| Cocktail | |
|---|---|
| Type | Mixed drink |
| Served | stirred |
| Standard drinkware |  |
| Commonly used ingredients | 1 cup of black tea 1 shot of rum |
| Preparation | Pour the tea into a cup. Pour the rum in and stir. |
Gunfire (or gun-fire) is a British caffeinated alcoholic drink, a cocktail made of black tea and rum. It has its origins in the British Army and is also used as a name for early morning tea in the army. [1] [2] [3]
It is unknown when gunfire was concocted, but it is known that it was mixed by British Army soldiers during the 1890s. [4] Gunfire is served by officers and non-commissioned officers to lower ranks before a morning attack (as a form of Dutch courage) and as a celebration before a Passing out parade. [5] It is also traditionally served to soldiers in their beds by their officers on Christmas Day at reveille if they are deployed over Christmas. [6] Individual regiments may carry out the ritual on other days: for example, in the Royal Tank Regiment gunfire is served on Cambrai Day; [7] in the Queen's Royal Hussars on Balaclava Day and Saint Patrick's Day; and in the Royal Dragoon Guards gunfire made with whiskey on St Patrick's Day.
During the Korean War, members of the American Military Police Corps were given gunfire by British soldiers under the guise of it being normal tea after a recovery mission. This led to intoxication of the MPs who then drove an armoured recovery vehicle and some army jeeps into a camp gate as a result. [6]
In Australia and New Zealand on ANZAC Day, a version of gunfire with black coffee instead of tea is served to soldiers before dawn services as part of the "gunfire breakfast". [8]
Gunfire has also been made and drunk outside of military circles. Gunfire was served to participants of British reality programme, Bad Lads' Army by the non-commissioned officers before their passing out parade, mirroring the same procedure in the British Army. [9]
Gunfire is also drunk by Australian civilians to commemorate ANZAC Day. [10]
A similar drink, particularly in the German-speaking world is Jagertee.
Gunfire consists of one cup of black tea with one shot of rum, which is then stirred in the cup. [11]
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served". Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli campaign, their first engagement in the First World War (1914–1918).
The daiquiri is a cocktail whose main ingredients are rum, citrus juice, and sugar or other sweetener.
The Battle of Sari Bair, also known as the August Offensive, represented the final attempt made by the British in August 1915 to seize control of the Gallipoli peninsula from the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.
Punsch refers to a specific type of alcoholic liqueur and punch popular in Sweden and Finland. It is most frequently described as Swedish Punsch, and while historical variations have also been called Militär Punsch, Arrack Pun(s)ch, and Caloric Pun(s)ch, punsch should not be confused with the term "punch" as used generically. It is made by the mixing of spirits with arrak tea, sugar, and water, and was first brought to Sweden from Java in 1733. The spirit arrack is the base ingredient in most punsches, also imported into Europe by the Dutch from their colony in Batavia, Dutch East Indies. Punsch usually has 25% alcohol by volume (ABV) and 30% sugar.
The New South Wales Corps was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment of the British Army to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia, in fortifying the Colony of New South Wales. It gained notoriety for its trade in rum and disobedient behaviour during its service and was disbanded in 1818.
The Queen's Royal Irish Hussars, abbreviated as QRIH, was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed from the amalgamation of the 4th Queen's Own Hussars and the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars in 1958. The regiment saw active service against insurgents in Aden; during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation and during the Gulf War, as well as regular service in West Germany as part of the British Army of the Rhine. The regiment was amalgamated with the Queen's Own Hussars to form the Queen's Royal Hussars on 1 September 1993.
The Royal Yorkshire Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, created by the amalgamation of three historic regiments in 2006. It lost one battalion as part of the Army 2020 defence review. The regiment's recruitment area covers the ceremonial counties of the East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire; areas near Barnsley are recruitment area for the Rifles.
The landing at Suvla Bay was an amphibious landing made at Suvla on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire as part of the August Offensive, the final British attempt to break the deadlock of the Battle of Gallipoli. The landing, which commenced on the night of 6 August 1915, was intended to support a breakout from the ANZAC sector, five miles (8 km) to the south.
The hurricane cocktail is a sweet alcoholic drink made with rum, lemon juice, and either passion fruit syrup or fassionola. It is one of many popular drinks served in New Orleans. It is traditionally served in the tall, curvy eponymous hurricane glass. Disposable plastic cups are also used because New Orleans laws permit drinking in public and leaving a bar with a drink, but prohibit public drinking from glass containers.
Dining in is a formal military ceremony for members of a company or other unit, which includes a dinner, drinking, and other events to foster camaraderie and esprit de corps.
Dubonnet is a sweet, aromatised wine-based quinquina, often enjoyed as an aperitif. It is a blend of fortified wine, herbs, and spices, with fermentation being stopped by the addition of alcohol. It is currently produced in France by Pernod Ricard, and in the United States by Heaven Hill Distilleries of Bardstown, Kentucky. The French made version is 14.8% alcohol by volume and the US version 19%. The beverage is famous in the UK for having been the favourite drink of Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Philippines, where Tanduay is the largest producer of rum globally.
The Battle of Hanging Rock was a battle in the American Revolutionary War that occurred between the American Patriots and the British. It was part of a campaign by militia General Thomas Sumter to harass or destroy British outposts in the South Carolina back-country that had been established after the fall of Charleston in May 1780.
Joe Murray is a former British Army soldier and television personality from Glasgow, United Kingdom. He is best known for his role on ITV programme, Bad Lads' Army.
The uniforms of the Australian Army have changed significantly over the past century, although the accoutrements worn over this period have remained relatively similar. The forces of the Australian colonies and the early forces of the Commonwealth post-Federation in 1901 closely followed the uniforms of the British Army. Since then it has continued to be influenced by British but also US styles, as well as including some distinctly Australian designs, reflecting local conditions and trends.
Private George Flaxman of the Leicestershire Regiment was hanged at Lucknow maidan on 10 January 1887. He had been convicted by court-martial of the murder of Lance Sergeant William Carmody of the same regiment on or around 9 September 1886. The event may have inspired Rudyard Kipling's poem "Danny Deever", which describes similar events.