Grog is an alcoholic beverage made from rum, cognac or vodka and hot water or tea. This is one of the most common beverages that warm a person up during the cold winter months. It is one of the most favored winter cocktails, bearing world fame, while it can be prepared in a multitude of ways.
Grog, as well as the other warm alcoholic cocktails are just as tempting as their summer versions. They are easy to make and do not include too many ingredients but their taste is remarkable, while their main function is to warm you up.
History of Grog
The origin story of grog is a unique one because despite the alcoholic content, the beverage was created to fight alcoholism.
Originally, grog was introduced to the Royal Navy of Great Britain in 1740 by vice admiral Edward Vernon, known by the nickname "Old Grog" because he would always walk the deck of the ship with a waterproof coat made of grogram (a weave of cotton, wool and mohair).
Interestingly enough, the vice admiral had the goal of overcoming drunkenness because at the time, sailors were provided 1 1/5 cups (280 mL) of rum daily, which led to constant drunken brawls and problems. They would finally get rid of this bizarre rule in 1970.
Vernon had no right to decrease the rations but he changed their quality instead - he diluted the rum with warm water. At first this act caused severe discontent and the beverage was given the mocking name Grog, due to the nickname of the admiral himself.
But with time grog turned into a favorite beverage not just on the high seas but on land as well. Gradually, they began adding lemon juice, sugar and various spices to grog - ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and others and instead of warm water they began using strong black tea for its preparation.
Combining rum with water, nutmeg and sugar was highly popular in the past, especially among merchants and pirates.
Preparation of Grog
There are now hundreds of variations of grog. The classic grog recipe calls for adding rum to brewed black tea, then adding sugar and drinking it hot. Because of people's different tastes and preferences, grog can be prepared as desired and the rum is not a constant. It can easily be substituted with whiskey or cognac.
The only rule when preparing grog is not to heat the alcohol but to add it at the end. Various spices can be added to the water or tea - cinnamon, black pepper grains, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves and others. Once the mixture comes to a boil, remove it from the heat, add lemon, sugar and rum.
Here are several different ways to make your own hot grog to warm your body and soul throughout the chilling days of winter.
For coffee lovers, let us offer you an unbelievable grog with coffee. You will need 2/5 cup coffee, 2 teaspoons sugar syrup and 1 1/3 tbsp of rum (or cognac). Pour the hot coffee into a warmed tall grog glass, add the rum and sugar syrup. Stir just a little and drink immediately.
The next recipe is for grog sweetened with honey. The required ingredients are 2 teaspoons honey, 3 1/3 tbsp rum, 2/3 cup hot black tea and a lemon slice. The preparation is very simple - pour the tea into a tall glass, add the honey, lemon and finally, the rum.
In both recipes, the choice of spices is completely up to you but cinnamon, nutmeg or cloves are the best for the grog with coffee, while cardamom or ginger are most suitable for grog with honey.
The next grog recipe is a bit more uncommon but the final result is a flavorful and warming beverage. The required products are 1 4/5 cups cointreau liquor, 4/5 cup tea, 1 cup rum, 2/5 cup orange juice, 1 pinch of cinnamon, some cloves, a stick of cinnamon and orange for decoration.
The method of preparation is as follows: heat up the rum, cointreau, cinnamon and orange juice in a pot. Stir well and remove it from the heat right before it comes to a boil. Pour it over the tea and distribute into cups. Decorate with slices of orange that have been sprinkled with cloves.
In the Scandinavian countries there is a special tradition where the grog must be prepared by the house guest with the proportions of ingredients based on their individual tastes.
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