You should’ve seen the size of it
A beast of a pot still that dominated the distillery
All retorts and alembic filters flexing muscle
The swan necks were so elegant
It was like the thing was engineered by nature
The surface shimmering gold
As if plucked from the pages of some wonderful steampunk novel
More bombastic and beautiful than any religious icon
A symbol for worshipping at the altar of distillation
Creativity in machine form
Powerful, precise, precious
Harnessing the spirit of making smooth spirits
It’s a story I’ll be passing down through the generations
As much to preserve history
As to remember what that still inspired within me that day
The Rum Ration 