After the day’s slog, colonists kicking back and enjoying a refreshing beverage in America’s first colony didn’t quite have the kaleidoscope of choice Beverage Universe offers you. Life was tough in Jamestown, but colonists enjoyed beer, cider, and other fermented beverages from the Old World until they started brewing themselves. Since drinking water was brackish and didn’t provide the intoxicating effects that tough colonial life might permit, ale was the drink of choice.
Over in Williamsburg (not Brooklyn, ahem, Virginia), daily alcohol consumption was almost completely excusable. It was a tonic that could cure sickness and bring old folks back to life. Many drank from dawn to dusk and always at social functions. Even though mules and mojitos laid far into the future, colonists too drank mixed drinks. Heavy on the grog, menacing titles like stonewall, flip, bogus, and rattle-skull were just a few staples. And how did they go down? Mix them up for the holidays and try some yourself.
Stonewall
For a robust yet well-balanced classic, mix up a few stonewalls. Gather fresh ginger, rum, apple juice, and ginger beer. Muddle the ginger with simple syrup, add rum and apple juice, strain in an ice-filled rocks glass and top with ginger beer. Try our Cawston Press Cloudy Apple and Martinelli’s filtered or unfiltered organic apple juices, and Cawston, Regatta Craft Ginger Beer, GuS, Fever-Tree, or East Imperial ginger ales.
But for those of us who don’t want to venture all the way to colonial times, we can relish our taste buds in the modern era. Here’s a popular drink spruced up with autumnal charm.
Cranberry Mule
The stay-cold sweet and citrusy treat of copper cupped mules have been popular for a few years now, and they taste great refashioned for the holidays. Here’s a cranberry version that will sit well with your Thanksgiving guests. Mix a couple ounces apiece of vodka and cranberry juice, a quarter cup of citrus juice, three ounces of ginger beer, and a small handful of fresh cranberries. Try Harney & Sons Organic Cranberry; GuS, East Imperial, Galvanina, Boylan, Maine Root, and Baritts ginger beers, or take it to the next level with Zevia and Recess Peach Ginger.
Take your pick: past or present. Whether you’re after a colonial era drink or something a bit more modern, Bev U has a kaleidoscope of beverages and mixers that will freshen up the holidays and keep your guests coming back for “just one more.”
Check us out next month for more holiday drink ideas, from the colonial era to modern times. We’re time traveling for the holidays, so get on board, bring all your good people, and get the coolest mixers right here at Bev U.