POG Grog
Passion fruit, Georgia satsuma, guava eau de vie, and aged rum — tropical grog with local terroir.
Recipe by Miles Macquarrie, Kimball House, Decatur, Georgia.
POG — passion fruit, orange, guava — is a Hawaiian juice blend that became a regional staple in the 1970s after the Haleakala Dairy in Maui started producing it commercially. The combination is simultaneously tropical and soft, never sharp or aggressively acidic. It's the fruit juice equivalent of something deeply comfortable.
Grog has a darker history. The term comes from British Admiral Edward Vernon, nicknamed "Old Grog" for his grogram cloak, who in 1740 ordered the Royal Navy's daily rum ration to be diluted with water. Adding lime (to prevent scurvy) and sugar (to make it drinkable) was the sailor's improvisation. Grog became the prototype for all citrus-and-rum drinks that followed — the Daiquiri, the Ti' Punch, the Rum Punch.
Miles Macquarrie's POG Grog at Kimball House (November 2025) sits at the intersection of both: the tropical softness of Hawaiian fruit and the spirit-forward intention of naval grog. The Panama Pacific rum brings aged complexity; the Hamilton Jamaican Black adds molasses depth and funk; Rhine Hall's guava eau de vie bridges the fruit and spirit worlds cleanly. The satsuma cordial — made from Georgia satsumas sourced from Georgia Proud Provisions — grounds the drink in local seasonal terroir, replacing the original orange component of POG with something more specific and alive.
Single Serve
Steps
Satsuma Cordial
Satsumas are a thin-skinned, easy-peeling mandarin orange grown widely in Georgia and the Gulf Coast South. They're softer and less acidic than navel oranges — sweeter, more fragrant, with a compelling floral note in the peel. Sourced here from Georgia Proud Provisions.
Combine all ingredients in a vacuum bag or mason jar. Sous vide at 140°F for 2 hours. Remove and let rest overnight in the refrigerator — this allows the peel oils to fully integrate. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing solids. Bottle and refrigerate. Keeps 3 weeks. Yield: approximately 2.5 liters.