"Question on Royal Navy Grog" Topic

So i am curious – was the daily tot simply rum and water, or was lime juice added when the grog was mixed on deck (or was lime juice only occasionally added or added by the individual sailors)?

Any help appreciated!

James

I've only ever read that it was watered rum. I don't doubt there were local variations…

Before it became mandatory to dilute the rum before issue it was sometimes mixed with lime or other citrus juice to make sure the men got their anti-scurvy dose. It wasn't a universally popular cocktail by some accounts.

Captains denied their crew their grog at their peril, it was even considered by some a sufficient excuse for mutiny.

I remember reading just how much a sailor could legally drink on a daily basis between grog and beer. I can't remember now how much it was but I know even as an ex alcoholic I was totally stunned :)

As an aside, my Dad used to tell me of his 21st birthday on board HMS Gazelle (a minesweeper). He was a radio op.
On peoples birthdays the rest of the mess would give the lucky man 'sips' of everyone else's rum ration. Naturally, my dad was rather happy after this!
On parade that morning, the Chief Petty officer was less than happy about my dad swaying and burbling, and told him sharply 'One more peep out of you Bradley, and you are for the brig!'
My Dad replied 'Peep!' as the CPO walked away, so he spent the rest of the day sobering up in the brig!

Happy days!

half pint of at least 57. rum (undiluted..)

On occasion rum was not available in some locations. Sailors in the Med often had to make do with copious amounts of Madeira.

I have taken part in a ceremonial rum ration on a Navy Mess night. We didn't get the full amount but it was enough to start the evening with a warm glow.

Practices like Sippers & Gulpers had to be watched carefully as there were a few fatalities due to excess intake and I've seen a leading hand bouncing down a corridor like a pinball.

One of the reasons for adding water was to prevent sailors storing undiluted rum for a binge later. Bottling your tot was a serious offence.

I've read somewhere that during the Napoleonic era an RN sailor's daily ration of liquid (bearing in mind fresh water wasn't stored for long on a ship) was:

-a quart of rum and a gallon of beer

The beer wouldn't be very strong at all (something like a real ale 'session' beer, or weaker.)

The context of course is that up to the 19th century very few people drank water – those who did, and lived in urban areas, soon died!

'Small beer' was the average persons normal intake of non-disease ridden fluid, and was not seen as 'drinking' at all…

I've had the pleasure, in 23 years Royal Navy service, 17 of them 'before the mast', (Officers don't get a rum ration) of having 'spliced the mainbrace' three times. On each occasion the rum was served undiluted, but a can of Coke or Seven Up was also handed over at the same time. Make of that what you will. The other option, instead of the rum, was a pint of milk. (This latter was the only choice for the junior seamen!)

My understanding in the Canadian Navy was that it was 1.5 oz of very thick, almost molasses consistency rum. You could mix it as you saw fit. Some would split it and save some for later in the day.

Thank you all… Anyone else with input chime in :-)

Somewhere i thought i had read RN grog was 1 part rum – 2-4 parts water – and lime juice or sugar in some cases (to hide the taste of bad water?)

I think the wine severed in the Med was called "Black Jack" or "Black Stripe"
I maybe wrong.
Be safe
Rory

The original grog is said to have been named for Vice Admiral Edward Vernon RN, known as "Old Grogham" because his favorite coat was made of that material, who first introduced a mixture of water, rum, and lime juice to the crew of his flagship in 1740 while on duty in the West Indies. Watered rum had been issued by individual captains in the past but a standard recipe and the addition of lime juice were innovation. The captains in the squadron adopted the drink as well because a. giving sailors straight rum, as was still customary in much of the fleet at the time, was at best a really stupid idea and b. the health of the flagship crew improved, although it wasn't realized at the time that the lime juice was responsible.

The original recipe was along the lines of 4 parts water, 1 part rum, 1/2 part lime or lemon juice, and a pinch of cinnamon if available. The amount of rum involved was 1/4 pint per man twice a day (reduced to 1/8 pint in 1850). Oddly enough, while the rum and juice could kill the taste of water that had grown green and slimy in the cask, the algae and slime caused the rum to spoil fairly quickly and thus discouraged the sailors from hoarding their grog rations.

Royal Navy grog remained a mixture of rum, water, lemon juice, and cinnamon until July 31, 1970 (Black Tot Friday) when the grog issue was finally discontinued.

LT

LT,

Very helpful! So when a sailor went on deck and received his ration it already had a citrus additive?

And that was the case until 1970?

James

Well, the grog was actually mixed on deck after the crew had been mustered but, yes, the lime/lemon juice was put in at that time.

I don't know precisely how the issuing of grog was done in the 20th century but as far as I know everything was mixed before it was issued to the crew. FWIW, the grog ration was replaced by two bottles or cans of beer daily; the reason for this was concern on the part of members of Parliament that the navy was serving out 96-proof booze (even watered down) twice a day to crewmen whose jobs increasingly required the use of complicated and dangerous equipment.

LT

3 Cans per man per day perhaps…

Senior Rates however were entitled to as much draught beer as was consistent with performing their duties. Of course when I got my second hook this coincided with the breweries announcing that producing naval size kegs was uneconomical….

BTW the RNZN somehow managed to get the beer issue AND keep the rum ration long past all the other Commonwealth Navies!