How To Make A Navy Grog

Grog is a centuries-old British Naval term for a mix of rum and water. The Navy Grog cocktail, though, is a relatively recent addition to the drinks lexicon. The multi-rum recipe is a Don the Beachcomber original, a canonical tropical classic, and a bonafide kick in the teeth with a stunning garnish.

When Beachcomber started slinging tropical drinks at his California bar in the ‘30s and ‘40s, he faced the hurdle of appealing to his male clientele. As Jeff “Beachbum” Berry writes in his book “Sippin’ Safari,” the “fancifully garnished, brightly colored, aromatic drinks with names like Tahitian Punch or Mystery Gardenia were strictly for the ladies. The only acceptable quaffs for a two-fisted, red-blooded, mid-century American male were a slug of whiskey or a Gin Martini — hold the olive.” It wasn’t until Beachcomber debuted the Zombie that he saw a cocktail click with his male customers. He built on the drink’s success with a number of other potent, menacingly named drinks including the Cobra’s Fang, the Skull and Bones, and the chest-thumping Navy Grog.

The Navy Grog follows the Planter’s Punch sing-song formula: “sweet, sour, strong, and weak.” The strong component of the build is a blend of Puerto Rican, Jamaican, and Demerara rums. Lime and grapefruit juices account for the sour, honey syrup is the sweet element, and both soda water and ice bring the weak. Finally, a lone dash of Angostura bitters makes for the “touch of spice to make it nice” — the last clause of the Planter’s Punch build. But like many of Beachcomber’s recipes, the Navy Grog’s ingredients and proportions stayed a well-kept secret for decades. That meant early adaptations from other major players in the tiki world were variations on the original spec. For instance, bartender Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron’s Navy Grog contained pimento dram, no honey syrup or soda water, and was garnished with a rock candy stick.

Although Beachcomber never documented his recipes, some of his workers did, and many went on to bartend at other tiki bars in the mid-20th century. Through this chain of bartenders, the Navy Grog made it to Steve Crane’s Beverly Hills Luau bar in 1953, and then to Crane’s chain of Kon-Tiki bars the following decade. At Kon-Tiki’s Cleveland location, bartender Bob Esmino wrote down the sacred Navy Grog spec and shared it with author Berry in 2005.

The most unique aspect of the modern Navy Grog is its ice cone garnish. Esmino told Berry that the Kon-Tiki chain used a custom plastic mold to make the cones before service, but unless you’d like to invest in a mold of your own, all you need is a straw, a pilsner glass, and some shaved ice to fashion one at home. Feel free to up the ante with a mint bouquet, a lime wedge, and a mini U.K. flag, as Berry does at his New Orleans bar Latitude 29.