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Drinking “Brüderschaft”
Drinking "Brüderschaft" (brotherhood drinking) is a widespread drinking custom in many countries indicating switching to a personal form of address by means of drinking. This custom is to link arms holding the glass reaching through the crook of the arm of the other...
Witches, Brewing, and Distilling
Brewing alcohol was part of a woman's chores for thousands of years as it was closely associated with cooking and baking. From ancient Egypt up to the medieval times it was common that women were running breweries. The Finns believed their goddess Kalevatar brought...
Quaich – Traditional Scottish Cups
The quaich is a traditional drinking vessel from Scotland. It is a flat bowl with two handles. The name derived from the Gaelic word cuach, meaning mug. It is unclear where quaichs originate from, though some historians believe that Highlanders used to drink from...
Du Kang – About China’s oldest liquor
"At sunset I sit in front of my door, a glass in my hand, and I feel like a god" is a Chinese saying depicting the love of Chinese people to enjoy to glass of Báijiǔ alone under the blossoming trees in the moonlight. [Chinese liquor or Báijiǔ (also known as Shāojiǔ)...
The Father Of American Mixology
Jeremiah "Jerry" P. Thomas (1830/1832-1885) was one of the pioneers of the "Golden Age of Cocktails". He is called the "father of American mixology", and nicknamed "professor". His book "The Bartender's Guide or How to Mix Drinks" (later retitled to "How to Mix Drinks...
Pickled in Brandy
The Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805 was a naval battle at Cape Trafalgar between the British and the allied French and Spanish as part of the Third Coalition War. It marks the beginning of more than a century of British supremacy at sea. Vice-Admiral Horatio...
Here Comes The Proof
When in the 16th century the British began to tax liquor higher than beverages with a lower alcohol content like wine and beer, proof suddenly became an important term. The easiest way to proof a higher alcohol content was by soaking a gun pellet with alcohol and...
The Legend Of The Angel’s Share
Legend is that a long time ago the people of Ireland and Scotland suspected that angels descended to earth and enjoyed a small amount of their whisk(e)y directly from their casks. The proof of that tale was easy as with bottling less whisk(e)y was in the cask as upon...
Jus Potandi – the Right To Drink
In the 17th century the text "Jus Potandi" or in German "Zechrecht" was written by an anonymous German author calling himself Blasius Multibibus (translating to Blasius, the heavy drinker). Jus Potandi is a legal-parodic text published in 1616, and it was the...
Spirit In A Bottle
Glass technology developed in India around 1,730 BC. The first small glass bottles was made in ca. 1,500 BC in Mesopotamia. Around 200 BC Syrian craftsmen invented the glassmaker's pipe allowing for larger and more varied bottle shapes. The oldest unopened wine bottle...
Saint Patrick Day Drinking
Saint Patrick was a Roman-British Christian missionary (385-461 AD) and is considered the national saint in Ireland. Saint Patrick is said to have explained the Trinity using the shamrock (trifolium), which subsequently became the Irish national symbol. Traditionally,...
The Oldest Bar in Georgia
Georgia was founded as a dry colony forbidding the import, production, and trade of rum and brandies in the Colony. In November 1737 William Stephens, newly installed Secretary of the Colony of Georgia arrived in Savannah. Two month after his arrival he informed the...
The Secret Of Genever
Genever (Jenever) is considered the historical basis of gin and one of the oldest known spirits typically distilled from rye or barley malt. Its key ingredient is juniper berry which is a medicinal herb used since ancient Egypt in 1500 BC curing stomach aches. The...
The Brandy Legend
According to Legend, in the 16th Century an unnamed Dutch shipmaster had an idea to distill wine for oversea shipment. The original idea may have been to add water to the “concentrated wine" upon reaching its port of destination. Concentration of products was...
The naming of Likör (Liqueur)
Likör (Liqueur) is named after the Latin word "liquifacere" meaning "to liquify". The original idea of Likör making was to enhance the taste of alcoholic drinks by adding natural flavors like spices, herbs, citrus notes, and sweeteners to a beverage. As alcohol has a...
Women in early distilling
Happy International Woman's Day 2022 The first two named distillers are both women! Tapputi-Belatekallim who lived around 1200 BC in Babylon, Mesopotamia was the first in history to own a still (that she used for perfume distilling). Mary the Jewess (also called Mary...
What is Likör?
Likör (Liqueurs) are the evolution of the famous flavored wines of Roman and Greek antiquity as the higher proof alcohol improved the maceration process of herbs, and spices. Italy is one of the countries which have a long tradition of producing and consuming...
William Cuthbert Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner (1897-1962) was a Mississippi-born novelist, poet, and screenwriter. He won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1949, and twice the Pulitzer Prize in fiction (1955, 1963). He is considered one of the most important American writers of the...
