July 14, 2020
For our final quote from Trollope’s The Bertrams (which, while not the finest Trollope tale available, is well worth a few days’ or weeks’ read) we have a little pale ale, about which we have a fine bit of wisdom from one of our main characters. I love it! And I am also fond of The Bertrams Part I and The Bertrams Part II Cocktail Talk quotes, so if you haven’t seen them, go back in time (via the helpful links) and catch up, before we bid adieu to our pal Tony Trollope on the ol’ Spiked Punch – at least for now!
“’And at last Mrs. Price got her porter, and Mrs. Cox got her pale ale. ‘I do like pale ale,’ said she; ‘I suppose it’s vulgar, but I can’t help that. What amuses me is, that so many ladies drink it who are quite ashamed to say they like it.’
‘They take it for their health’s sake,’ said Bertram.
‘Oh, yes: of course they do.’”
–Anthony Trollope, The Bertrams
September 23, 2014
I recently picked up a couple Trollope books I hadn’t read before (which is rare – if you don’t know of my Trollopean love, go check out past Trollope Cocktail Talks), thanks to Powell’s, and as long-time readers of this here blog could guess, I was super excited to find them. Both because I could happily read Trollope all day long, and because the books tend to contain a nice bit of Cocktail Talk, too. For example, one of the books was Ralph the Heir, about a somewhat ne’er-do-well running into trouble before some inheritance kicks in, along with being about his much nicer cousins, and how they all end up and with who. It’s fantastic, really. But having a ne’er-do-well means, naturally, that there’s some time spent in clubs and bars, which leads to the below quote – one of the best about how service is sometimes driven.
Mrs. Horsball got out from some secluded nook a special bottle of orange-brandy in his favour – which Lieutenant Cox would have consumed on the day of its opening, had not Mrs. Horsball with considerable acrimony declined to supply his orders. The sister with ringlets smiled and smirked whenever the young Squire went near the bar. The sister in ringlets was given to flirtations of this kind, would listen with sweetest complacency to compliments on her beauty, and would return them with interest. But she never encouraged this sort of intimacy with gentlemen who did not pay their bills, or with those whose dealings with the house were not of a profitable nature. The man who expected that Miss Horsball would smile upon him because he ordered a glass of sherry and bitters or half-a-pint of pale ale was very much mistaken; but the softness of her smile for those who consumed the Moonbeam Champagne was unbounded. Love and commerce with her ran together, and regulated each other in a manner that was exceedingly advantageous to her brother.
–Anthony Trollope, Ralph the Heir
Tags: Anthony Trollope, Brandy, Champagne, Cocktail Talk, Moonbeam Champagne, pale ale, Ralph the Heir, sherry and bitters
Posted in: Anthony Trollope, Brandy, Champagne & Sparkling Wine, Cocktail Talk
April 26, 2013
If you didn’t read The Old Curiosity Shop, Part I, you might want to, or just check out all Charles Dickens Spiked Punch posts. Cause I don’t want to take a lot of pre-amble, as this post will have a quote from that classic book, as well as a recipe that relates to the quote (cause I like to have Friday Night Cocktail recipes on Fridays, and wanted to somehow tie it all together. Make sense?). So, here’s the Cocktail Talk, Dickens’ style.
Presently he returned, followed by the boy from the public house, who bore in one hand a plate of bread and beef, and in the other a great pot, filled with some very fragrant compound, which sent forth a grateful steam, and was indeed choice Purl, made after a particular recipes which Mr. Swiveller had imparted to the landlord at a period when he was deep in his books and desirous to conciliate his friendship. Relieving the boy of his burden at the door, and charging his little companion to fasten it to prevent surprise, Mr. Swiveller followed her into the kitchen.
Now, to follow that up, here’s a recipe for Purl from Good Spirits, so you can make your own to sip on while reading Dickens on a cold spring night. Or, to have with friends while you’re acting out scenes from your favorite Dickens’ books. This is something you do, right?
Purl
6 ounces porter
6 ounces ale (a pale ale works)
1 ounce gin
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1. Add the porter, ale, and ginger to a small saucepan. Heat over medium-heat, until warm but not boiling.
2. Carefully pour the porter-ale mixture into a pint glass that has been slightly warmed (by running it under warm water).
3. Add the gin. Stir once with a spoon. Sprinkle the freshly grated nutmeg over the top.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Cocktail Talk, Friday Night Cocktail. What I'm Drinking, Gin, ginger, Good Spirits, nutmeg, pale ale, porter, Purl, The Old Curiosity Shop
Posted in: beer, Charles Dickens, Cocktail Recipes, Cocktail Talk, Gin, Good Spirits, Recipes
For our final quote from Trollope’s The Bertrams (which, while not the finest Trollope tale available, is well worth a few days’ or weeks’ read) we have a little pale ale, about which we have a fine bit of wisdom from one of our main characters. I love it! And I am also fond of The Bertrams Part I and The Bertrams Part II Cocktail Talk quotes, so if you haven’t seen them, go back in time (via the helpful links) and catch up, before we bid adieu to our pal Tony Trollope on the ol’ Spiked Punch – at least for now!
