Looking for real rum recipes of the Pirates !

[Capt.mino]

Dear Amigos y viejos lobos de mar,

I am working in developing a Flavored rum project. Apart of the classical flavored rums i am looking to develope a real Pirate grog, bring alive again the real rumbullion....

So for this purposes i need the help of anyone who have the historic information of the different ways of rum flavoring of the pirates, privateers, corsairs, etc..

You can find info in the Book of Exquemelin, where the pirates flavored their rum barrels with spices like ginger, nutmegs, cloves, lemon, etc...

There are also the folks recipes of the artisans in each caribbean island, but i am goin more deep, becouse i know that in this forum there are very well readed personalities on the pirate topic and maybe someone, who knows !..can give a new recipe that only appears in a out of print /old / Historic pyracy book of their private library.

Gracias por su ayuda, sea cual fuere.

Sincerely,

Belarmino Rodriguez

Santo Domingo, La Hispaniola.

[Silent]

1 shot rum

1 teaspoon sugar (preferably superfine)

Squeeze of lime juice

Cinnamon stick

Boiling water

Stir all ingredients, adding enough boiling water to fill mug or glass.

(side note: Blackbeard was known for putting black powder in his grog)

[The Doctor]

One part key lime juice

Two parts raw sugar

Three parts dark rum

Serve over ice. And make sure you don't have far to fall once this concotion hits.

[historyfanatic]

Ok, You want historical, right?

Rum is usually watered down for the men. This is A: to make it last longer on a long voyage, B: to keep the men from getting too happy with their gill measure, and C: to make the stagnant water taste better...

In the case of "grog" or the daily ration, you would be looking at about:

1 part Rum

1 part water

dash of citrus such as lime or lemon to prevent scurvy

Life sucks in the British Navy. Some small crafts such as privateersmen may have gotten a better offering.

Now the best would be what is provided for the officers and captain. They were allowed to take their measure "neat" which means in a glass and uncut instead of splashed in a pot or mug and gruesomely violated with water. Some captains have been known to make "additions" to their measure such as gunpowder, sugar, citrus, etc, but it is rare. The most common thing besides water to be added is citrus due to the health issue. Sugar was too valuable to add to the crew's rum ration.

[MadMike]

"Grog" is not a GAoP term, it came into use in the 1740's. The 1707 Royal Navy ration included a gallon of beer a day per man.

Reading through first hand accounts, pirates drank whatever "spirits" they could get their hands on- rum, wine, beer, etc.

"Punch" was also another favorite. According to Wikipedia-

"Originally, the word punch was a loanword from Hindi. The original drink was made from five different ingredients, namely arrack, sugar, lemon, water, and tea. Because of this it was named panch which is the Hindi for five. This name was adopted by the sailors of the British East India Company and brought back to England, from where it was introduced into other European countries."

Yours, Mike

[Jack Roberts]

Now correct me if I’m wrong, but I was under the impression that the rum and other spirits was a lot stronger back then. Now days they usually cut the spirit with water in order to give the alcohol consistency. Now I have read (somewhere) that a single ration was equivalent to 2 bottles of our modern day rum. Seems a bit high to me but I could see at least the spirits of old being a lot stronger than what we get today. Anyone please fell free to correct me. I'm open for slaughtering.

[Red Sea Trade]

Not particularly a "pirate" beverage, but this is a delicious 18th century beverage, well suited to tropical climes:

Fish House Punch

1 Part Rum

1 Part Brandy (Peach Brandy is period correct and delicious, but any type will do)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 Part pineapple juice

Sugar to taste

Shake well and serve over ice.

Recline, enjoy and repeat as necessary...

[historyfanatic]

Now correct me if I’m wrong, but I was under the impression that the rum and other spirits was a lot stronger back then. Now days they usually cut the spirit with water in order to give the alcohol consistency. Now I have read (somewhere) that a single ration was equivalent to 2 bottles of our modern day rum. Seems a bit high to me but I could see at least the spirits of old being a lot stronger than what we get today. Anyone please fell free to correct me. I'm open for slaughtering.

Ok, I'm not going to slaughter you, but I am going to question the 2-bottle theory... Let me appeal to your common sense... Do you know any one person who can down 2 bottles of rum (let's say a fifth each) and then perform such delicate tasks as standing on a swaying line 90 feet in the air while pulling in a 500 pound canvas sail? Doesn't seem plausible at all...

Secondly, alcohol cannot be more than 200 proof. (That's 100%) A good bottle of rum should be about 90 proof, therefore the best you can expect for strong rum is maybe 150-160 proof at which point it begins to taste like crappy moonshine (much like Bacardi 151). Now, I will agree with you that rum was less consistent in the 18th century, but it was more likely to be occasionally weaker or stronger than to be significantly stronger across the board.

The process for making rum involves taking raw sugar and adding water and yeast. After primary fermentation, you have a nasty sort of sugar wine with a reasonably high alcohol content. It is then distilled to produce a higher proof beverage. This involves taking water out of the mixture without losing the alcohol due to evaporation. The end product is then adjusted to make it as uniform as possible. This means adding water or rum (or distilling further) accordingly to make the content what it should be. All wines, whiskeys, and rums are aged. This makes the flavor smoother. Over time the level of booze in the barrel decreases due to factors such as evaporation, barrel wastage (the oak keg soaking up the liquid), and further fermentation processes. The makers then top off the barrels with water to maintain a certain level of liquid in the barrel.

Historically, this rum would have been transported in ships and occasionally the water from the bilge could seep into the kegs and mingle with the rum. (This happened with wine too. In fact, there is an interesting story involving the birth of the 18th century favorite Madiera) Sometimes this would water down the booze. (and make it taste really funky...) Also, captains would order the rum watered to certain points 1: to keep the men from getting drunk, and 2: to make it last longer.

If you are a pirate captain and you want a drink that pirate captains would have enjoyed, (brace yourself) try wine! Wine was the "common drink" among the officers of nearly every 18th century navy. Popular 18th century wines that are still available today include: Madiera, Port, and Marsala. Port and Tawney Port were commonly available at every tavern and pub anywhere. Madiera was a more refined drink for the upper class. Marsala is a very fine dessert wine and was usually shared under the same social circumstances as Brandy and Sherry. Peaches, cherries, and pears are popular 18th century flavorings for brandy and sherry. Liquers such as schnapps were also popular. They were made using fruit juice and sugar made into a syrup and then added to a favorite base like Rum, or Brandy. These were called cordials and were served in a glass just slightly larger than a modern cordial class.

So, as pirates, I'd say there's a lot of options. As a sailor of any country's navy, is watered rum!

Sorry for the long post... I get carried away sometimes...

[Jack Roberts]

I agree thought that "2 Bottles" was a bit much when I read it. So didn't feel that it was acurate. I really wasn't sure how strong the spirits of old would have been.

[Capt.mino]

One part key lime juice

Two parts raw sugar

Three parts dark rum

Serve over ice. And make sure you don't have far to fall once this concotion hits.

Gracias!!!

Excellent recipe!!

BR

[Capt.mino]

One part key lime juice

Two parts raw sugar

Three parts dark rum

Serve over ice. And make sure you don't have far to fall once this concotion hits.

Thank you !!!

BR