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A '''blowtorch''' is an alcoholic drink invented by members of the 1928 Byrd Antarctic Expedition. The recipe calls for mixing | A '''blowtorch''' is an alcoholic drink invented by members of the 1928 Byrd Antarctic Expedition. The recipe calls for mixing lemon powder with grain alcohol and diluting the mixture with ice until its drinkable. | ||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
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</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
However, even the newspapers understood that most of the alcohol was destined for recreational use. The ''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' made a joke that Byrd would have to keep a careful watch on the prescription forms issued to the men for their medicine. | However, even the newspapers understood that most of the alcohol was destined for recreational use. The ''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' made a joke that Byrd would have to keep a careful watch on the prescription forms issued to the men for their "medicine." There was legitimate use for the grain alcohol, as it was required to develop their camera film before it froze. | ||
==Types of liquor taken on the journey== | ==Types of liquor taken on the journey== | ||
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==Invention of the blowtorch== | ==Invention of the blowtorch== | ||
Although the crew had a sizable stock of liquor with them, the majority of the stores were probably consumed during the voyage to [[Antarctica]] or simply left behind on the ship while they commenced exploration of the continent. In any case, it is evident there was no liquor readily available when the crew wintered over at the Little America base. | Although the crew had a sizable stock of liquor with them, the majority of the stores were probably consumed during the voyage to [[Antarctica]] or simply left behind on the ship while they commenced exploration of the continent. In any case, it is evident there was no liquor readily available when the crew wintered over at the Little America base. | ||
Dr. F. Dana Coman, the expedition's physician, and the man with the keys to the liquor supply, took some of the grain alcohol and mixed it with the lemon powder and the crushed orange juice concentrate. The men dubbed this extremely potent drink a "blowtorch." Bryd himself participated in the festivities and every couple of weeks, he would authorize a tub of blowtorches made up and a party would be held to help the men relax and unwind during the long winter. | |||
Things got especially bad during one three-week midwinter drinking binge. Drinking contests broke out between the men, most notoriously between Danny Davies and Larry Gould, who got carried away and ordered everyone to "get cock-eyed drunk." The drinking and partying lasted until 4:00am in a "spectacular and riotous drunken orgy." | |||
According to [[Paul A. Siple]]: "A few others drank as gentlemen." | |||
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===Lemon powder=== | ===Lemon powder=== | ||
Prior to the expedition, Richard Byrd asked The Insulin Company to develop a dried fruit powder that contained vitamin C in an effort to prevent scurvy. They also took large quantities of lime juice | Prior to the expedition, Richard Byrd asked The Insulin Company to develop a dried fruit powder that contained vitamin C in an effort to prevent scurvy. They also took large quantities of lime juice and lemon powders. The Eli Lilly company also provided crushed "jellied" orange juice that was the first vitamin C infused orange juice concentrate in the world. However, these supplements generally went unused as the crew met their daily vitamin C requirement by consuming fresh seal meat during the long winter. | ||
This gave them freedom to utilize the fruit powders for more creative purposes. | This gave them freedom to utilize the fruit powders for more creative purposes. | ||