Rum and Coffee - Book Talk with Michelle McDonald and Jordan Smith

Rum and Coffee

Book talk with Michelle McDonald and Jordan Smith

Wednesday, November 5th, 2025

Ticketed Reception at 5:30 | Free Lecture at 6:30

Strong. Cheap. Habit-forming. In the early modern era two very different beverages flooded American markets and palettes, each in their own way transforming tastes, leisure time, and even health. Rum and coffee connected North American markets and consumers to Caribbean plantation economies and Atlantic circuits of trade, fueling global economic integration.

Join us for an evening of rum, coffee, and convivial conversation with Jordan B. Smith, author of The Invention of Rum: Creating the Quintessential Atlantic Commodity and Michelle Craig McDonald, author of Coffee Nation: How One Commodity Transformed the Early United States to learn more about how these beverages went from rare and exotic to ubiquitous and everyday—and how each affected the economies and even politics of the United States in the era of revolutions.

The talk is free and open to the public. In addition, at a reception beforehand, Library Company shareholders and ticket-purchasers may join the authors for a rum tasting, espresso martinis, and rum- or coffee-flavored dessert treats.

REGISTER HERE

Hosted by the Program in Early American Economy and Society