Today Is National Rum Day

St. Croix Sugar Mill                                             Pre-20th century, artist unknown

My first serious encounter with rum didn't involve a bottle or a drink. It was 1966 and I was hiking across St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands with the intent of documenting the remains of its many sugar mills. Over the next forty years, my career returned me to St. Thomas and St. John  many times where I became more familiar with the most famous byproduct of sugar production.

Though not really a staple in our household, we've come to enjoy rum occasionally. Today, we pour it in the summer to make classic mojitos when there's fresh mint in the garden.  When it's time to entertain on the porch or patio, it's time for Pusser's Painkiller. Makes for a fine dessert all by itself and doesn't need to be powerful to be enjoyed.

And who would think rum could make for a refreshing read? It's true. In 2007, Wayne Curtis, author and contributing editor of The Atlantic, used the subject to write a history book.  My wife and I both found And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails one of the most enjoyable informal histories we'd read in years.

What better way to celebrate National Rum Day than sinking into a comfortable lounger with drink in hand and a good book. Atlanta's high temperatures are expected to set an all time low maximum somewhere in the low 70s so it's far from mojito or Painkiller weather. This is a hot buttered rum day - and if it gets much colder in the den there'll be a warm fire to enjoy as well.

Happy National Rum Day!