Archaic Beverages

[Lancia]

@Smapti

When I was a kid in the early '90s, we referred to mixing equal parts of all of the available options at a soda fountain in one cup as a “suicide”. It rarely tasted very good and was something you did primarily to impress your peers rather than because you actually enjoyed it.

Same, except we called it a “graveyard” because… well, I don’t know. Maybe because it has a bit of everything in it, kind of like a graveyard? Anyway, it was done soley as a way to impress your buddies, all of whom though a “straight” fountain soda was for losers. Rarely did it actually get fully consumed. The times I made one I usually discreetly poured it out or “accidentally” dropped it / knocked it over.

The 90’s kids drink that I actually did enjoy was Orbitz. In a fit of nostalgia I went looking for it a few years ago only to discover I was 2 decades too late.

SoBe also had a tea called “Zen Blend.” I can still taste it even though it was taken off the market many years ago – 20, probably. It was the best drink SoBe has ever had. Are they even still in business?

[Smapti]

@Lancia

Are they even still in business?

Yep!

https://www.sobe.com/

[Darren_Garrison]

@Lancia

The 90’s kids drink that I actually did enjoy was Orbitz.

I drank a couple of those, but I done think I was too into them. Same company that made Clearly Canadian, I see. I loved those. Haven’t noticed them in probably well over 20 years, though. Apparently they still make them.

[Smapti]

@Tarataratara

McDonald’s would provide coolers of watery orange drink for things like Field
Day when I was young

simpsons water it down

[CalMeacham]

@DrDeth

For some early Americans, drinking was for liquid courage. At the dawn of the American Revolution, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys were downing Stone Fences (a hearty mix of hard cider and rum) while Washington and his men were warming up with Hot Ale Flips (a frothy combination of ale, eggs, rum and nutmeg warmed with a red-hot poker). For others, drinking was about socializing, and for such occasions the swift and heavy Rattle Skull (dark beer, rum and lime) or the steaming, revelrous Wassail (baked apples, sherry, cider and ale) were the drinks of choice, while hot or cold punch, particularly Philadelphia Fish House Punch , aided the early colonists to gain enough confidence to stage a revolution.

I have had the “Rattle skull” but not by that name, and in the SCA the wassail. The “Rattle skull”, which for me was half a Guinness, a shot of dark rum, and some fresh lime juice- was excellent.

I’ve had the Coow Woow, a supposedly authentic period drink, at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury (which has been operating since 1716, making it the oldest continuously running tavern i9n the US) . I didn’t care for it.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g41855-d120985-i226453567-Longfellow_s_Wayside_Inn-Sudbury_Massachusetts.html

Coow Woow’d at the Wayside

[CalMeacham]

A really archaic beverage that I have a hard time believing was real – or, if real, actually enjoyed – is Kykeon, and ancient Greek drink described in the Iliad. It consists of Pramnian wine into which barley was mixed, along with grated goat cheese.

Some people add honey, which I’m not sure if it helps or hinders. I’m still getting my head around swallowing wine with gran and cheese mixed in. Sounds like an invitation to choking. (The ingredients are stated together in the Odyssey. Assuming they were mixed together, this is the stuff that turned Odysseus’ men into swine. But if you add some moly – which might be a relative of the green onion-- it prevents your swinification)

Kykeon - Wikipedia.
Celine’s Quest for Kykeon – GREEK 102.002

It’s claimred that some version of it was used by the Eleusinian Mysteries and induced visions. But with stuff added to it besides the barley and cheese

Pramnian wine – History of Greek Food

[Rick_Kitchen]

@bump

I didn’t mean that it was obscure, just that I haven’t actually seen anyone ever drink one. Not at a party, not while hanging out at anyone’s house, not at a bar, etc… Just seen commentary on TV, and heard comments from old-timers about them.

Have you ever heard of an Irish car bomb? It’s Guinness and whiskey.

[silenus]

Ditto a Shillelagh - half Baileys, half vodka. We used to drink those all the time on camping trips. Usually with a crap beer chaser.

[kayaker]

@Rick_Kitchen

It’s Guinness and whiskey.

We always use Baileys, Whiskey, Guinness. Fill shot glass half full of Baileys, then add whiskey. Drop glass into Guinness.

Two people drop their shots in and drink. Last one done pays. I’ve never lost, but there’s a limit to how many rounds I can play.