It's always Over the Yardarm Somewhere...

Well, the sun is over the yardarm....

Which, in nautical speech means it's around 11am and time for a drink...

the sun is NOT over the yardarm here. the sun was about 4 hours from being over the yardarm.
and it was stormy...

Okay.

Actually, it's 8:47pm.

If I were to actually have a 'drink' at 11am I would be napping by 11:30am.

I need to finish up a load of laundry and pack as we are heading down to paint the hull of the fixer-upper. In pirate days that was called 'careening' – where they intentionally beached the boat, letting the surf knock the boat over and scrape it over the sand, knocking the barnacles off it.

We are just planning to scrub, sand then paint.

So the it's going to have to be much later than 11am round these parts..

But back to that yardarm.

The yardarm is the very end of a horizontal spur which holds a square sail in shape. The phrase 'the sun is over the yardarm' is believed to have originated in the north Atlantic where the sun would pass over the yardarm around 11am. And 11am coincided with the forenoon 'stand easy' when the officers of a sailing vessel would go below for the first drink of the day.

Running a ship is thirsty work.

this ain't no water purifying rum. this is some super fancy rum given as a gift.
its good to have pirate friends

Why rum?

Well, there was a lot of sailing around the Caribbean where rum was manufactured. And, there was always a liquor ration on board long distance ships. This was more of a necessity than a luxury. Water was difficult to transport as it tended to become infected with bacteria. Rum and other alcohols were added in small amounts to kill the bacteria.

On Navy vessels the rum ration was managed. Pirate ships were more democratic and consequently the rations were more of a suggestion.

And if you have ever had rum in the Caribbean, then you know how this ends...

Rum is the Reason, pirates never ruled the world...or got the next to last A to Z challenge post done!

This has been the next to last A to Z challenge post!! For more entries click here:

 a-to-zchallenge.com

A-Ahoy

B-Bells

C-Catamaran

D-Dramamine

E-Escape

F-Flags

G-Galley

H-Head to Heel

I-IC24

J-Jib/Jibe

K-Keys

L-Lakes

M-Motors

N-Navigation

O-Oceans

P-Points of Sail

Q-Quote

R-Reef

S-Sailbags

T-Trade Winds

U-Underwater

V-Volume

W-Weather Eye

X-X marks the Spot

Drinks, Boat. See also Beach and Rum

As we continue on our journey to the ultimate beach life, I feel now is a good time to impart some actual, test kitchen tested, wisdom.

Ready?

Here it is:

Nothing tastes better, as you happily sit reading your funny, brightly covered beach read after dousing yourself in Coppertone while humming My Love, than a nice frosty beverage.

Earth shattering?

No.

But, hear me out.

Beach drinks are just as important to the overall attitude as the right book and the appropriate amount of sunscreen.

Clearly no one wants a frosty glass of milk while sitting on a sandy beach in 90 degree weather.

Nor should one jug an energy drink. Come on. The whole point of beach life is to SLOW DOWN. Not speed up on concentrated sugar and caffeine.

An nice soft drink, appropriately chilled can be delightful, especially if you squeeze a little lemon or lime in. And if you can find it in an actual glass bottle all the better.

Water is always welcome, still or fizzy. And if you're feeling fancy, mineral and fizzy mineral. Again, with a squeeze of lime.

Certain people will swear by a cold beer, can-bottle-glass.

Others prefer tequila based drinks.

But as the self proclaimed, premier, Landlocked Beach Life influencer, I am here to tell you that a great RUM drink can not be beat.

Sure, sure, you say rum and blenders automatically jump to the frozen daiquiri. Delicious and not without health benefits. You know, from the strawberries. 

12 oz bag frozen strawberries

6 oz light rum

4 oz lime juice

5Tbs sugar

Blend

Certain firemen I know will reggae round to the Dirty Banana. Frosty, creamy, hints of chocolate. One million calories.

 1 1/4 oz light rum

1/4 oz creme de banana

1oz rum cream

1 oz Kahlua

1 oz coconut cream

1/2 fresh banana

add ice and blend

Purists will insist on a real Hemingway daiquiri, my personal rum drink favorite. Romantic, literary. Clean, sweet with a hint of tart. No wonder Ernie said write drunk...

2 oz light rum

1 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz simple syrup

add ice and shake until chilled

strain and serve in a chilled cocktail glass 

(argument has is that this drink also has a splash of maraschino liquor and a splash of grapefruit juice. I like them both ways but prefer the simpler version. The liquor and grapefruit are hard to balance.

These things being said, I have to say that the absolute best beach life drink, hands down on my deck, is the Caipirinha.

While those other rum drinks are made from white rum from the Caribbean, the Caprianha is made of Cachaca – a Brazilian rum distilled not from molasses but from the actual sugar cane. I first had one of these delightful, fragrant drinks at Yemanja, a local Brazilian restaurant.

I immediately went out, purchased a $20 bottle of Cachaca from our local creepy alcohol store and promptly wasted half the bottle trying to master the delicate balance of powdered sugar to lime to rum.

While I will never live down those first 1/2 cup powdered sugar paste drinks, I have finally mastered the proportions and now, I am imparting that wisdom on you, my budding Beach Babies.

The Caipirinha

2 oz cachaca

1 lime - 1/2 cut in quarters, the other half juiced

3-4 healthy teaspoons powdered sugar

Be sure to remove the sticker off the limes. The stone heads in the background are singing Boat Drinks.

*

Muddle the powdered sugar with the lime quarters and remaining lime juice if you find your lime quarters are not super juicy. This will make a super sticky paste.

Add the rum and fill the shaker with good ice.

This is NOT good ice. This is ice cube tray ice from the freezer. GOOD ICE is that amazing tiny cubed stuff from the gas station which I always forget to buy and always ask my friends to pick up when they are coming over for cocktails.

Now shake that shaker until it is so cold your hands stick to it.

Pour into a brightly colored glass, to match your brightly colored book cover and 

Enjoy!

I give you the Caipirinha. Best served with a side of beach music. More on that later...

As always - Drink Responsibly, preferably in your own backyard or within walking distance of your hotel room, unless you have super understanding friends or a revolving account with Uber.

Coast of Illinois's SECRETS to a Landlocked Beach Life***

D - Drinks, may all your responsibly enjoyed drinks be boat/beach drinks*

C - Coppertone,or any other sunscreen. Use IT!

B - Books. Read Them!

 A - Attitude is everything!

This post is part of the A to Z Challenge. Click on the link, page down to the comments and check out some of the other posts from participants! 

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ 

*Boat Drinks, for those who don't know, is a wonderful song by Jimmy Buffett
***Please not the name change! Rules are just so sever sounding. Secrets are much more intriguing if you ask me.