best rums for the perfect navy grog

Need a light gold and dark

Light I generally use cruzan

Gold was thinking appleton v/x or could use cruzan dark which is goldish

Dark appleton extra

Will the balance be right - I hear a lot of people say meyers is good for mixing...not something I would normally get but I do love my navy grog

Trader vic navy grog not bum grog

Fire comments away

I think you're missing a rum there, dapuma1:

Demerara

TV recipe iirc is light, gold, and demerara rums; DtB is light, dark, demerara...

my preference is to omit light/gold entirely, and go with 1.5 oz dark (esp. Gosling's) and 1.5 oz demerara (El Dorado any i can get my hands on)

He's right - Demerara should be included. And I like to include an ounce of Pussers just because I think a Navy Grog should have Navy Rum.

Rum components for a Navy Grog:

A good quality light PR rum. I like Brugal, or Cruzan. Use a PR Gold rum if you want, Brugal Gold, Matuselem Gold, Bacardi 8 or Cruzan could all work here. Don't use a heavy Jamaican gold such as Appleton Special or V/X, as those rums are bigger and will through the drink out of balance.

A dark Jamaican. Preferably Coruba, though Myer's can work well too. Appleton (X/V, Reserve or 12 Year) aren't 'dark' per se, they're more 'amber' rums.

A Demerara is absolutely essential, maybe the most essential rum component of the Navy Grog.

[ Edited by: CincyTikiCraig 2012-04-02 21:20 ]

On 2012-04-02 16:45, arriano wrote:
He's right - Demerara should be included. And I like to include an ounce of Pussers just because I think a Navy Grog should have Navy Rum.

Pusser's is a good call, it contains aged Demerara in it's blend. It's the only Demerara-ish rum available in some areas.

On 2012-04-02 21:21, CincyTikiCraig wrote:
Pusser's is a good call, it contains aged Demerara in it's blend. It's the only Demerara-ish rum available in some areas.

It is also, according to Pusser's (link to the Pusser's history page), the original rum used in grog. The original grog was a kind of rum swill named after its inventor, Admiral Edward "Old Grog" Vernon. Old Grog, in turn, got his moniker from the grogram coat he was always seen wearing. He was not a popular guy among the sailors, especially, for not allowing them to drink straight rum on the ship anymore. Instead, they were only allowed to drink a very watered down rum cocktail with sugar and lime. Sailors called it "grog" disparagingly after the admiral.

But the rum itself was excellent, and still is. Pusser's is not my favorite rum, but because it was in the original grog concoction I prefer it to be the only rum in a Navy Grog. Haven't had one in at least two years. Maybe it's about time.

On 2012-04-03 10:50, The Gnomon wrote:
I prefer it to be the only rum in a Navy Grog. Haven't had one in at least two years. Maybe it's about time.

Aye!

[ Edited by: thePorpoise 2012-04-03 11:57 ]

Hey, let me toss my 2 pennies.

I double up on the Appleton VX rather than using the hard to find Demerara. I may also put a 1/2 ounce of Myers in with 1/2 oz of Appleton just for a little more flavor.

Ok i have a lot of rum and I don't mind buying more heh that is my fav drink and the trader vics by me closed down

I don't have prussers but its always a reason to get some

I do have some lemon hart 80 and lemon hart 151 so I can use either (both old label)

I don't have any coruba but I think I can get some fairly easily

So assume I have lemon hart and st elizabeth allspcie dram going to track down some fresh white grapefruits (hard they usually just have pink around here) limes and then what are my other two rums?

Cruzan and coruba ? If coruba which one - I also believe prussers makes a couple types of rum I am isn't there a different colored cap

Pussers 95.5proof:

Coruba Dark:

This is the new label:

Here's the old label which may still be on some shelves:

As with the Mai-Tai playing around with different combinations of rum in a Navy Grog is half the fun. Some choices work better with simple syrup vs. honey mix depending on which recipe you are using.

By default I tend to use Cruzan Light, Lemon Hart or El Dorado 5, and then Coruba or Captain Morgan Black.

