Grog
Grog with Hardtack (clack clack)
City/Region: England
Time Period: 1740
Vice Admiral Edward Vernon, called “old grog” after the old grogram coat he would wear, was troubled that his sailors in the Caribbean would save up their half pint daily ration of rum, and then get drunk. So he switched to diluting the ration with water and doling it out twice a day. To make up for this, he allows that sailors may purchase sugar and limes to add to the watered down rum to make it more palatable, which was probably small comfort.
The plain version is really just watered down rum, but the addition of the sugar and lime is quite refreshing.
“Whereas it manifestly appears by the returns made to my general order of the 4th of August, to be the unanimous opinion of both Captains and Surgeons, that the pernicious custom of the seamen drinking their allowance of rum in drams, and often all at once, is attended with many fatal effects to their morals as well as their health…and which have their unanimous opinion cannot be better remedied then by ordering their half pint of rum to be daily mixed with a quart of water, which they that are good husbandmen, may, from the saving of their salt provisions and bread, purchase sugar and limes to make more palatable to them.”
Ingredients:
- 4 parts water
- 1 part rum
- Sugar, to taste, optional
- Fresh lime juice, to taste, optional
Instructions:
- Mix the water and rum together. Stir in a bit of sugar and a squeeze of lime juice to taste, if using, then serve it forth as a cocktail, or as a softening agent for Hardtack. You may also want to try the fancier version, Bumbo.