For some people, the new year brings a resolution to refrain from drinking — if only for a month. In 2013, a British charity launched the “Dry January” campaign to raise awareness of the health and lifestyle benefits of giving up drinking temporarily. Over 200,000 people signed up to participate in the challenge in 2024.
Given that January has come to an end, it is perhaps fitting to offer a historical account about war and mixology. Indeed, after a month without alcohol, some may be wanting to imbibe. There is no doubt that Maj. Gen. Edward P. King, Jr. — a U.S. Army commander who surrendered to the Japanese Army on the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines in May 1942 and subsequently spent over three years as a prisoner of war — was in search of a good drink.
Life was hard for the allied prisoners of war at the Japanese-run Karenko camp in present-day Taiwan. The Japanese typically treated captured senior officers harshly, “but still better than what the lower-ranking prisoners experienced.” Firsthand accounts describe the captives being “tweaked on the nose, pinched on the hand, slapped in the face, punched and knocked down, and sometimes rather badly beaten — all for various trifling offenses.” Medical treatment was also poor. While allied doctors were allowed to treat patients, a Japanese medical corporal decided whether a treatment was necessary and how long a patient would remain in the hospital. Patients even had to “furnish their own bandages.”
Hunger exacerbated the grim conditions. Prisoners at Karenko lost weight and died regularly. One prisoner, U.S. Army Col. Roscoe Bonham, recorded a “weight statistics” log of a group of fellow captives in his personal notebook. The log showed that 17 prisoners lost an average of 28 pounds over a period of less than two years. Two of the 17 sadly perished while in captivity. Their rations varied from “rice and salt for breakfast, lunch, and supper” on May 23, 1942, to “Thanksgiving dinner – 29 rabbits for 316 men” on Nov. 26, 1942. As things got worse, many prisoners would “go out early in the morning hunting snails, which we cooked and ate. They were vile but contained little nourishment.” Sickness and weight loss were constant companions in Karenko.
Life for allied prisoners at Karenko was also dry. They had no access to alcohol, which one captive wryly concluded “solved the problem of [excessive] drinkers.” In an interview after the war, the future chief of staff of the Army, Gen. Harold Johnson, credited the post-war longevity of Lt. Gen. John Wainwright, a notorious boozer, to the forced sobriety: “I think it extended his life,” Johnson assumed. Hunger and thirst surely caused the prisoners to think frequently about food — and drink.
And so it was unsurprising to find recipe books in King’s files. After being forced to surrender his command, the Japanese transported King through several prison camps while his men endured the infamous Bataan Death March, ending up in Camp Karenko.
Prisoner-of-War Recipes
Recipe books like King’s are a common response to hunger while in captivity. Swapping recipes helped prisoners retain hope and provided respite from the dismal conditions. Well-known cookbooks by World War II prisoners include the aptly named Prisoners of War Cook Book by Ethel Mulvany, a Canadian social worker held in Japanese-occupied Singapore, and Col. H.C. Fowler’s Recipes out of Bilibid, which includes a “Maple Cocktail” that resembles a maple-syrup-flavored Old Fashioned. Unlike those offerings, however, King’s recipes were apparently never published.
King transcribed perhaps hundreds of recipes from many contributors into three notebooks that the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center has made available online to the public. The contributions were wide-ranging and reflected the varied tastes and backgrounds of those being held in captivity. Englishman Sgt. Brown offered a “Christmas Pudding” and a “Toad in a Hole,” while his compatriot Sgt. Major Pitch from the north of England contributed “Yorkshire Pudding.” Col. Stickney’s instructions on butchering deer remain valid today, while other contributors such as the American Sgt. Drew made dozens of entries. King’s book also contained recipes for a few cocktails.
Of all these, the one that stands out is the offering an imprisoned Gen. King scribbled for an Old Fashioned. At first impression, it appears unfamiliar to those who are well-acquainted with this drink. It is a deep cut — perhaps his personal concoction — that doesn’t seem to have made his cookbook. But it is in King’s handwriting and doesn’t list another contributor’s name, which suggests it is his own. Regardless of who concocted it, it is a delightful record of how to stir some civilization into a Formosan prisoner of war camp.
Old Fashioned Cocktail à la Army
The Old Fashioned is a simple and classic cocktail usually made by muddling sugar with a few dashes of aromatic bitters and water, adding a double shot of traditional bourbon or rye, and garnished with an orange slice (or zest). Some may find it permissible to also add a maraschino cherry, though others would find this conduct disgraceful — a cherry is meant to adorn a Manhattan. Nonetheless, developed in the 1880s, the Old Fashioned remains one of the most popular cocktails in the world today.
