Over the last few years I seem to have accidentally - or perhaps incidentally - amassed an odd collection of drink and cookery-related books, and of these one of my favourites is 'Gourmet's Book of Food and Drink' published anonymously by an enigmatic Scottish journalist called Oswald Atherton 'Mac' Fleming in 1933 with illustrations by William M. Hendy. It’s a very readable volume and contains recipes, memoirs and much idle banter including excerpts from columns he wrote in the London Evening News and also the Sunday Chronicle. Unsurprisingly there is very little Irish content in its pages but it is still an interesting and curious book - and there is a very vague Irish connection in so far as Fleming was married to Dorothy L. Sayers who worked on the Guinness marketing campaign with John Gilroy, and according to some sources even came up with the now famous toucan idea.
In the book Fleming includes a few chapters solely on drinks and what may be of interest at this time of the year are the various recipes for mixed drinks - ‘cups’ - that he has gathered together in two chapters, and given the season I thought it might be a good time to transcribe them here so that perhaps some of you might experiment over the next few festive weeks.
There are over two hundred ‘cup’ recipes in the book covering all manner of alcohol and perhaps half that amount again in punch recipes, but given my interests I will just focus on some of the beer-related ones here.
Before get started I must quote Mr. Fleming and state that ‘ale and beer cups should be made with good sound ale, and drunk from a tankard; being more palatable and presentable in this way than in glasses’, and I wholeheartedly agree.
I will just include the more wintery sounding ones for now, with any ice being very optional. Some of the beers and ingredients might be hard - or even impossible - to get so some substitution may be required. I have left the recipes in Imperial measures so some conversion may also be required. please note I have paraphrased some of the recipes to make them slightly clearer but left most of the ingredients as stated. Some quantities are for sharing and may need to be decreased as you will see, please act responsibly!
Boil 3 pints of water with an ounce each of cloves, cinnamon, mace (all bruised together) for an hour and strain; add 3 ounces of fine sugar with the juice and thin peel of a lemon with 3 pints of good ‘college’ ale and ½ pint of sherry; heat before serving with a thin slice of toast sprinkled with nutmeg.
Grate a little ginger into a small glass of gin-and-bitters and pour into a pint of heated good ale, this should be drunk while frothing.
Rub the rind of two oranges with sugar and steep in a half pint of brandy, then add the juice of one lemon and a ½ pint of orange juice. (Here the recipes states to add a pint of water but I’d suggest a pint of red ale and serve hot, sweetened to taste.)
Mix ½ a grated nutmeg with a wineglass of sherry and strain after 15 minutes; add to a half a bottle of Claret and a bottle of porter and serve in a jug with a slice of cucumber and a large lump of ice.
Warm a pint of good ale and add an ounce of sugar, and an ounce of mixed spice plus a glass of sherry; when nearly boiling pour it on a round of buttered toast.
Roast a lemon full of cloves before a fire until it is dark brown; mix up a quarter pint of brandy, the same of noyeau [French liqueur noyau?] then add a half a stick of cinnamon; put a slice of toast in a bowl and add the lemon on top of it a gently squeeze it; add 4 ounces of fine sugar and two quarts of hot old ale and the spirit mix, leave for 15 minutes and serve.
Mix a half ounce each of nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon with 3 ounces of brown sugar and beat with the yolk of three eggs; warm a half a gallon of good ale and a half pint of gin and pour into the mix whisking it all together; drink immediately while it is still frothing.
Mix a pint of Scotch ale, a pint of mild beer, ½ a pint of brandy and a pint of sherry with a ½ pound of sugar-candy and a little grated nutmeg to taste. can be served hot or cold.
Heat a quart of ale with a tablespoon of ginger and nutmeg; whisk in a gill of cold ale and 2 ounces of sugar with three fresh eggs; when frothy add the warm ale slowly, with a glass of spirits and drink immediately.
Mix 3 spoonful [No size given] of fine oatmeal with a quart of old ale then boil the mix and sweeten; add the juice of one lemon, ½ a grated nutmeg, a little ginger powder, and a half a pint of wine; float a slice of toast on top before serving.
Add a round of buttered toast to a quart of old ale; add grated nutmeg to the toast and a little sugar, then one pint(!) of sherry and serve hot.
Mix a ½ pint of dry white sherry with a ½ pint of good ale; add a quart of boiled cream that has been flavoured with spices and strain through a fine cloth - seemingly a favourite remedy for colds…!
So, there are 12 for starters, I’ll put up some more in the next post. I must admit I haven’t tried any of these yet and as mentioned the volumes stated will need adjusting for solo drinkers.
Er, enjoy…?
Liam
Gourmet’s Book of Food and Drink by Oswald Atherton Fleming with illustrations by William M. Hendy was published in 1933 by John Lane, The Bodley Head Ltd. in London and printed by Western Printing Services Ltd, Bristol, England. It is dedicated to his wife, ‘Who can make an omelette’ …
All written content and the research involved in publishing it here is my own unless otherwise stated and cannot be reproduced elsewhere without permission, full credit to its original source, and a link back to this post.
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