The Navy Grog is a simple and delicious classic cocktail combining multiple rums, crushed ice, citrus juice, and a hint of sweetness. One of the original Don the Beachcomber drinks, it remains popular for a reason. This is one of my personal favorites at my local tiki bar that I always come back to even when tempted with more “exotic” treats.

Incidentally, there is not a single agreed upon “correct” Navy Grog — all recipes for this cocktail feature three types of rum, citrus, and sweetener, but some call for honey, some for sugar, some club soda, some the addition of spices. The Webtender Wiki has both Don’s original recipe and Trader Vic’s recipe, if you’re interested in trying those. My personal version, which follows, is a little different; I don’t actually like grapefruit juice, and I like the idea of just using lime to hearken back to the “original original” grog of the 18th century:

• 1 oz light rum
• 1 oz dark rum
• 1 oz gold rum
• Juice of one lime
• 2 tablespoons honey mixed with 2 tablespoons of water (makes it blend better)
• Ice — about a cup and a half.

My blender has the perfect tiki drink setting, “ice crush,” which crushes the ice, blends the ingredients, and aerates the drink. Not as good as a top-down blender, but it works nicely for my purposes. Place all ingredients in blender and either pulse or use a similar ice crushing setting until ice is broken up. You do not want a slushy. Pour into elegant glasses, garnish with a lime wedge. I let mine sit until the outside of the glass has completely frosted over, stirring occasionally, before drinking.

Kauai has always been my favorite Hawaiian island. When I was a kid, Kauai and Maui were where we would go for vacations (I know, rough life, huh?). I remember loving Maui for its snorkeling and shopping, but Kauai always kept a stronger hold on my heart. Kauai is old Hawaii, even ancient Hawaii — sacred shrines and mysterious sites abound. The pace of life is slower, and when you’re there you feel your heart rate slow and your mind clear. I think it’s technically possible to go to Kauai and not relax, but that misses the whole point.

My dad and I used to rent a cabin in Koke’e, up in the mountains. It had no electricity, it was far away from anything resembling civilization, and in the winter we would wake up to frost on the ground. The first time I saw frost it seemed like magic. Incidentally, although I’m no longer a kid in Hawaii, frost still seems magical to me. Maybe it’s because it reminds me of that cabin, and all the time I spent there outside under trees and in streams. Kauai is covered with plants; I’m a forest creature at heart, and Kauai always felt like some kind of perfect primal home to me.

The area around Koke’e has some incredible hiking opportunities. When I was about 13, my dad and I hiked the Alakai Swamp Trail. This was right as they were transitioning to the boardwalk trail that is currently in place. There were areas of the trail that were still muddy and hazardous, and I did go in the mud up to my hips at one point. (It built character.) The swamp is incredibly beautiful — when we went the air was full of mist, and I felt like we were walking through the border between two worlds. Water was mixed with land in an unstable agreement, and now water was mixing with the air so much that when we moved more than a few yards apart we couldn’t see each other.

Kauai has unique flora and fauna that are now rare or extinct on other islands. Kauai is where I saw i’iwi, the native honeycreeper. If you can tear yourself away from the forests, there are some lovely beaches with good snorkeling.

A couple of years ago my Better Half and my dad and I all met up in Poipu, Kauai for Thanksgiving week. This was one of the best vacations I’ve ever taken — the company was perfect, the weather was perfect, we hiked, we went sight-seeing, we swam (well, Better Half and I did, and snorkeled too; dad opted out), we had many magnificent tropical drinks, we had great meals, and overall I was reminded of why I love Kauai so much. If you go, here are my favorite spots:

Beaches: Poipu has a lot of nice beaches for swimming, lounging, and snorkeling, and you can get some decent bodysurfing and boogie boarding in. Better Half and I saw monk seals, sea turtles, and dolphins, as well as myriad tropical fish.

Food and Drink: Roy’s Poipu Bar and Grill is a very nice high-end restaurant that I have found to be consistently excellent; I have fond memories of the whole local fish I ate there. We had a great brunch at the nearby Joe’s on the Green, complete with traditional brunch cocktails (Bloody Marys, mimosas, mojitos… that last one might not be traditional, but it became my new favorite brunch cocktail on this trip). While on Kauai, make sure you get a fresh coconut out of the back of someone’s pickup truck; you can drink the coconut water as-is or add a little rum and lime for a more festive libation. You should also find an excuse to get some Lappert’s ice cream, it really is quite good. Make sure to choose a local flavor, I’m partial to lilikoi.

Entertainment: The Grand Hyatt Kauai, in addition to being one of the most beautiful resorts on the planet, has very nice tropical drinks, which you can enjoy while watching live Hawaiian entertainment in the evenings. Of the evening entertainment, I’ll say this: I grew up in Hawaii, I know how to do real hula, and the performance at the Grand Hyatt Kauai is awesome. It’s not a tacky tourist show, it’s the real deal. And there’s fire.

Hiking: Koke’e State Park is home to my favorite trails. I’m partial to the Berry Flat Trail. There are so many great hikes to do on Kauai that I actually recommend getting a travel guide book to help you decide what trail is best for you. Be advised that many trails are very difficult to drive to, and renting a 4WD vehicle is a good option.

Other things to do: Look at the wild chickens, they’re neat. Drive around the island, it’s beautiful. Visit historical sites, they’re interesting. Eat as much tropical fruit as you can hold. Go see Wailua Falls (see picture above), it’s incredible. Sit still. Breathe. Just be.

