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Bumbo (also known as Bombo or Bumboo)
Bumbo is a drink made from rum, water, sugar and nutmeg. Cinnamon is sometimes substituted for or added to the nutmeg. Modern Bumbo is often made with dark rum, citrus juice, Grenadine, and nutmeg.
Bumbo was popular in the Caribbean during the era of piracy, largely because it tasted better than Royal Navy Grog. Pirates and short-haul merchantmen did not suffer from scurvy as often as British sailors, largely because their voyages were shorter and their diet included plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. This meant that citrus juice could be dropped from the grog recipe, and sugar and Nutmeg sweetened the mix.
Bumbo was commonly used during election campaigns in colonial British America, to the extent that treating voters to gifts and other freebies during election campaigns was referred to as "swilling the planters with bumbo". George Washington was particularly noted for using this technique. His papers state that he used 160 gallons of rum to treat 391 voters to bumbo during campaigning for the Virginia House of Burgesses in July 1758.
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Type:
Cocktail
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Primary alcohol by volume:
Rum
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Served:
"Straight up"; without ice
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Standard garnish:
Nutmeg
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Standard drinkware:
Old fashioned glass
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Commonly used ingredients: (pirate recipe)
2 parts rum
1 parts water
2 sugar cubes
Sprinkle cinnamon
Sprinkle nutmeg
Preparation: Mix together and garnish.
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"Let's "splice the mainbrace," as Blackbeard would have ordered when he was looking to get drunk enough to kindle his own hell."
Bumboo (modern recipe)
2 oz dark rum
1 oz lemon juice
1/2 tsp grenadine syrup
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg or cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass.
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