Grog and Shandy

Grog, brandy, beer, RUM!, wine (Madeira!), cider, and shandy…these be pyrate drinks, arrrr! Drinks that make pyrates very happy and (be warned) on occasion, can also invoke somewhat dangerous and short-tempered pyrates.

GROG

For years, I thought that “grog” was a generic name for any swill drink, pyrate or not. Turns out, grog is its own pyrate beverage with specific ingredients. It’s simple to concoct: Rum, water, sugar or honey, some lime or lemon juice and maybe a dash of nutmeg, (if you have that on your ship). It was a popular drink in the 18^th century for all seamen, (not just pyrates), and was a tasty prevention for scurvy, (thanks to the vitamin C from the fruit juice).

Grog was originally a strategy to keep sailors from getting falling down drunk on their daily ration of rum; simply put, watered down rum kept the boys working, effectively, for longer. The sailors weren’t necessarily happy about the grog, but some rum is better than no rum. AND, bonus!, the sailors discovered that the rum supply lasted longer!  How did THAT happen?

Lucky for modern pyrates we don’t have to bother making grog ourselves, (unless you just want that experience). Pirate’s Grog is a label name for a brand of aged rum that can be pillaged…err…purchased at your local adult beverage vendor.  However, here’s a homemade recipe if you do want to try this at home:

1 oz lime juice (you can use lemon if that’s more to your taste)

1 oz brown sugar

1 oz dark rum

4 oz water

Pyrate drinking vessel

1. Add sugar to shaker, add a lil warm water (1 oz).
2. Add lime juice
3. Add rum, 3 oz chilled water, ice
4. Serve
5. Talk like a pyrate

(Source for recipe: https://www.thedrinkblog.com/grog/)

SHANDY

Not to be confushed with “SHANTY”, a not too distant cousin of grog is a drink called shandy. You probably know it as “hard” lemonade, but it’s not your grandma’s “hard” lemonade. Proper shandy is beer or cider mixed with some lemon or lemon-lime juice; the recipe calls for about half beer or cider and half citrus juice. The origin of the name, “Shandy”, is unconfirmed, but my bet is that a pyrate invented it on a hot day while sailing in the Caribbean: Strolling on deck, the hot sun on tanned skin, and dreaming of a swig of rum.  However, no rum was left from the previous night’s pyrate rave! Below deck, some barrels of cider and beer are discovered, though! Hooray! Wishing for a grog but accepting what’s there, our inventive pyrate makes the first shandy, while exclaiming, “Shhhhhhhhannndy that’s tasty!”

(I totally made that up, FYI.)

Like grog, shandy, (already mixed), can be purchased by pyrates today in many, many varieties. Many. So many. You’ll have to experiment and discover your favorite. But, if you want to make it in your own pyrate hideout, here’s a simple one:

Easy Shandy Recipe:

½ of a 12 oz beer or cider

6 oz lemonade

Lemon slice garnish

1. Pour beer or cider into appropriate pyrate drinking cup
2. Add lemonade
3. Garnish with lemon
4. Serve
5. Talk like a pyrate

(Source What Did Pirates Drink? – Give Me History)