Historical Backdrop – Admiral Edward Vernon

Interested in the origins of the word “Grog?” Well … there was once an Admiral Edward Vernon (1684-1757) in the Royal Navy and he was well known for two things: wearing warm jackets made of grogram cloth (which is a kind of coarse wool), and for watering down his men’s daily rum rations to make them less intoxicating. The men called him “Old Grog” and to show their disdain for their ‘watered-down rum’ they called it ‘grog.’ Interesting historical footnote: George Washington’s home on the Potomac River in Virginia was given the name “Mount Vernon” by his half-brother Lawrence who had served in the Royal Navy under Admiral Vernon … “Old Grog” himself.