What does the Tuskegee Experiment have to do with Westport?
On the surface, nothing.
But the infamous incident — in which the US Public Health Service and the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, spent 40 years tracking the progression of untreated syphilis in black men — popped up as the name of a cocktail at 323 restaurant.
According to a report on the Eater food blog, “It’s unclear what the cocktail — featuring ‘Myers dark rum, Malibu, pineapple juice, fresh lime, pineapple & jalapeño mash, dash tabasco’ — has to do with this disturbing period in American history.”
Westporter Eric Armour posted a photo of the specialty drink menu — including other names like Sucker Punch, The Queen Bee and The Red October — on social media. He wrote: “Umm. This is ridiculously horrible.”
Yesterday morning, Eater called the Main Street restaurant. A woman said “she removed all of the cocktail menus on Sunday following a customer complaint.”
Eater pledged to get more information on how the drink was named The Tuskegee Experiment in the first place.
I called 323 last night, and asked to speak to a manager about this story. The person answering the phone said, “We’re kind of busy right now.”
(Click here for the full Eater story. Hat tips: Bart Shuldman and William Strittmatter)
