Rum and thinking that I hadn't known there was once a separate tradition of New England as opposed to Caribbean rum such that any discussion of the revival of rums in New England would stress the differences in production and flavor between the two styles, except that if there hadn't been a home-distilled industry, how did I imagine that leg of the Atlantic triangle trade which I have known about since childhood—New England, with Bibles and Rum!—actually worked? Perhaps I just never thought about the extent of the manufacture. Otherwise I am amused by the observation of the New York Times, "Part of the reason most of the rum stayed home was its quality. Rums made in Medford, Mass., were well regarded, but for most people the value of the region's rum was in its low price." The two-buck Chuck of the late eighteenth century! As I am no longer totally prohibited alcohol these days, I'd drink it.