Not stirred by history

On Sunday "And a Bottle of Rum" was featured in the "Shaken and Stirred" column in the New York Times's Style section, headlined "By the Rum's Early Light." The author, Jonathan Miles, wanted a patriotic drink for the week of July 4, and thought about beer and whiskey, but then came across an advance copy of my book and decided that a rum drink was in order.

With book in hand he went to the Pegu Club downtown and had cocktail expert Audrey Saunders concoct a Bombo based on my recipe. He deeemd it "a disappointment."

No surprise there -- it's not a drink that's tailored to modern tastes, but one I included to give readers a chance to sip a bit of history, to get a passing idea of what colonial tippler might have been drinking.

And, hey, I still don't think it's a bad drink -- molasses and nutmeg seem a good fit for a harsh rum, taking some of the edge off.