Mrs Beeton's Christmas Drinks

The redoubtable Mrs Beeton appears to have loved a party; the following are recipes for drinks for a crowd - one for the northern hemisphere and two for the southern, although I'm sure the champagne-based recipe would go down well all year round in both parts of the world.

In the 1890s all sorts of fizzy wines were fashionable - sparkling hock and sparkling claret to name just a couple.  Mrs Beeton's recipe for Claret Cup could well be an economical version of a sparkling claret which had to be purchased by the bottle when the 1900 edition of her book was published and used a cheaper non-sparkling claret, the taste of which was disguised by sugar and the addition of liqueur.

Claret Cup. INGREDIENTS for sufficient for 4 persons - 1 bottle of claret, 1 bottle of soda water, about 1/2 lb of pounded ice, 4 tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, 1 liqueur glass of Maraschino, a sprig of green borage.

Put all the ingredients into silver cup, regulating the proportion of ice by the state of the weather, if very warm, a larger quantity would be necessary.

 

Champagne Cup. INGREDIENTS for cup for 4 persons - 1 bottle of champagne, 2 bottles of Schweppes soda water, 1 liqueur glass of brandy or curacao, 2 tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, 1 lb of pounded ice, a sprig of green borage.

 

Put all the ingredients into a silver cup or bowl, stir them together and serve the same as claret cup.  Should the above proportion of sugar not be found sufficient to suit some tastes, increase the quantity.  When borage is not easily obtainable, substitute for it a few slices of cucumber.

 

Mrs Beeton also has  recipe for Cider Cup, but it includes an ingredient called Harstin's selzer, not available, as far as I know, in contemporary times.  I'm reproducing the recipe here with soda water as a substitute:

 

Cider Cup. INGREDIENTS for cup for 4 persons - 1 quart bottle of cider, 1 bottle of soda water, 1/2 glass brandy or liqueur, 1 lemon, 2 tablespoonfuls of pounded sugar, borage or a few slices of cucumber.

 

Put the sugar in a jug with the lemon rind and half the juice, pour over the brandy and set on ice.  When the cup is sufficiently flavoured with the lemon peel, take it out and add the soda water, then pour all into a glass jug in which have been placed a few sprigs of borage.



The Claret Cup recipe intrigues me the most; it could actually be used as an accompaniment to a Christmas Day dinner where a sweet glazed roast turkey and ham are on the menu as a still dry red wine may be overpowered by such richly and full-flavoured dishes.  If you are serving game, try accompanying it with a sparkling shiraz for an authentic (or near-authentic) 1890s experience. 

Merry Christmas from Mrs Beeton!