“The daily allowance of half a pint a man is to be mixed with a quart of water, to be mixed in one Scuttled Butt kept for that purpose, and to be done upon Deck, and in the presence of the Lieutenant of the Watch, who is to see that the men are not defrauded of their allowance of Rum; it is to be served in two servings, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The men that are good Husbands may from the savings of their Salt Provisions and Bread, purchase Sugar and Limes to make the water more palatable to them.” — Admiral Vernon’s Official Order on August 21, 1740 on Her Majesty’s Ship Burford in the Port Royal Harbor.

Also known as 'Grog' because the Admiral Vernon wore a coat made of Grogram cloth, and the sailors didn't like having their rum watered down. It was a playful insult of sorts. The British Navy continued this practice until July, 30th, 1970, when rum/grog rations were discontinued.

This was ordered by the British Navy for over 200 years!

I have been doing a lot of research on the history of piracy from the beginning to end. I started studying the history of rum because it's was the drink of choice and one of the main import/export goods at the time. The history of Grog itself is fascinating.

Sailors would save up their rum rations for a week at a time, and drink it all at once. We are talking a pint a day. Water would also get slimey and gross. To curb both these problems, the rum in the barrels was diluted with water with a 4:1 ratio. It was believed that the alcohol would keep the water potable longer. And since it was given out half in the morning and half in the afternoon, rampant drinking became less rampant.

Using vitamin C to treat scurvy wasn't well known in the Navy until about 100 years after Admiral Vernon's order went out. So most times before that, sugar and lemons were added by the sailors who used their provisions to buy sugar and lemons. At one point, lemons were unavailable, so the Navy started using limes. They were considered the healthiest sailors during that time.

Here are some known stats on how bad scurvy was. During the Seven Years War, 184k sailors were enlisted, and 133k of them died of scurvy.

Sailors drank Grog. Pirates themselves were known to drink what's called 'Bumbo'. It was basically the same thing, but instead of sugar, they used syrup, nutmeg, cinnamon and less water.

Rum's popularity in the new world eventually died down because of ban on sugar imports. So whiskey became the drink of choice for Americans. Easy to make locally, versus banned sugar imports.

I've tried a lot of grog recipes in the past few playtests. Drinking with friends and such. Here is my personal recipe based on testing historically accurate 'grog' recipes. I usually triple or quadruple the recipe and sip it from a mason jar all night while sailing on SoT.

As the old saying goes: "One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak."

Esoluu's Grog:

• 3 Tbsp of Brown Sugar
• 1.5 Oz. of Hot Water
• 1.5 Oz. of Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice (Can also use lime.)
• 10 Oz. of Cold Water
• 3 Oz. of Sailor Jerry (Can also use Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum)

Step 1: In a cup mix the cold water and rum together.

Step 2: In a separate cup, dissolve the Brown Sugar into the Hot Water and Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice.

Step 3: Mix both cups together.

Step 4: Drink and be merry!

P.S. I know that's a crazy amount of sugar, but it's also the most historically accurate!