It can also be fun to double up the demerara and use El Dorado 3 for the light rum.

its
1oz light - cruzan
1oz gold - LH 80 proof
1oz dark - Coruba or El Dorado
half the juice of one lime
3/4 oz grapefruit juice
1/4 oz simple syrup or honey mix
1/4oz st elizabeth allspice dram

honey mix or simple syrup i guess is the question then...any advice

i dont have el dorado 5 either but i have been meaning to try el dorado as well as coruba

so i can go either way - same this with the honey syrup and or simple syrup

i guess from people more experienced will the coruba / el dorado go better with honey syrup v simple syrup

thanks
Dapuma

[ Edited by: Dapuma1 2012-04-03 20:55 ]

Not quite.. El Dorado & Lemon Hart are both Demeraras.

You can't go wrong w/ Cruzan light, LH80, Coruba, lime & honey IMHO.

There's also 3/4oz soda h20 in this drink..

My favorite Navy Grog (the one that I am drinking at this very moment) is an amalgamation of Trader Vic's & Don The Beachcomber's recipes:

.75oz Lime Juice
.75oz White Grapefruit Juice
1oz PR/VI White Rum (Brugal, Cruzan)
1oz Jamaican Dark (Coruba, Myer's)
1oz Demerara Rum (ElDo12, LH80)
1oz Honey Syrup
1/4oz Allspice Dram (St Elizabeth, Bitter Truth, Berry Hill)

Since Pusser's is a blend of five West Indian rums, primarily Jamaican & Demerara rums, it might make an interesting and tasty single rum Navy Grog. Those of you with Pusser's in your bar-how about some first hand reports from the field??!

I make my Navy Grog with Havana Club añejo blanco, Appleton extra, and El Dorado 12 y.o. Those three make such a perfect flavor profile that I don't even bother experimenting with this drink anymore. It can't get any better.

Thanks so much everyone for your assistance with narrowing down the ingredients for the navy grog

I generally like honey mix in my drinks so i believe i will go that route and go with Coruba over the Meyers

Will report back at the start of May with how the drink went over at the party - April is for hitting the gym hard and getting in pool shape :)

Oh one other questions specifically for this drink

I only have 1/4 of a bottle of LH 80 left - am I better off buying another 151 and adding the 22.6oz of water to it or just getting the ED 12 year (not going to even mess with the 5 year the $$ difference isn't that much to me

On 2012-04-05 22:16, Dapuma1 wrote:
Oh one other questions specifically for this drink

I only have 1/4 of a bottle of LH 80 left - am I better off buying another 151 and adding the 22.6oz of water to it or just getting the ED 12 year (not going to even mess with the 5 year the $$ difference isn't that much to me

To me, it depends on which of these rums you have access to and how much they cost. The lucky bums living in Florida are paying $19.99 for ElDo12, where I was mail ordering ElDo5 and paying $25+ with shipping (ElDo isn't sold in my neck of the woods). Once LH151 returned to the market I can buy it locally for $25, and by diluting it down to 80 proof the net bottle cost for 750ml of 80 proof LH comes out to something like $13.25.

Then there's the issue of flavor. To me (and YMMV of course), the "diluted" LH beats the ElDo12 in terms of flavor; there's simply more flavor, more spice, more smokiness, etc in the "diluted" LH80. One caveat is that you need to follow the suggestions that Ed Hamilton outlined about the right way to add water to the LH151 to end up with a good end product:

http://www.ministryofrum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5778

Where do you get fresh White Grapefruit?

Nearly every store here in Southern California only sells pink grapefruit.

For that matter, where do you get 'fresh' white grapefruit juice in SMALL cans? I'm forever tossing out three-quarters-full 64oz bottles of the stuff! Even I, a certified f---in' boozer (FB for short), certified by Aloha Current, can't drink enough navy grogs to finish a bottle in a timely manner . . . think I'll have a drink now :)

[ Edited by: The Blue Kahuna 2012-04-06 19:08 ]

On 2012-04-06 18:38, TikiSan wrote:
Where do you get fresh White Grapefruit?

Nearly every store here in Southern California only sells pink grapefruit.

