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Smithsonian Associates
June 23, 2016 @ 6:45 pm - 8:45 pm
Rounding the Horn: How Rum Fueled a Seafaring Age
From the 16th to early 20th centuries, the perilous route around South America’s Cape Horn was the way that explorers and mariners sailed and steamed between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as they sought everything from fame and riches to whale oil and gold.
This age of exploration and empire was financed by trade in gold, silver, slaves, cotton, tea, and opium. Equally important was sugar, first a medicine, next a condiment for the wealthy, and then the foodstuff that made tea, coffee, and chocolate palatable and marmalade possible. The same cane that produced sugar also yielded rum, the essential drink that fueled sailors, seafaring, and storytelling throughout this historic epoch.
Maritime historian Andy Jampoler chronicles the centuries of navigation through Cape Horn’s infamous passage, and explores the role that rum played in these voyages.
Afterward, whet your own whistle with rum and grog tastings provided by Lyon Distilling Company of St. Michaels, Maryland.
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