stinkibus: eighteenth-century nickname for rum

Rum was the most popular form of alcohol in the colonies until the Revolutionary War interfered with shipments from the British West Indies. It was mixed with spruce beer to make a calibogus or with ordinary beer and sugar to make a flip. During the war, neither rum nor the molasses used to make it could be imported, so Americans had to fire up the still and brew their own tipple. At first liquor was distilled mainly from rye or wheat - both Washington and Jefferson owned rye distilleries - but by the 1780s the favored grain was America's own sweet corn. This was used to make corn squeezings or corn liquor, now more commonly known as bourbon.