Navy Grog

The word grog may refer to a variety of alcoholic beverages. The word originally referred to a drink made with water and rum, which was introduced into the Royal Navy by British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon on 21 August 1740. Modern versions of the drink are often made with hot or boiling water, and sometimes include lemon juice, lime juice, cinnamon or sugar to improve the taste. Rum with water, sugar and nutmeg was known as Bumboo and was more popular with pirates and merchantmen.

The Navy Grog was a popular rum-based drink served for many years at the Polynesian-themed Don the Beachcomber restaurants. Created by Donn Beach, who almost single-handedly originated the tiki cultural fad of the 1940s and 1950s, it was one of dozens of rum concoctions that he, and later Trader Vic and numerous other imitators, sold in exotic tropical settings. Not quite as potent as the Beachcomber's more famous Zombie, it was, nevertheless, shown on the menu as being limited to two, or sometimes three, to a customer.

Compared to the Zombie or Beach's recipe for a Mai Tai, the recipe was relatively simple. There were only three kinds of rum, for instance, instead of five, and no other alcohol such as triple sec, Pernod, or cherry liqueur. There are several variant recipes and all of these add fresh lime juice and grapefruit juice to the rums. Some, however, also add passionfruit juice, while others use guava juice or club soda water instead. Some recipes specify a sweetening agent of honey mixed with unsalted butter, while others use honey mixed with water.

Some sources say that the Navy Grog was Frank Sinatra's favorite drink at the Hollywood restaurant where it was first served. Whatever the exact recipe, traditionally it has always been served very cold in a large, broad-based old fashion glass, into which a frozen snow cone of shaved ice has been placed, so that the customer drinks the Grog through a straw that runs down through the cone.

Sources

• Hawaii Tropic Rum Drinks & Cuisine by Don the Beachcomber, by Arnold Bitner and Phoebe Beach, Mutual Publishing, Honolulu, 2001
• Link to Sinatra reference: http://www.critiki.com/cgi-bin/location.cgi?loc_id=295

See also

• Catalog of cocktails