Today is the Anniversary of the Great Boston Molasses Flood. A massive storage tank of the syrupy substance burst open and a wave of molasses rolled through the streets and alleys of Boston’s North End, moving at an estimated 35 miles per hour, killing 21 people and injuring 150. Imagine the horror of drowning in molasses. That molasses was slated to be made into rum, and isn’t it a tad bit ironic that a lot of the prohibitionists of the day made a big deal about how something as sweet and angelic as molasses could be turned into something as sinister and devilish as demon rum. When, as the great flood proved, the safest thing you can do is transform that murderous syrup into rum as quickly as possible.
