Ahoy me hearties!
I wanted to share a little pyratical history with you and teach you how to make the quintessential drink pyrates throughout history enjoyed! Now you may be thinking to yourself that pyrates drank grog. That's either because you saw it referenced in a movie or some other form of hollywood nonsense, but sadly this is wrong. True pyrates actually hated grog because grog was a drink made specifically for the Kings Royal Navy. Here is the full wiki if you'd like to more about it. The short version is that sailors were forced to drink stagnant water on long voyages, often times this water grew algae and slime. Water of such quality was hard to drink and even made people sick. Sailors started drinking rum and brandy they acquired from Jamaica instead but unfortunately would blow through all their supplies and end up super drunk. The navy didn't like this at all and in order to counter such shenanigans the Royal Navy decreed for it's sailors to instead add water to the rum which both diluted its (drunken) effects and accelerated its spoilage, preventing hoarding of the allowance.
If you want to make Royal Navy Grog all you'll need is:
- 4 parts water
- 1 parts rum
This is grog in it's simplest form however to help fight off scurvy, citrus juice was sometimes added.
Now onto the good part!!!
Pyrates didn't want to associate with the Kings Royal Navy and their watered down rum drink so they invented their own form of grog which they named "Bumbo" (also known as bombo or bumboo) which is a drink made from: rum, water, sugar, and nutmeg. Cinnamon is sometimes substituted for or added to the nutmeg. A related drink is called the Traitor: made with orange juice, rum, honey and nutmeg, mixed and heated.
Bumbo was popular in the Caribbean during the era of pyracy, largely because it tasted better than Royal Navy grog. Pyrates and short-haul merchantmen did not suffer from scurvy as often as British sailors, largely because their voyages were shorter and their diet included plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. This meant that citrus juice could be dropped from the grog recipe, and sugar and nutmeg sweetened the mix.
Bumbo was commonly used during election campaigns in colonial British America, to the extent that treating voters to gifts and other freebies during election campaigns was referred to as "swilling the planters with bumbo." George Washington was particularly noted for using this technique. His papers state that he used 160 gallons of rum to treat 391 voters to bumbo during campaigning for the Virginia House of Burgesses in July 1758.
If you'd like to make bumbo at home and feel like a real pyrate all you need is:
- 2 fl oz (50 ml) of dark rum (not clear/white rum)
- 1 fl oz (30 ml) of water (or use citrus juice for added flavor instead)
- 2 sugar cubes (or 1/2 teaspoon of grenadin)
- Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon to taste nutmeg (You can also sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon to taste cinnamon with or without the nutmeg)
- Mix in a shaker and serve
Additional option is to add ice for a modern touch
Drink up, enjoy and remember, pyrates don't let pyrates drink grog!
Fun fact: It was reported that Edward Teach (Blackbeard) added gun power to his bumbo for an added pepper taste.
