Recipes
Drinks from the old books, with and without alcohol. Each one names its source and scales to the size of your party.
Drinks from the old books.
Or start from what you have at home85–96 of 228 recipes
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Always alcohol-freeRundell’s Chocolate, a Breakfast or Supper Cup from 1806
A cake of chocolate melted into boiling water and kept in a basin, then a spoonful or two boiled up in milk with sugar and whisked to a froth: the hot chocolate of Maria Rundell’s 1806 household cookery book.
Sack Posset, Sir Kenelm Digby’s Cream and Sack from 1669
Hot cream thickened with egg and poured from a height onto boiling sweet sherry with sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon, then eaten with a spoon: the sack posset of Sir Kenelm Digby’s 1669 cookbook.
Always alcohol-freeSok Malinowy, Warsaw Raspberry Syrup from 1885
Raspberries warmed in a pot standing in hot water until they give up their juice, then boiled with sugar into a bright syrup for cold water or hot tea: the sok malinowy of Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa’s Warsaw household book of 1885.
Always alcohol-freeSyrop z Róż, Rose and Green Gooseberry Syrup from 1885
Sour juice of green gooseberries poured over rose petals for a day, pressed and boiled with sugar into a rose syrup for cold water: the syrop z róż of Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa’s Warsaw household book of 1885.
Tea Punch, Green Tea, Brandy and Rum from 1862
A quart of strong green tea poured into hot brandy, rum, lump sugar rubbed on lemon peel and lemon juice: Jerry Thomas’s 1862 tea punch, once served alight.
Always alcohol-freeThe Navy’s Evening Pint of Tea from 1824
A quarter-ounce of tea made up to a pint and sweetened from the sugar ration: the evening pint every Royal Navy sailor was promised from 1824, when the Admiralty cut the grog.
Tom and Jerry, the 1862 Egg-Batter Hot Drink
A spoonful of spiced egg batter, a wine-glass of brandy and boiling water, with nutmeg grated on top: the Tom and Jerry as Jerry Thomas’s 1862 bar book dealt it out.
Whipt Syllabub, Hannah Glasse’s Cream and Sack from 1747
Thick cream whisked with sack, Seville orange or lemon juice, grated lemon peel and fine sugar, and the froth laid over sweetened red wine in glasses: the whipt syllabub of Hannah Glasse’s 1747 cookery book.
Beef Tea with Sherry or Brandy from a 1900 Bar
Beef extract stirred into a glass of hot water, with salt, pepper and celery salt on the side and a little sherry or brandy if the customer asked: Harry Johnson’s 1900 bar beef tea.
Clam Punch, Hot Clam and Tomato with Sherry from 1919
Clam juice and tomato catsup in a mug of boiling water, seasoned with salt, pepper and celery salt and finished with a dash of sherry: the 1919 clam punch, a hot savory cousin of the Bloody Mary.
Always alcohol-freeDodge Hotel Tomato Juice Cocktail from 1930
Chilled tomato juice with salt, horseradish and a little sugar: the alcohol-free tomato juice cocktail that a Washington hotel said it served more than any other recipe on its menu in 1930.
Gin and Tomato Juice, the 1929 Hangover Cocktail
Equal parts tomato juice and gin, shaken cold: the Broadway cocktail of January 1929, drunk against the next morning’s headache ten years before the name Bloody Mary turns up in print.
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Absinthe Frappé, Shaken until the Shaker Frosts
A pony of absinthe and a pony of water with a dash of anisette, shaken with fine ice until the shaker frosts, strained and topped with seltzer: the absinthe frappé of 1895.
Absinthium Romanum, Roman Wormwood Wine
Apicius’s Roman vermouth: mild white wine steeped for a day with wormwood, mastic, bay and saffron, unsweetened and bitter by design.
Always alcohol-freeAdynamon, Pliny’s Wine Without Strength
White grape must boiled with half its volume of water until the water is gone: the Roman ‘wine’ given to people who were not allowed wine. Alcohol-free.