Grog is a term used for a variety of alcoholic beverages.
Origin and history
Popularization of rum and invention of grog Following England's conquest of Jamaica in 1655, rum gradually replaced beer and brandy as the drink of choice for the Royal Navy. The prior ration of eight pints of beer was replaced with a ration of one half-pint of spirits. In 1740, to minimise the subsequent illness, drunkenness, and disciplinary problems, British Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon ordered that the daily rum issue of one-half imperial pint (284 ml) of rum be mixed with one imperial quart (1,100 ml) of water, a water-to-rum ratio of 4:1, with half issued before noon and the remainder after the end of the working day. This both diluted its effects and accelerated its spoilage, preventing hoarding of the allowance. The mixture of rum and water became known as a "grog". This procedure became part of the official regulations of the Royal Navy in 1756 until the reduction of the ration to the "tot" in 1850. Sailors were given one-quarter of an imperial pint (1 gill; 142 millilitres) of rum daily, or 35 imperial oz a week. The issued ration of rum was called a "tot," and typically had a high alcohol content (54.6% ABV). This practice continued until the final ration was issued on 31 July 1970. Some writers have said that Vernon also added citrus juice to prevent spoilage and that it was found to prevent scurvy. This is not the case, and is based on a misreading of Vernon's order. Having instructed his captains to dilute the sailors' daily allowance of rum with water, he says that those members of the crew "which ... are good husbandmen may from the saving of their salt provisions and bread, purchase sugar and limes to make it more palatable to them." Lime juice was not then known to combat scurvy; scurvy symptoms at the time were largely treated with a diet of "fresh food", sauerkraut, meat broth, malt, and citrus oil.
Etymology The word originally referred to rum diluted with water, which Edward Vernon introduced into the British naval squadron he commanded in the West Indies on 21 August 1740. Vernon wore a coat of grogram cloth and was nicknamed Old Grogram or Old Grog. The Merriam–Webster Collegiate Dictionary, which agrees with this story of the word's origin, states that the word grog was first used in this sense in 1770, though other sources cite 1749. In the 19th century, coopers who crafted barrels on ships were often called groggers (or jolly jack tars), since when a barrel of rum had been emptied they would fill it up with boiling water and roll it around, creating a drink, which was called grog.
Serving practices
British ships Until the daily tot was discontinued in 1970, Royal Navy rum was 95.5 proof (54.6% ABV); the usual ration was one-eighth of an imperial pint (71 ml), diluted 4:1 with water. Extra rum rations were provided for special celebrations, such as Trafalgar Day, and sailors might share their ration with the cook or with a messmate celebrating a birthday. Until the early 20th century, weaker "six water grog" (rum diluted with water at a 6:1 ratio) was sometimes issued as a punishment to sailors found guilty of drunkenness or neglect. Over time the distribution of the rum ration acquired a fixed form. At 11:00 am, the boatswain's mate piped "Up spirits", the signal for the petty officer of the day to climb to the quarterdeck and collect the keys to the spirit room from an officer, the ship's cooper, and a detachment of Royal Marines. In procession, they unlocked the door of the spirit room, and witnessed the pumping into a keg of one-eighth pint of rum for every rating and petty officer on the ship aged 20 or more and not under punishment. Two marines lifted the keg to the deck, standing guard while a file of cooks from the petty officers' messes held out their jugs. The sergeant of marines poured the ration under direction of the chief steward, who announced the number of drinking men present in each petty officer's mess. The rest of the rum was mixed in a tub with two parts water, becoming the grog provided to the ratings. At noon, the boatswain's mate piped "Muster for Rum", and the cooks from each mess presented with tin buckets. The sergeant of marines ladled out the authorised number of tots (eighth-pints) supervised by the petty officer of the day. The few tots of grog remaining in the tub ("plushers"), if any, were poured into the drains (scuppers), visibly running into the sea. The petty officers were served first, and entitled to take their rum undiluted. The ratings often drank their grog in one long gulp when they finished their watch.
American ships The practice of serving grog twice a day carried over into the Continental Navy and the U.S. Navy. Robert Smith, then Secretary of the Navy, experimented with substituting native rye whiskey for the rum. Finding the American sailors preferred it, he made the change permanent. It is said his sailors followed the practice of their British antecedents and took to calling it "Bob Smith" instead of grog. Unlike their Navy counterparts, American merchant seamen were not encouraged to partake of grog. In his 1848 testimony before a parliamentary committee, Robert Minturn of Grinnell, Minturn & Co "stated that teetotalism not only was encouraged by American ship-owners, but actually earned a bonus from underwriters, who offered a return of ten percent of the insurance premium upon voyages performed without the consumption of spirits. ... The sailors were allowed plenty of hot coffee, night or day, in heavy weather, but grog was unknown on board American merchant ships."
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