Tomorrow is the first Saturday of May, which means only one thing: It’s the Kentucky Derby! When I was a kid we always had a party — it is, as far as my dad (and I imagine any Kentuckian) is concerned, one of the most important days of the year — and I have fond memories of the occasion. Here’s your guide to throwing a great Derby Day event:

Drinks: Naturally, you’ll want to serve mint juleps. There are multiple methods to prepare them, but let’s focus on the two main options.

• Option 1 (Traditional Preparation): Muddle mint and sugar together in the bottom of either a silver julep cup or a tall highball glass. Add finely crushed ice and good Kentucky bourbon. Optional: add a bit of water. For a variation on this method, see this now famous letter from 1937 on the subject.
• Option 2 (BBB’s method): Prepare a simple syrup by bringing 1/2-3/4 of a cup of water to a boil, then adding as much sugar as can be dissolved (this is a huge quantity of sugar). To this, add at least two large handfuls of well washed fresh mint. Boil a couple of minutes, then turn off heat. Strain out mint and refrigerate. Fill a glass (again, silver is best) with crushed ice. Pour in bourbon, then syrup to taste, and stir vigorously.
• Note for non-drinkers: the above mint syrup goes marvelously with iced tea or seltzer.
• Extremely important note for everyone: Please note that there is no lime mentioned anywhere. If you put lime in your mint julep, you will make me weep bitter tears. There is a disturbing belief that a mint julep is just a mojito with bourbon instead of rum — this is wrong, wrong, WRONG.

Food: Burgoo is traditional — this is a hearty stew, sometimes made with small game, more often now made with several types of meat. You’ll need to start it cooking several hours (or even the day before, so start tonight!) in advance of when you want to serve it. I remember on Derby Day there would always be a pot bubbling away on the stove. There are a million ways to make burgoo, here’s a nice article on the subject with links to four different recipes for you to try.

Also in the spirit, here is my grandmother’s recipe for oyster spread, which apparently was a regular feature of the Derby Day table when my dad was young:

Smoked Oyster Spread
8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 T prepared horseradish
1 T lemon juice
pinch cayenne
1 can baby smoked oysters, drained

Mix the sour cream, horseradish, lemon juice, & cayenne together. Gently fold in the oysters, being careful not to smash them up too much. Spread on crackers or those little rye bread slices. Serve with bourbon highballs.

Friendly Wagers are a common feature of Derby Day events, however I can’t comment intelligently on the subject.

That said, Choosing a Horse is an absolute necessity. If you know nothing of racing, you can just do what I always did as a kid and pick the one with the most interesting name. My pick this year is Union Rags.

When the Derby starts, you must stand and remove your hat for the singing of My Old Kentucky Home. This song reminds me of my childhood so much that singing or hearing it still brings a tear to my eye.

Finally, it is important to note that in order to fully experience Derby Day, you must wear a fancy hat. If you don’t already have a BBB hat, it’s obviously too late for this year but styles to look into for next year include the Downing Street and, naturally, the Derby.

If you have any suggestions to add, please post a comment. Who else is celebrating Spring’s High Holy Day tomorrow?

Did you know that there are a truly absurd number of recipes for rum punch? Go ahead and do a Google search, I’ll wait.

…

There, see? Crazy. Something needs to be done. We need a definitive guide to rum punch! In the interest of helping humanity, I have decided to apply myself to the problem. Step 1: collect a bunch of rum punch recipes. Step 2: Prepare them, taste them, and review them. Step 3: Who needs a step 3 when step 2 is so much fun?

Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself a little. For now, I’m going to post some promising rum punch recipes, one a week for the next several weeks.

Incidentally, the Wikipedia entry on punch is surprisingly lovely. I feel the need to make a 17th century punch with tea, and I have a feeling a bourbon punch will appear in my home on the first Saturday in May.

The basic Caribbean rum punch follows the rhyming recipe “One of Sour, Two of Sweet, Three of Strong, Four of Weak,” i.e. one part lime juice, two parts simple syrup, three parts rum, and four parts water. (This is sometimes called “grog.”) To this bitters or grated nutmeg are sometimes added. But, like I said, there are lots of variants on this theme, many that replace all or part of the water with fruit juice.

So for this week, here’s a recipe from Bobby Flay, which is quite straight-forward:

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 cups grenadine syrup
• 2 cups Jamaican white rum
• 1 cup light rum
• 2 cups fresh pineapple juice
• 2 cups fresh orange juice
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg, optional
• Orange slices, for garnish
• Pineapple slices, for garnish

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a pitcher or punch bowl. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving. Garnish with orange or pineapple slices.

ime for a customer story, this time from a happy client in Canada enjoying his Havana Fedora. — Laurel

Hey Brent,

What can I say.

You know you can read all the descriptions, look at all the pictures and analyze all of the customer reviews, but only when you have the hat in hand can you appreciate the uniqueness and allure of the Panama. I know this may be old “hat” to you but my introduction to your hats came as a complete surprise. The intricate weave and the softness was totally unexpected. With my hat being on the low end of the price range, I can’t imagine what the pricier models must be like. It fits perfectly and the blocking is top notch. Thank you for that. I’m wearing at home right now watching the Stanley Cup playoffs. Not exactly a Havana hangout but I’m lovin’ it.

Anyway, just wanted to say how impressed I am with my fedora and to thank you for everything, mahalo…

Glenn (Canada)

Not a rum drink this week, I hope you’ll forgive me. I’m still aching for better weather, though, and trying to capture the spirit of a nicer season through festive cocktails. Credit for the development of this drink is shared with my dear friend F.V.

Fill a highball glass with ice, and add 1.5 oz ginger liquor. Fill remainder of glass with a mix of freshly made lemonade and iced tea (ie an Arnold Palmer). Stir. Garnish with a lemon wedge.