Post #752243 by uncle trav on Thu, Oct 8, 2015 7:32 AM

More on the coffee grog mug. Why? I'm really bored. The first mention of the Trader Vic's Coffee Grog mug that I can find is the famous pointed chin skull mug. This mug was was patented by Vic in 1939. By this time his first bar in Oakland California had morphed into the now familiar Trader Vic's.

This mug was patented only as a drinking vessel and not attributed to the specific drink. The next mention was in what I believe was an article in Time magazine dated to around 1944. The skull mug is now used to serve the Hot Buttered Rum. This version of the mug sports the darker glaze.

The next mention is a recipe in Trader Vic's Book of Food and Drink from 1946.

Now we move forward to 1947 and Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide. Recipes for both the Coffee Grog and Hot Buttered rum are listed as well as a notation to see the proper mug in which to serve the drink. The pointed skull mug is shown in the same guide from 1947.

Another jump forward in time to 1963 and we find the black glazed mug commonly called the short headdress mug. These mugs are dated on the bottom 1963. Fairly common and often lacking in quality and definition. This mug was purportedly made by Red Wing Pottery.

Now to a Trader Vic's menu dated 1965. Both the Hot Buttered Rum and Coffee Grog drinks now have their own mugs. Here's where it gets a bit murky. The menu graphic shows what appears to be what has come to be known as the tall headdress mug. This mug is shorter and smaller in size from the 1963 dated mug and sports a lighter glaze and has much sharper details. This mug is marked as being made in Japan. The mug is now called the Headhunter's mug.

Finally to the 1972 revised edition of Trader Vic's Bartender's guide. Both drinks again have separate mugs. The Hot Buttered Rum mug is now the cheaper round chin mug. Most likely the heavier more detailed stocks of the original skull mugs where liberated, lost or broken so it was replaced with the cheaper version. Again the 1963 Headhunter mug is shone. What does this all add up too? Not a damn thing. My only question is where and when does the smaller tall headdress mug fit in the time line. I've got way to much time on my hands at the moment :D

Here is a lineup of all the mugs talked about.

"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2015-10-08 07:39 ]