Back in the 40's, men were men and fancy cocktails were… err… a little unmanly. It wasn’t a good look to be seen ordering anything deemed ‘girly’ or ‘dainty looking’. Enter... the Navy Grog.Described on Don the Beachcomber’s menu as, “A robust rum punch dedicated to the gallant men of the American navy”, it certainly ticked all the boxes of ‘manly appeal. Don as ever matching his mixology skills with his marketing nous.So yes, it’s a classic Don the Beachcomber recipe, with all of his tiki trademarks - 3 rums instead of 1 (like why would you only use one rum eh?), white grapefruit juice and of course a singularly novel garnish. But it was his understanding of how to connect a drink with his audience that really helped the Navy Grog join the ranks of the Mai Tai and Zombie as part of the Holy Trinity of Tiki.
1Ice Cone with Straw - we show you how to make this super cool tiki garnish below
1Mint Sprig
1Lime Wedge
Method
Place your frozen ice cone into a double rocks style glass. Insert your straw through the middle of the cone.
Pour all ingredients into a shaker, adding enough crushed ice to show above the surface of the liquid.
Shake your drink vigorously for around 15 seconds, until a light frosting starts to form on the outside of the shaker.Strain into the glass, around the ice cone.
Create your garnish by first giving the mint a good slap to release the oils and then place it in your glass alongside the ice cone. Cut a slit in the lime wedge and slide it onto the rim of the glass.
Notes
Honey Mix Recipe
Why bother making Honey Mix you ask? Why can’t you just add the honey straight into the cocktail? Honey will blend nicely in something warm like tea, but as soon as it comes into contact with ice, it'll thicken up and create a lumpy mess. The process of turning it into a syrup stops this happening. The good thing is that the recipe is really simple:
Combine equal parts (1:1 ratio) of water and honey in a saucepan, over a low to medium heat.
Stir until the honey has fully dissolved, but do not let it boil.
Allow to cool and pour into a sterilized bottle.
How to make your own Navy Grog Ice Cone
The ice cone is a signature garnish for the Navy Grog but it can be a pain to make, Beachbum Berry collaborated with Cocktail Kingdom to create their own bespoke mold which you can purchase, but if you fancy having a go at making your own, here’s how to.What you'll need:
A plastic champagne flute or Pilsner glass. You can use any V-shaped glass as long as the thickest part of it can sit in a rocks glass.
Chopstick
Wax paper
To crush the ice you'll need a blender or a mallet and a Lewis bag.
Step 1:Curl your wax paper into a cone shape that fits snugly in the pilsner glass. You'll want the edges poking up over the top.Step 2: Put some fresh ice into a Lewis bag and beat the hell out of it with a mallet. You want the ice as powdery as possible. If you don’t have a Lewis bag and mallet you could use a clean bar towel to wrap the ice in and then whack it with a rolling pin. Smash! Alternatively, to ‘shave’ ice put it in a blender or food processor and blend until it's a fine consistency without being too watery. If you’ve overdone it, tip the water away, add some more fresh ice and blend again.Step 3: Pack the paper lined pilsner glass with the crushed ice, pressing it down firmly, but not so hard as to break the glass!Step 4: Run a chopstick through the centre of the ice and then remove it. This is going to be the channel for the straw to go through later.Step 5: Now ease the wax paper and the ice out of the glass, pulling on the edges of the paper as you go. If it’s tricky to remove, run a knife carefully around the inside of the glass to loosen it a touch. Once removed from the glass place the ice cone in the freezer for 2-5 hours until fully frozen.Step 6: When needed, remove the wax paper and place the ice cone flat side down into a double rocks glass, stick a straw through the channel you made with the chopstick and enjoy!