King’s version is decidedly more lemon-forward and sweeter than the classic formula. It begins with the laborious rubbing of a single sugar cube against the rind of a ripe lemon. Muddling the lemon-oil-infused cube with another two sugar cubes makes it much sweeter than a typical Old Fashioned, while the oiled cube and small strip of lemon rind exudes a subtle, lovely lemon flavor. Zach Griffiths’ mother courageously sampled King’s take on the classic. She’s never particularly liked Old Fashioneds — preferring the French 75 — but loved this one.
As King recommends, the cocktail should be made with full-strength whiskey. While he advises using Canadian Club, one might have difficulty finding it in other than the 80-proof variety. Following King’s instructions for drinking it quickly to avoid “massive dilution” may leave some wanting something punchier. Stronger whiskey would unquestionably do this cocktail right.
His recipe is easy to follow, so give it a try tonight if you are seeking a memorable way to toast the end of “Dry January.”
- COMPONENTS:
a. Lemons – Get lemons with only oily skin. These can be identified by seeing that the skins are thick (or fairly so), bright-colored, and shiny. It is impossible to make the cocktail from lemons with dull, dried skins.
b. Sugar – Get small cubes of sugar, about a half inch on each edge. The domino-shaped lumps will not do — their surfaces are too uneven. In the United States, I used to get Domino Brand lumps called “Dots”; in the Philippines, a size called “Cooktail.”
c. Whiskey – The cocktail may be made of either Rye or Bourbon. Rye makes a smoother drink but many prefer bourbon. One hundred (or higher) proof whiskey is desirable but Canadian Club is excellent.
d. Bitters – Both Angostura and Orange Bitters must be provided and carefully measured by drops. I find it convenient to get from a drug store two small bottles — one for each sort of bitters — with droppers made in the stoppers.
e. Ice – Use refrigerator ice cubes or cracked ice of approximately the same size. If smaller cracked ice or crushed ice is used, the cocktail will chill more quickly but will have to be drunk too rapidly to avoid massive dilution.
f. Garnish – The garnishing of the cocktail is “eye-wash” only — it does not improve the drink. Into each cocktail put one maraschino or cocktail cherry and one half-slice of orange (unpeeled) or a piece of other suitable fruit (a plug of fresh pineapple is excellent).
2. PROCEDURE:
a. Sugar – Three small lumps of sugar are required for each cocktail, prepared as follows:
-
-
- First Lump – Take one of the selected lemons and rub each surface of the lump of sugar on the lemon skin until the entire lump is saturated with the oil of the lemon skin. As soon as the saturation point is reached, the lump will crumble in your fingers and be lost. The process is laborious and your first effort may be discouraging. However, as soon as you have prepared one or two lumps you will find you have the knack of it and that the process is not too laborious. Care must be taken to avoid breaking through the lemon skin. The sugar must not be permitted to take up any of the juice of the lemons.
- Second Lump – Drop four drops (no more) of Angostura Bitters on the second lump of sugar, which will immediately absorb them.
- Third Lump – Drop six drops of Orange Bitters on the third lump of sugar.
-
b. Lemons – From a lemon that has not had sugar rubbed on it, cut, for each cocktail, a thin piece of the outer peel about an inch long and a half-inch wide. These strips of peel should be very thin and have none of the white inner rind left on them.
c. Mixing – Put one tablespoon full of water in the bottom of an Old Fashioned cocktail glass. Into this drop the three lumps of prepared sugar (first, second, and third lumps) and one of the strips of lemon peel. Grind and stir with a muddler until the sugar is completely dissolved in the water. Pour into the glass one large and one small jigger of whiskey (about two to two-and-a-half ounces). Stir well. Put in enough ice to bring the liquid to about a half inch from the top of the glass. Add the garnishment. The cocktail is ready to serve.
- QUANTITY PREPARATION:
For cocktail parties, where many cocktails must be served in a short space of time, it is convenient to prepare them by the quart in advance. Muddle and dissolve 17 first lumps, 17 second lumps, and 17 third lumps in 7 full tablespoon [sic] full of water. To this add one quart of whiskey and stir well. If securely covered, these prepared cocktails will keep indefinitely, or at least as long as a month. In serving the prepared cocktails, use two large jiggers for each drink.
Zachary Griffiths is an Army officer who directs the Harding Project to renew professional military writing.
Rick Landgraf is the commentary editor at War on the Rocks.
Image: U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
Jesus Christ is King
