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Symposium
Symposium originally stood for “drinking together” that took place after a meal of a banquet in ancient Greece. Poetry and music were central to the pleasures of a symposium. In Ancient Greece guests would gather around the altar of the home after the meal to start a...
The Children’s Hour
Franklin D. Roosevelt won the hearts of booze-loving Americans and is mostly known for his promise to end nationwide Prohibition with the 21st Amendment. When Roosevelt came into office he first signed the Cullen–Harrison Act legalizing the sale of beer with 3.2%...
Where The Spirits Come From…
Tracing the Origins: "Spirits" in Alcoholic BeveragesThe origin of the term "spirits" for alcoholic beverages can be traced back to the Latin word "spiritus," which encompasses the concepts of breathing and blowing. Some interpretations suggest it signifies the...
Beishan Jiujing
The first winemaker of China was the legendary Du Kang who lived during the reign of the Yellow Emperor Huangdi, approx. 2600 B.C. The earliest known scientific description on rice wine production in China is the Beishan Jiujing in the North Mountain Rice Wine Book...
May Wine & May Festivals
The Romans celebrated the spring-flower Floralies festival in the beginning of May. Since the Middle Ages on May 1st festivals were held to welcome spring throughout Europe. For centuries, the night from April 30th to May 1st was celebrated as Walpurgis Night. This...
Peychaud’s Bitters
In the 1830s, Antoine Amédée Peychaud, a Creole pharmacist in New Orleans, invented a gentian-based bitter that turns cocktails reddish. Peychaud came from the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), and compared to Angostura bitters, Peychaud's Bitters have a...
Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon
Heinold's First and Last Chance in Oakland, California opened in 1883. Johnny Heinold was born in Germany and bought the building located near the ferry between Oakland and Alameda for $100. He converted the small one-room building with the help of a ship's carpenter...
Maximón, the Liquor-Drinking Saint
Maximón or San Simón is a folk saint in the highlands of Guatemala who is said to have both positive (healing and protective) and negative (ominous and cursing) powers. Maximón is worshiped in the Maya Culture across tribes in about 20 towns in the Guatemalan...
Skaldenmet
The Skaldenmet (Mead of Poetry, Mead of Suttungr) is a myth from Norse mythology. It is a honey wine that if consumed enables everyone to sing beautiful and write poetry. The most complete information about Skaldenmet is found in the works of Snorri Sturluson in the...
The Salamander Ritual
"The salamander" is a drinking ritual that includes the knocking (and rubbing) of glasses on the table before or after drinking together, sometimes both. It is a widespread "Zutrinken" ritual among student associations, and less known outside the acadamic drinking...
The Fill Line And The Kefeloher
The filling line is a marking on serving vessels originally on beer glasses, later as well on wine and shot glasses, indicating the filling level for a specific volume. Anglo-Saxon and North American pint glasses have typically no filling line for the full glass, but...
JELL-O Shots
JELL-O is known today as "America's Most Famous Dessert." It was invented by a cparenter named Pearle Bixby and his wife. Both lived in Rochester, New York, in the small town of Leroy, where they run a local cough syrup manufacturing, rather unsuccessfully, until 1897...
Mbaba Mwana Waresa
The Zulu people of Southern Africa worship a goddess called Mbaba Mwana Waresa. The goddesss lives in the rain clouds, in a round hut made of rainbow arches. She is the goddess of the rainbow, rain, harvest, agriculture, and she gave the Zulus the gift of beer. ...
Drinking is the joy of the Rus
Vladimir I. Swjatoslawitsch (960-1015) was Grand Duke of Kyiv from 978/980 to 1015. He is considered the most important prince of Kievan Rus. The Christianization of Kievan Rus' in 988 is the most important event during Vladimir's reign. According to legend, it was...
Weißenau Abbey
The Premonstratensian monastery in Weissenau was founded in 1145. In its abbey was found the parchment manuscript no. 761/765 from the 12th century. At the end of this manuscript text was a trimmed sheet hidden in the cover with various recipes. The recipes were...
Is Aqua Vitae Whiskey?
Unveiling the Origins of Distillation and Aqua Vitae, the 'Water of Life' Alchemists across diverse ages and cultures sought the philosopher's stone, a legendary elixir believed to grant immortality and cure all ailments. Following this alchemical pursuit, the process...
The Whiskey Ring
The Whiskey Ring was a political scandal in 1875. The scheme started with distilleries bribing government officials, and these officials helped distillers to avoid federal taxes. After the Civil War whiskey tax increased to 70 cents a gallon. The Whiskey Ring began...
Stirrup Cup
The last drink that is drunk at an event is referred to as a "stirrup-cup", "dochan doris" or "Scheidebecher". A stirrup cup (also stirrup glass) refers to the process of saying goodbye to guests and handing them a drink while they are already about to leave - these...
