New-York tribune., 1898-01-16
DRINKS OF OLDEN TIME
BEVERAGES THAT CHEERED AND rNn
BRIATED OLD ENGLAND.
From The Chicago Times Herald.


and genial al this festive season. have always
taken just pride in their fertility Of invention.
The height Of their ambition Is TO please the
palates or their customers. and many OF them M
awake o nights thinking OF iii names for new
mixtures. Every once and a while a striking
title is hit upon for fancy beverage and the
fame OF the bar and its presiding genius assumes
profitable proportions In the work Of nomen.
clature and cOmpounding they are frequently
aided by hints from members Of the learned pro.
fessions Lawyers, statesmen and phliosophers
have not considered It beneath their dignity to
Invent and christen beverages which for tho tims
being seem more satisfying than those that hays
gone before" To this day prominent members
or Congress stop at a certain place on the south
slde or pennsylvania ave. and call FOR a John
Hancock" which is only 10 be had at this par-
ticular resort with all its pristine favor and
potency.
While Americans are foremost in this line NJ
art and are prone to sneer at the paucity Of wit
that characteriZes the drink mixers OF other
lands, the sad confession must be made tina, this
pre-eminence results more from the exercise Of
the initiative faculty than from inherent origi-
nality. And IL Is yet more humiliatng TO con fess
that We borrowed the practice from England.
the country Of all others which now desuses
anything but straight or diluted Scotch or Irish
with an occasional lapse TO b. and s." In the
upper circles and "shandygaf" in the pebeian
pubs Any one who gives thought to the history
of drinking. however. can understand why the
English were pioneers In the art OF ornamental
tippling. Even before the Roman invasion they
that time, II Is true, were crude and ofttimes
harsh, but they made the most OF their oppor.
tunltes; and as the island was overrun 10y tho
various brands OF invaders, mead and metheglln
gave way to all conquering wines and powerful
aes In other words, the population blended
with succeeding races drinks and drinking also
became mixed, till in Shakespeares time the
country was in perpetual muddle and fuddle
and an average Englishman was able TO drink
with facility your Dane dead drunk- and put the
bibulous German and the swag- -bellied Hoandef
under the table "ere the next pottle could hs
filed"
Cocktails were unknown In these glorious
days, and there Is no authentic record OF
smashes, fZzes, or even high balls; but there
were many other beverages with good mouth.
hlllng names. The sWaggerors had a favorita
upple called "huffcap." Ii vas an extra strong
ale, which made its devotees "huffy" prone 10
bully and sometimes fight Women who vent
as the men. drank "me rry- go down" which
was compounded Of Spanish wines. with liberal
accessions OF sugar, sprinkllng OF nutmeg
and pinch OF ginger. The poorer class of re.
ligious men took kindly to lambs wool" which
was made or hot ale, pulp Of roasted APPLES
grated nutmeg and ginger with raw sugar for
SWeetenlng Monks, priests and prelates had
a special class Of wines aYpropriately known az
''theolog cum." They were Of course the finest
Vlntages In the market. for as one Of the
chroniclers Of the times remarks the vino
merchant was afraid to serve this class ~ GUS
toners with anything but the best, les; his soul
should go straight TO the devil
Another sanity drink was "bishop." which
subsequently met the poetic appreciation u
Dean Swift. who wrote:
Well roasted. with sugar and wine in a cup
They'll make a sweet bishop which gentlefoks sup.
The old poets were fond OF celebrating their
drink in verse. or sack, whose glorious opera
uOns were graphically described by its high
priest Falstaff, an Elzabethan poet wrote:
Sacke will make the merrie minde be sad
SO will II make the me ancholle glad
III mlrtne and SadncSse doth In sacke remain.
When ! am sad | will take some sacke agaln
But to return to fancy drinks the list Of
which is by no means exhausted One wonder-
ful decocuon was made 10y boiling a number Of
herbs. bitter and sweet. and adding a quantity
OF the infusion to hot ale. This mixture which
was sweet or sour, soporfc or exhilaratng. ac-
cording TO the luck OF the brewer In gathering
his herbs was known as bitter sweet" FaL
STAFF, 1t will be remembered could not stomach
apple johns, which sometimes roasted and
dropped into hot spiced ale. Crabs were pre-
ferred for this purpose. Ale treated
favorite indulgence at Christmas time Refer
ence is made to it in the winter song IN "Loye's
Labour's Lost
When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl
Then nightly sings the staring owl
1t formed the ingredient Of the famous wassan
bowl az well as of the gossips bowl, Of which
Puck says:
Ana sometimes iurk in gossp's bow.
In very likeness OF a roasted crab
And when she drinks against her lips bob,
And on her witherd dewlap pour the ale
Other popular drinks were maddog and drag.
ons milk Their main constituent was a.e OF
different degrees of age and strength. favored
with ginger and similar hot stun Maddog was
the stronger OF the two II was popular among
gentlemen of Ancient Pistols stamp who usu-
ally wanted something t. grip their throais ana
put fire into their eyes. Topers owe great deal
TO this same maddog He it was that introduced
the custom. popular in other lands besides Eng
land Of easing the effects OF oyerindulgence ~
taking "a hair Of the dog that bit you
The fastidious BritOn Of the olden times vas
also mighty hard 10 please a. 70 the qualities
Of wine We find record ~ MS nicety IN his re.
gard as far back a. the twelfth century. An old
manuscript in the British Museum tells w. What
wine was most priced. IL should be clear Ike