Thomas Davey was the 2nd Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, 1813-1819, as Tasmania was then known. By all accounts, mostly by his superiors, he was completely unqualified and thoroughly unfit for the role. As an officer in His Majesty’s Marine Forces he had taken part in the Battle of Trafalgar. It was likely, in his time in the Navy, that he acquired a passion for strong drink, mostly rum, and drink he did.
Brazil’s national cocktail, Caipirinha has its roots, naturally enough, in Portugal. In its original form, ‘Madeiran aguardente de cana’ with lemon, garlic, and honey, it was said to give relief from Spanish Flu, though after a few you may have felt the symptoms.
Originating on the Costa Brava, through the rum shipping trade with Cuba, it is what Catalan fishermen drunk in the morning to warm themselves up in the winter. That would do the trick.
Daiquiri is the name of a beach and an iron mine near Santiago in Cuba. Supposedly it was created by an American mining engineer, Jennings Cox. However, more than a century before, Royal Navy sailors were given a daily grog ration of rum, water, lime juice, and sugar to combat scurvy.
Goslings from Bermuda, makers of Goslings Black Seal rum since 1857, trademarked Dark ‘n’ Stormy and technically this is the only rum you should use. Well bobbins to that. It is decent spiced rum and works well in the context but nobody wants their choice of spirit dictated to them. Drink what you wish and be damned. Let them sue.
In 1732, 28 wealthy Quakers from Philadelphia leased land from the Lenni-Lenape tribe, on the banks of the Schuylkill River, just out of town. There they built a clubhouse, or ‘castle’ as they called it, then declared independence and seceded, announcing that they were now the Colony of Schuylkill with its own governor, council and sheriff.
Popularised by Trader Vic’s, the Fog Cutter, or, as they call it, the Samoan Fog Cutter, was, like Mai Tais, likely created by Donn Beach of Don the Beachcomber Fame in the 1930s.It is not a drink for the faint-hearted.
Dating back to the American Colonists of the early 18th century, this was known as a sailor’s drink, made aboard the long voyage, heated with a red hot poker. If you have one to hand while sitting by the fire, this is still the preferred way to go. It will impart something special to the drink, though in the sailors’ case it may have been the taste of ship’s tar that the poker was there for.
Once, oddly, a signature drink at Tiki bar Trader Vic’s in the 1940s, the original method floats the butter on top, giving a smooth mouthfeel but, unfortunately, a greasy top lip to the drinker. Not a good look.
The classic Tiki cocktail, Mai Tai is all about rum. Bartenders have their favourite bespoke blends, up to 4 different rums, but whatever you use it has to be the good stuff and it should be Jamaican.
I cobbled this recipe together from various sources many years ago. I have never got around to trying it, but it has to be done and you are the one. It possibly sounds quite lethal and I take no responsibility for your subsequent blindness if you choose so to do.
One of the worlds most popular cocktails and, probably, one of the most abused. That’s a great shame as, in the right hands, it can be a fine beverage. If you can, use authentic Cuban sugar cane rum. For greater depth of flavour use a dark rum. Do not over muddle the mint, you don’t want a shredded salad at the bottom of the glass, and go easy on the sugar until you taste it.
Another creation by George at Bar Gros, inspired by the unexpected discovery of a locally-made English Barley Wine from the Rondadora brewery in the Spanish Pyrenees and what a discovery it was.
A fine stout is a good place to start, having the depth of the malt combined with bitter undertone, just calling for enlightenment. It can be both hearty yet refreshing. Guinness is an obvious choice but you can do better. There are a lot of fine craft stouts available in the UK. Just get a strong one and avoid the silly fruit flavours.
God Jul!
Another fine drink of Dick Bradsell’s devising. When he used to make a Treacle in the Colony Room Club, he used cheap pasteurised apple juice, in a carton, from the Somerfield supermarket, in Berwick Street.
The story goes that Donn Beach spontaneously created it as a hangover cure for one of his regulars heading for an important meeting. Asked a few days later if it had worked the gent replied: “I felt like the living dead, it made a zombie out of me.”