Oh, hello there! I’m back from my longer-than-intended hiatus and excited to share more of Charles H. Baker’s drinks with you.
When last I posted, I promised “[a]n extremely delicious drink that doesn’t require any weird ingredients.” And I’m here to deliver exactly that in this post, the second of three from Pineapple Drink Night!
The extremely delicious drink in question is the Admiral Schley Punch, supposedly named after William Scott Schley. Wikipedia’s entry for Admiral Schley is excruciatingly dull, so let me save you some trouble by quoting the only part that’s worth reading:
In that book, the author referred to [then-]Commodore Schley as a “caitiff, poltroon and coward.”
“Caitiff” and “poltroon” are both synonyms for “coward,” but I wholeheartedly endorse this phrase in spite of its redundancy. I think I just really like the word “poltroon.”
Anyhow, in spite of being an alleged poltroon, Admiral Schley had the good fortune of having an excellent drink named after him:
- 1/2 jigger St. Croix or Barbados rum (1 oz Cruzan Dark)
- 1/2 jigger bourbon (1 oz Buffalo Trace)
- 1 tsp sugar
- Juice and peel of 1 lime
Shake with fine ice and turn both the drink and the ice into a goblet. Garnish with a sprig of mint, a stick of pineapple, “and so on.”
Man, was this ever good! Bourbon and rum go surprisingly well together, it turns out, and the aroma from the mint adds more to the drink than one might expect. For best results, make the mint more fragrant by placing a sprig on the palm of one hand, then slapping it with the other hand, before adding it to the drink. I chose to stick with the mint and pineapple rather than exploring the limitless possibilities of “and so on.”
That’s two Pineapple Drink Night drinks down, one to go. Will the last one be as good as the first two? I’ll leave you in suspense for now.
Admiral Schley Punch: ★★★★★
¡Viva Pineapple Drink Night!
No Disrespect…
Yet, I beg to differ…
For The Record…
Adm. Winfield Scott Schley was the very opposite.
Truly Heroic And Of The Most Honorable carriage.
In addition to the below, He was an advocate for the acceptance of African Americans and former slaves, as Americans into American society.
Commodore Winfield Scott Schley – (1839 – 1911)
Named for the famous General Winfield Scott (War of 1812), Winfield Scott Schley graduated at the US Naval Academy in 1860, where he developed a friendship with upper-classman George Dewey. What followed was a long and distinguished career, and established Schley as an able and intelligent Naval commander. In 1884 Schley volunteered for a daring rescue of Lieutenant Greeley in Antarctica. Said to have been accused by some of his officers as taking serious risks with his ships in the successful effort, Schley replied, “Gentlemen, there are times when it is necessary to take risks. This is one of those times”.
Commodore Schley was one of those officers, senior to then Commodore Sampson, who was passed over for command of the North Atlantic Fleet. This may have led to some of his acts, in defiance of Sampson, during the war.
Appointed to command a Flying Squadron on the US east coast by Sampson, when the Spanish fleet was sighted in the Caribbean, Schley’s squadron was dispatched to Cuba. During the famous Naval Battle of Santiago de Cuba, Schley was second in command to Sampson. By a twist of fate, Sampson was steaming away to A meeting from the scene of action. When the Spanish squadron emerged, Schley led commanded and inspired his officers and men to courageous fighting during the attack on the Spanish Armada. Thus destroying it and basically winning the Spanish American War. This is how this historic battle commenced. What followed was years of disagreement as to which of the two commanders would be credited with the great victory. Thee, at the time, subordinate Commodore Winfield Scott Schley, who commanded and fought the victory or the senior Rear Admiral William Thomas Sampson, who was not present for this epic naval battle.