Novel Liquids: Brandy, Shrub, and Early Modern “Cocktails”

Tyler Rainford Everyone has a favourite drink. Whether it’s a pint of pale ale, a smooth glass of merlot, or a certain cocktail for when we’re feeling fancy, we know what we like and what we’d rather avoid. We’re also very particular about how we drink it. Hold the ice. Shaken not stirred. Deviations from … Continue reading Novel Liquids: Brandy, Shrub, and Early Modern “Cocktails”

Liquids: Natural States Series Part I

Welcome to a special series on natural states of matter: liquids, solids, gasses, plasma. Over the course of this occasional series, we’ll be exploring recipes relating to all of these  substances, and how people have imagined, made, shaped, and used them in different times and different places. The first in the series is liquid, a … Continue reading Liquids: Natural States Series Part I

Of Wine and Chocolate in Anne Dormer’s Letters

By Daphna Oren-Magidor “I drink chocolate when my soul is sad to death.” This statement echoes through time – who among us has not used chocolate as a temporary cure for the blues? –  but it was written in 1687 by Anne Dormer (c. 1648–1695), in a letter to her sister Elizabeth Trumbull. Dormer had … Continue reading Of Wine and Chocolate in Anne Dormer’s Letters

From the Archives: Cock Ale: “A Homely Aphrodisiac”

From our archives, here is Joel Klein’s wonderful post that details the Cock Ale, an animal-based alcoholic beverage from Early Modern England. This piece originally appeared in a 2014 edition of the Recipes Project.  Mixologists, take heed!  I will be adding it to my pub queue. – R.A. Kashanipour By Joel A. Klein In a … Continue reading From the Archives: Cock Ale: “A Homely Aphrodisiac”