Drink Like A Pirate Day

Yar, me mateys.  On the morrow ye’ll be talking like a salty sea dog, but will ye be drinkin’ as much?  I’d bet me grog you haven’t planned for it.  Yarrrr, I can’t do that anymore.  To you native pirate talkers, my hat is off to you.  But seriously, tomorrow is Talk Like a Pirate Day.  What say we also drink like pirates and do the day up right?

Jolly_Roger_by_jdm77
Jolly Roger by JDM77

Grog is what you’ve likely heard that pirates drank.  And, to be traditional, you could certainly drink that as well.  Though, seeing as it’s simply a mix of rum and water, I think I’ll be going with something a bit more tasty.  As an interesting side note, the whole reason grog came about is because the sailors were originally given their water and rum rations separately.  Problem is, when some sailors saved up a few days rum rations and had them all at once, bad things happened.

So, let’s see what other options we’ve got.  Sticking with the rum I’m betting pirates often had punch when they came in to port.  The fruits were readily available and I’m certain they would have put them to good use.  But, if you were out at sea where fruit wasn’t readily available you likely would be drinking bumbo.  Bumbo is a mixture of rum, water, sugar and spices.  This drink seems like a natural offshoot of grog.  It was far more flavorful and the sugar would make it even better.

Let’s do a thought experiment.  Say you’re a pirate and you’re cruising the seas.  Being an opportunistic bunch, were you to come across a British Navy vessel, chances are, you’d raid them.  And during that raid, you’re likely to plunder some gin and lime cordial.  Can you say Gimlet time!  Same would go for brandy and whiskey.  You’re definitely not going to be seeing cocktails like those that I usually mix, but I think you’d be drinking far more than just grog.

All that aside, we’re not pirates and thankfully we have a lot more ingredients at our disposal.  So, here’s my vote.  Let’s drink like a pirate would have given they had the means.  For me and my friends that means we’ll be drinking Salty Dogs, Navy Grog and Rum Old Fashioneds, for the classic bumbo feel.

Yar, me friends.  Drink well, let yer sails be full and yer booty be plentiful.


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One response to “Drink Like A Pirate Day”

  1. MixnSip Avatar

    My straw’s in your glass but I’ve been chastised by my pirate friends who say a true buccaneer would only drink straight rum. ‘Course, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.