Category: drink
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Drinking like a Regency Buck
What if you were praised for drinking lots of alcohol? In Regency England, you could be! Well… if you were a wealthy man. Nowadays, we think that immoderate drinking is a sign of weakness. However, back in the 1800s, it was often considered to be something between a neutral trait and, in some circles, a…
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Singing of “Auld Lang Syne” ~ the Tradition’s Scottish Roots
Tomorrow night, many of you will break out into the strands of “Auld Lang Syne.” The song evokes nostalgia and a sense of belonging. But what do you know of the song’s origin? Of its lyrics? According to “The History and Words of Auld Lang Syne,” the song is a Scottish tradition to be sung…
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Good For What Ails You: Boozy Medicine In Regency England
“Did people back then just drink their illnesses away?” This question came to my mind when I started reading regency literature and ran across tinctures, elixirs and cordials. I had a vague idea that a cordial was a mild alcohol, and no idea whatsoever about tinctures and elixirs. What were these things, anyway? It turns…
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How Did the Regency Upper Class Stay So Thin?
After all, we’ve seen those 3-tiered tea trays layered with cakes and sweets…
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Summertime . . . and the sippin’ is easy!
Somebody in one of my groups the other day was complaining that it’s hard to get a non-alcoholic drink at a summertime gathering. And as I thought about it, she’s right. She mentioned powdered lemonade or powdered iced tea in a Tupperware pitcher with no ice. This little article is by way of enlightened self-interest…
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Jane to a Tea: A Few Facts about Jane & Tea
Jane loved a good steaming cup of tea. In a letter to Cassandra, Jane wrote, “Let me know when you begin the new Tea. I am still a Cat if I see a Mouse.” And Miss Bates in Emma gives us this little gem: “No coffee, I thank you, for me—never take coffee.—A little tea…