Gunfire (or gun-fire) is a British

caffeinated alcoholic drink A caffeinated alcoholic drink is a drink that contains both alcohol (drug), alcohol (also known formally as ethanol) and a significant amount of caffeine. Caffeine, a stimulant, masks some of the depressant effects of alcohol. However, in 2010 a ...

, a

cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

made of

black tea Black tea (also literally translated as red tea from various East Asian languages) is a type of tea that is more tea processing, oxidized than oolong, yellow tea, yellow, white tea, white, and green tea, green teas. Black tea is generally st ...

and

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

. It has its origins in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and is also used as a name for early morning tea.

History

British Army

It is unknown when gunfire was concocted, but it is known that it was mixed by British Army soldiers during the 1890s. Gunfire is served by

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and

non-commissioned officers A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

to lower ranks before a morning attack (as a form of

Dutch courage Dutch courage, also known as pot-valiance or liquid courage, refers to courage gained from intoxication with alcohol. Uses Criminal Alcohol is occasionally used by criminals as a tool to commit alcohol-related offenses. These may include ...

) and as a celebration before a Passing out parade. It is also traditionally served to soldiers in their beds by their officers on Christmas Day at

reveille "Reveille" ( , ), called in French "Le Réveil" is a bugle call, trumpet call, drum, fife-and-drum or pipes call most often associated with the military; it is chiefly used to wake military personnel at sunrise. The name comes from (or ), the ...

if they are deployed over Christmas. Individual regiments may carry out the ritual on other days: for example, in the

Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the World War I, First World War. Today, it is an Armoured warfare, armoured regiment equipped with Challenger 2 main battle tanks ...

gunfire is served on Cambrai Day; in the

Queen's Royal Hussars The Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish) (QRH) is the most senior armoured regiment in the British Army, equipped with Challenger 2 main battle tanks. The regiment was formed on 1 September 1993 from the amalgamation of the Quee ...

on Balaclava Day and

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...

; and in the

Royal Dragoon Guards The Royal Dragoon Guards (RDG) is a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1992 by the amalgamation of two other regiments: The 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dr ...

gunfire made with whiskey on St Patrick's Day. During the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, 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 An armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) is typically a powerful tank or armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis modified for use during combat for military vehicle recovery (towing) or repair of battle-damaged, stuck, and/or inoperable armoured f ...

and some army jeeps into a camp gate as a result.

Australian and New Zealand armies

In Australia and New Zealand on

ANZAC Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...

, a version of gunfire with black

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

instead of tea is served to soldiers before dawn services as part of the "gunfire breakfast".

Civilians

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. Gunfire is also drunk by Australian civilians to commemorate ANZAC Day. A similar drink, particularly in the German-speaking world is

Jagertee Jagertee (also Jägertee) is an alcoholic punch historically made by mixing "Inländer-Rum" with spiced black tea. It is served warm and is typically consumed during winter in the cold parts of Central Europe. Although Jagertee is easily made at ...

Recipe

Gunfire consists of one cup of black tea with one

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of rum, which is then stirred in the

cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

References

{{Wikidata-inline British Army traditions Tea culture Cocktails with rum ANZAC 1890s establishments in the United Kingdom Australian alcoholic drinks New Zealand alcoholic drinks Cocktails with tea Brunch