Nice work on the definition of “grog” (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mgrog.html , the only area where you fell down was in taking the work “rum” literally. The word today implies a spirit distilled from cane sugar but that was not the case in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Here in Australia every school child is taught of the “Rum Rebellion” of 1808 wherein the Governor, William Bligh (yes the same William Bligh) was deposed and imprisoned by members of the NSW Corps. Bligh’s main mistake, apparently, was to prohibit the use “rum” as a currency. Much of the so called “rum” then in the colony was in fact Brandy, brewed in India. Truth was that the word “rum” in the 18th and early 19th centuries meant any spiritous liquor whatever.
Thirdly, true enough about the use of Rum in other contexts. In the context that Una was writing about, however, it meant what we think of as rum today. The processing of sugar cane juice into rum was the major industry on the Caribbean islands, and rum was a major trade good in the Triangular Trade that brought so much wealth to British merchants. It was also well-known to and liked by English and Americans alike in the 17th-18th centuries. There are some truly bizarre drink recipes from that time that you can find in historical cookbooks, and rum, sugarcane-based rum, is a major feature.
Not to mention that Pusser’s still (claims to?) makes the same spirit they used to sell to the RN.
In a related sidebar to the article - a print that I bought recently has a note on it that Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home, was named after Admiral Vernon, the creator of grog. In fact, I have a link here:
Interesting historical link too…now if I can just tie the Freemasons and Otaku Covens into this somehow, I’ve got a good sequel to National Treasure in the works…
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