Black Tot Day

The crew of HMS Phoebe, receive the last of their rum rations.

"Most farewell messages try to tear-jerk
the tear from the eye;
but I say to you lot,
very sad about the tot,
And thank you, good luck and goodbye."
-- Admiral of the Fleet,
Sir Michael "Dry Ginger" Le Fanu



This day in 1970 is known as Black Tot Day. On July 31, 1970 the Royal Navy discontinued the long-standing practice of providing daily rum rations for all of her sailors. Today it would be appropriate to drink a toast to all those sailors who now have to do without. To that end, I provide:

Navy Grog.

Navy Grog from Beachbum Berry's "Grog Log."
3/4 oz lime juice
3/4 oz grapefruit juice
3/4 oz honey
1 oz light Puerto Rican rum
1 oz dark Jamaican rum
1 oz Demerara rum
1 oz chilled club soda

Heat honey until liquid, then mix with juices in blender. Stir in rums and soda. Pour into a double old-fashioned galss filled with crushed ice.

Painkiller

I've been waiting a long time, but I finally got my copy of "Beachbum Berry's Grog Log." I ordered it on May 28th from that mega-mega on-line bookstore. It never arrived. I canceled my order because Tiki Objects by Bosko saved the day. Bosko quickly sent out my grog log and a really nice Moai Tiki Mug. There was a slight mistake in shipping, but the good people of TikiBosko resolved the problem before I even knew there was a problem. The customer service was excellent, and the products are top-notch. I can recommend tikibosko.com wholeheartedly.

The "Grog Log" is crucial for anyone interested in Tiki Drinks. If you don't have it yet, or if you need some tiki accessories, check out TikiBosko.

Painkiller
from "Beachbum Berry's Grog Log."

4 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice
1 oz. orange juice
1 oz coco lopez coconut cream
2 oz 95 proof Pusser's rum

Blend without ice and pour into a tall glass or tiki mug filled with crushed ice. Top with a shake of nutmeg and a pinch of cinnamon. Garnish with pineapple stick, orange wheel, and cinnamon stick.

This is a nice variation on the standard pina colada. It's not overly sweet, and the spice adds a nice complex aroma that really works well with the pineapple. An ice-cold Painkiller would make a perfect antidote to a heatwave. Just in case...

Mixology Monday V: Lemon

The Cocktail DB is a great resource for researching cocktails. You can search an exhaustive database on specific ingredients, or find the basic recipes to thousands of cocktails by name. I thought I'd do some research over there lemons as they relate to cocktails.

Lemon

Sorry, your search returned too many matches! (1729) Please refine your search to make it more specific.

Hmmm. More specific. OK.

Lemon Juice

Sorry, your search returned too many matches! (1216) Please refine your search to make it more specific.

Lemon Juice, Gin

Sorry, your search returned too many matches! (508) Please refine your search to make it more specific.

Lemon Juice, Rum

Result! I got 289 cocktail recipes from this query. Cocktails from Agonie to Zombie. The point of this excercise was to reinforce the importance of lemon in cocktails. Lemon juice is a key ingredient in a whole family of cocktails called sours. Makes me want to go out and plant a lemon tree in my yard. (Might as well put a lime tree in while I'm at it.)

Here is the classic sour formula:
2 oz spirit
.5 oz lemon juice
.25 oz simple syrup

The enduring classic "sour" is the whiskey sour:

2 0z bourbon
.5 oz lemon juice
.25 oz simple syrup



The Sidecar.
For this weeks drink, I wanted to go with a classic sour-style drink, the Sidecar.

Here's my recipe:

2 oz fine cognac
.75 oz Cointreau
.5 oz lemon juice

Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Sugared rim optional.

Embury states he knew the sidecar's inventor from his days in Paris, and it was named after this fellow's motorcycle sidecar. He also mentions that it had been simplified from the original "six or seven" ingredients (interestingly, none mentioned). I think the simplicity is what makes the sidecar work. The lemon and sugar are a perfect counterpoint to the cognac's complexity. Adjust the recipe to balance the type of cognac you use and your preferences. Once you nail this one down, head over to the cocktaildb and start on the 1729 other lemon cocktails. Or you could point your browser at Mixology Monday V: Lemon.

Mixology Monday Reminder

Don't forget about Mixology Monday this week! Hosted at jiggle the handle, the subject is Lemon.