Aloha!

Today we turn our eye towards the territory of the Queequeg Chapter of the Order and mark the anniversary of the Great Molasses Flood which occurred in Boston, Mass., on January 15, 1919.

For many years Boston was one point in the triangle trade which brought slaves from Africa to the Caribbean to produce sugar cane; brought molasses made from sugar cane from the Caribbean to Boston; and then brought rum made from molasses to Africa.

By 1919 the triangle trade was broken but Boston still used a lot of molasses for making baked beans and alcohol. In the North End of the city one giant tank held over 2 million gallons of molasses. By all accounts it was a warm day on January 15th and workers were enjoying the weather as they ate their lunch. Without warning the tank burst shortly before 12:40 p.m., sending a 50 foot wave of molasses through the neighborhood. Buildings were crushed and people in streets drowned in the sticky goo. In the end there were 21 dead and 150 injured by the flood.

Many references to the Great Flood make a lot of comments about Demon Rum and Prohibition since, ironically perhaps, the 18th Amendment was certified as ratified the very next day on January 16, 1919, as relief workers searched for bodies and washed away the molasses with salt water in Boston.

True, the tank had been constructed in 1915 for rum production by the Purity Distilling Company but the company was sold in 1917 to the United States Industrial Alcohol Company which produced ethyl alcohol for use in the munitions industry. The company even tried to blame the accident on imaginary bomb throwing anarchists bent on disrupting production.

Even if the molasses was destined for artillery shells rather than bottles the scale of the accident and the start of Prohibition seemed like a death blow to the traditional rum industry in Boston and New England. It is only in recent years that rum production has returned to the region with the appearance of distillers like the Triple Eight Distillery, Berkshire Mountain Distillers and the Newport Distilling Company. These are mainly craft distillers who are making small batch rum from Louisiana molasses using a traditional pot still.

The Moai are huge fans of rum in its many forms so we are happy to see craft rums like this available around the country. Hurricane Rum from Triple Eight Distillery is a key ingredient in the very popular Queequeg's Harpoon cocktail invented by the Queequeg Chapter of the Order.

Do you have a local distillery? Check it out some time.

Keep the torches burning,

— Tagata Maori Rogorogo

- - - - -

The Queequeg Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Moai formed in 2007 and encompasses all of the New England states. The chapter takes its name and symbols from the fictional character in Moby-Dick. The Queequegs host the annual NorthEast Tiki Tour and raise funds to support charities including The National Multiple Sclerosis Society.