That's a tough one. Here in the Midwest, white grapefruit has been plentiful of late, and it's some of the biggest, juiciest grapefruit that I've seen in years. I understand that it's hard to come by in parts of the country however. You could buy bottled white grapefruit juice (such as Ocean Spray), but you really lose something when you don't use fresh juice. I've mixed bottle white grapefruit juice with some fresh squeezed pink or red juice at times when I haven't been able to find any white grapefruit with moderate success. If you have a specialty store that sell exotic fruit on your area you might look there. Good luck.

On 2012-04-06 19:07, The Blue Kahuna wrote:
where do you get 'fresh' white grapefruit juice in SMALL cans?

FWIW, if it is sold in a can or bottle it is usually a year old before it makes it into the can/bottle. At least that is how it works with orange juice. OJ is flavorless for its year long billion gallon vat storage. Just prior to "bottling" they add the "North American" flavor packets. :)

You can go to Smart and Final and get 6oz cans of white grapefruit juice.

I am in AZ and i very rarely find white grapefruits only pink (which is very aggravating) when i was in the midwest there were white only for the most part

figured i would special order them if needed - last time i used the white ocean spray - which worked fine but isn't really what i wanted to use

friend has a white grapefruit tree but not sure if they will be in season when i need them

i cannot get LH locally nor and i can get Dorado 12y locally sometimes (it is out around me now) so i have to make a mail order regardless

the 12y on the mail order seems like it is going to be around 25 - the shipping is kind of irrelevent because i have to get some pisco and bonded applejack so not a big deal there

it is hard to find someone who carries Coruba Rum / laird's bonded 100 proof / LH 151 or ED 12y / and Pisco Campo de Encanto / and marie brizzard creme de cacao

i believe that combo is impossible due to distribution but i am scouring the net heh

try your local Asian groceries- they may have fresh fruits and canned/bottled juices not available at the chain groceries...

I've actually used mango juice with a splash of lemon before as a sub for the grapefruit and it was very suitable for navy grog. i've also subbed guava for grapefruit- again, a great navy grog.

[ Edited by: thePorpoise 2012-04-07 11:18 ]

. . . and my favorite Navy Grog is always the one that happens to be in my hand at the moment . . .

Okay, I'm having the hybrid Navy Grog above, with Orange Clover Honey Mix, and a 1/4 oz of STE Dram, Myers, LH151 & Cruzan White . . . very tasty, had to let the ice melt a bit though, that STEDram is a potent potable! Wish I had some Coruba, I'd like to compare betwixt Myers.

I have a hard time believing you guys can't find fresh white grapefruits, and you live in America! I live in Finland, which is a cold country in the middle of nowhere, and only the smallest grocery stores are lacking in their fruits. Other than that, almost every modest sized store has them. The biggest ones have all kinds of cool stuff, everything from guava to lychee. Never has there been a moment when I couldn't find a simple grapefruit. Odd. Maybe it's because the EU is forcing european countries to buy stuff from overseas.

On 2012-04-07 13:50, The Blue Kahuna wrote:
Okay, I'm having the hybrid Navy Grog above, with Orange Clover Honey Mix, and a 1/4 oz of STE Dram, Myers, LH151 & Cruzan White . . . very tasty, had to let the ice melt a bit though, that STEDram is a potent potable!

heh. not to mention LH 151...

actually, some of us make that hybrid recipe above with an oz of soda water also (per DtB formula)...

[ Edited by: thePorpoise 2012-04-07 14:44 ]

i have been looking online and it appears white grapefruit season is over

Does anyone see where i can order any in bulk

i found a place to order some meyer lemons (which are great for making drinks and also baking / cooking with) if anyone needs to find them if they are not local

On 2012-04-07 21:58, Dapuma1 wrote:
i have been looking online and it appears white grapefruit season is over

Does anyone see where i can order any in bulk

i found a place to order some meyer lemons (which are great for making drinks and also baking / cooking with) if anyone needs to find them if they are not local

I can't vouch for them, but I found this online retailer from Florida:

http://www.halegroves.com/Fresh-White-Grapefruit-indian-river-grapefruit-226.cfm

On 2012-04-08 00:23, CincyTikiCraig wrote:

On 2012-04-07 21:58, Dapuma1 wrote:
i have been looking online and it appears white grapefruit season is over

