The Massachusetts Historical Society will hold a free Brown Bag lunch lecture on Wednesday, July 30 entitled John Barleycorn vs. Sir Richard Rum: Alcohol, the Atlantic, and the Distilling of Colonial Identity, 1650 – 1800. The speaker is Kristen Burton of University of Texas at Arlington. Kristen’s project examines the shifting perceptions of spirituous liquors in the Atlantic World throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Focusing on the rise of commercial distilling, particularly in regard to rum, gin, and whiskey, her research explores the evolution of liquors from their use a wholesome source of medicine to a pernicious, societal threat. The talk will take place at 1154 Boylston Street in Boston. For more information visit www.masshist.org. Image from www.history.org.
