“The word grog refers to a variety of alcoholic beverages. The word originally referred to a drink made with water or “small beer” (a weak beer) and rum, which was introduced into the Royal Navy by British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon on 21 August 1740. Modern versions of the drink are often made with hot or boiling water, and sometimes include lemon juice, lime juice, cinnamon or sugar to improve the taste. Rum with water, sugar and nutmeg was known as bumboo and was more popular with pirates and merchantmen.“

Pictured at left, of course, is grog’s spirit animal. And with tonight’s real-feel going down NEGATIVE ONE DEGREES, this is an animal you might want to get in touch with, and often: For the last few winters, grog has often been the only thing keeping us from climbing the walls — if only because, when made right, this tasty hot beverage should be able to peel the paint off of ‘em. To welcome the grog season in, we here at Phoodie have called an emergency meeting tonight of the Del-Val Men’s Grog Commission, and we’ll be taping a video segment on how to make it like we do. But the thing is, the parameters of what constitutes a grog are so loose that there really is no right and wrong. (Kind of like long-term relationships!) So please write in to Phoodie.info at phoodieinfo[at]gmail[dot]com and tell us how you grog. We’ll post your recipe and send you a commemorative lock of Collin’s chest hair. (Some restrictions apply.)

Wikipedia: A Complete History Of Grog