1938 Famous New Orleans Drinks and how to mix'em (3rd printing) by Stanley Clisby Arthur

Grog

2 ponies rum

water ice Pour the rum into an 8-ounce tumbler, add ice, and fill to the brim with water. Stir. Drink. In the old days in Louisiana, especially in that section settled by the British, Irish, and Scottish pioneers, the tipple in high favor was called "grog." It was made of the locally distilled tafia or rum, and was dispensed by the British plantation owners of the Feliciana district as a cheap yet potent beverage to slaves who worked the cotton fields. Many references to the drink are to be found in tattered documents written during the days of the Spanish domination. It was set down in them as "mezcla de argmrdicnte con agua." In 1753 the French of New Orleans knew rurn as a drogue (a cheap or sorry commodity) and, while it was known as tafia, it was also called guildive (divine fer mentation), and eau de vie sucre, meaning "sugar brandy". The name "Grog" was derived from "grogram, a material of rough texture, ordinarily of camel's wool, used in the making of cloaks. The designation came about in this way: In 1740 Admiral Edward Vernon liberally diluted with water the rum he served the sailors aboard his frigate. It was the admiral's custom to wear a grogram cloak in foul weather, and for this reason the tars called him "Old Grog" behind his back. Forthwith his tars derisively termed the weakened drink "grog," and the name has stuck through the centuries, as witness "grog shop," likewise "groggy," indicating the unsteady gait that follows a too-liberd sampling of spirits. Sixty-three