Does anyone see where i can order any in bulk

i found a place to order some meyer lemons (which are great for making drinks and also baking / cooking with) if anyone needs to find them if they are not local

I can't vouch for them, but I found this online retailer from Florida:

http://www.halegroves.com/Fresh-White-Grapefruit-indian-river-grapefruit-226.cfm

they are out of season they stop shipping the white ones on april 2nd, i found a few vendors but none shipping now

it appears texas arizona and cali produce the spring summer for the country but i dont see any place to order from them online, only flordia...perhaps they haven't ramped up their advertising until the end of the month

On 2012-04-06 19:07, The Blue Kahuna wrote:
For that matter, where do you get 'fresh' white grapefruit juice in SMALL cans?

Don't know where you live, but here in So Cal you can get small cans of white grapefruit juice at Smart & Final

On 2012-04-06 18:38, TikiSan wrote:
Where do you get fresh White Grapefruit?

Nearly every store here in Southern California only sells pink grapefruit.

I find it my local Ralphs. Have you tried there?

On 2012-04-03 18:41, Hakalugi wrote:
This is the new label:

All I have on hand is the old label. Is it just me or does the new label make it look like bottom shelf rum? Maybe it is now. The previous label was questionable. This one is pathetic.

On 2012-04-08 15:55, GatorRob wrote:

On 2012-04-03 18:41, Hakalugi wrote:
This is the new label:

All I have on hand is the old label. Is it just me or does the new label make it look like bottom shelf rum? Maybe it is now. The previous label was questionable. This one is pathetic.

Over at the Ministry of Rum, Ed Hamilton said that Wray & Nephew (Appleton) not only changed Coruba's label, but they changed the formula as well. He says that Appleton wanted a more flavorful product:

http://www.ministryofrum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5590&highlight=coruba

[ Edited by: CincyTikiCraig 2012-04-08 17:15 ]

I live in the Central Valley, Northern California . . . we've a Smart & Final here so I'll check, thanks!

here's what i used as the rums in my first post-Lent navy grog:

1 oz Cruzan light; 1 oz Yamazaki single malt; 1 oz Pierre Ferrand ambre; 1.5 teaspoons Macallan 12 year old; and a smidge of Hershey's syrup....

Egads :o

On 2012-04-10 21:51, The Blue Kahuna wrote:
Egads :o

EGADS INDEED!!

was out of rum except for the light Cruzan. the substitutes worked out surprisingly well.

On 2012-04-03 22:44, CincyTikiCraig wrote:
My favorite Navy Grog (the one that I am drinking at this very moment) is an amalgamation of Trader Vic's & Don The Beachcomber's recipes:

.75oz Lime Juice
.75oz White Grapefruit Juice
1oz PR/VI White Rum (Brugal, Cruzan)
1oz Jamaican Dark (Coruba, Myer's)
1oz Demerara Rum (ElDo12, LH80)
1oz Honey Syrup
1/4oz Allspice Dram (St Elizabeth, Bitter Truth, Berry Hill)

Since Pusser's is a blend of five West Indian rums, primarily Jamaican & Demerara rums, it might make an interesting and tasty single rum Navy Grog. Those of you with Pusser's in your bar-how about some first hand reports from the field??!

made this one it was very good, also tried adding 1 oz of club soda to it, didnt care for that
cruzan white coruba and lh 80 - which was my last drop of lh80 - but i have ed12 so that will have to work

Might try it a bit less sweet with .75 oz of honey syrup next time

They taste very similar to Trader Vics

We've confirmed that The Mai-Kai's version, called Yeoman's Grog, now contains both Lemon Hart and a rare dark Jamaican rum called Kohala Bay (formerly known as Wray & Nephew's 'Dagger'). Our guess on the third rum is a light Puerto Rican or Virgin Islands rum.

Check out the review and recipe here:
http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2011/12/12/mai-kai-cocktail-review-even-landlubbers-can-appreciate-a-strong-ration-of-yeomans-grog/

At home, I double up on the "nautical" rums and use Pusser's, Sailor Jerry's, and Coruba (naturally). Adding the Sailor Jerry amplifies the spice flavors of the drink, which I especially enjoy.