Post #29510 by ikitnrev on Sun, Apr 6, 2003 10:55 PM

I came across an interesting piece of history - there is a direct link between Navy Grog and the founding of the United States.

In the 1700's there was a British officer named Admiral Vernon, who wore a coat made of a rough fabric called 'grogram' - and this led to his nickname 'Old Grog'

Admiral Vernon ordered that the daily rations of rum served on his ships be watered down, and the resulting ration was often mixed with lime and sugar, and the sailors named the resulting drink 'grog.'

A man named Lawrence Washington served under Admiral Vernon, and was impressed enough with him that he changed the name of his estate from 'Hunting Creek' to 'Mount Vernon.' Lawrence died in 1752, and the estate transferred to his half-brother -- George Washington, who was soon busy being our first president

The full story can be found here .....
http://www.ncte.org/notesplus/lore/father.shtml

And then nearly 200 years later, President Richard Nixon would often slip into the nearby D.C. Trader Vics to enjoy a drink of Navy Grog. One of the bartenders who was working at this location then was David Chan, who still makes and serves Navy Grogs at his restaurant, The Honolulu - which is located about halfway between the original D.C. Trader Vics location and Mount Vernon.

Vern