Did you know Hammurabi and his Code of Law had law for beer production and sale?
In which period did cocktail consumption saw the worst decline ever?
The late 1970s and early 1980s saw the worst decline in cocktail consumption ever. This was due to several factors including the rise of disco and its associated club culture which favoured hard liquor over mixed drinks; the popularity of wine among young adults; and the increasing availability of cheap mass-produced beer.
The porridge thick Babylonian beer was staple
It is said that people of ancient Mesopotamia enjoyed beer so much that beer was literally a part of their staple diet. The Sumerians considered beer as a gift from gods for their wellness and happiness. They had different words for beer like sikaru , dida , ebir.
Ancient Babylonian literature, paintings and poetry depict that the beer was adored by Babylonians and their gods alike. Unlike beer in other civilisations, Babylonian beer was thick like a porridge, the Babylonians are known to have invented a special straw to consume this beer. The straw was crafted from a weed, for the affluent citizen, they were made of bronze or even gold.
Numerous clay plaques show that people used to socialise over a beer pot with straws
To the right here is an Old Babylonian Plaque depicting a Male and Female in the act of intercourse, the woman probably drinking beer from a jar with a very long straw. From southern Iraq. 1st half of the 2nd millennium BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.jpg
The Alulu Beer receipt of the city of Ur
The women in Mesopotamia brewed beer as part of baking. Texts from ancient scriptures suggest that the Priestess of Ninkasi and every other Mesopotamian women brewed beer at home as part of their meal preparations.
They used Bappir (a twice baked barley bread) to ferment and brew the bear, they always associated brewing with baking. But however, it was not only confined in the household, by BCE 2050 beer was a commercial commodity, an Alulu beer receipt found from the ancient city of Ur is a proof to a good beer trade in Babylonia.
Mesopotamian Gods from the beginning and into Babylonia, beer was a common sacred thread connecting all
The famous poem "Inanna and the God of Wisdom" describes the two deities drinking beer together and the god of wisdom, Enki, getting so drunk that he gives away the sacred meh (laws of civilization) to Inanna (thought to symbolize the transfer of power from Eridu, the city of Enki, to Uruk, the city of Inanna, worshiped in later Sumerian Civilisations like Babylonia as Isthar).
The Sumerian poem Hymn to Ninkasi is both a song of praise to the goddess of beer, Ninkasi, and a recipe for beer, first written down around 1800 BCE.-
Reference - World History Org
Hammurabi regulated Beer trade
Ancient Babylon had at least twenty categories of beer, all of them had different characteristics. Beer was a regular commodity in their foreign trade.
Beer was so commercialised and regularly traded in the time of the great Babylonian ruler Hammurabi, that he laid in his Code of Hammurabi, some important law to regulate commercial beer and its trade.
Beer regulation law in Hammurabi's Code
108. If a tavern-keeper (feminine) does not accept corn according to gross weight in payment of drink, but takes money, and the price of the drink is less than that of the corn, she shall be convicted and thrown into the water.
109. If conspirators meet in the house of a tavern-keeper, and these conspirators are not captured and delivered to the court, the tavern-keeper shall be put to death.
110. If a "sister of a god" open a tavern, or enter a tavern to drink, then shall this woman be burned to death.
111. If an inn-keeper furnish sixty ka of usakani-drink to . . . she shall receive fifty ka of corn at the harvest.
Source - Avalon Project, Yale
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Any Glass
When there is no specific glass suggested for a cocktail, it's up to you to chose a glass.
Either you just go ahead and serve using any glass available to you following these simple rules
A. Go for Tall or Collins Glasses, Highball Glasses or even Hurricane Glasses for cocktails with loads of non-alcoholic mixes, and those that require crushed or cubed ices,
B. But if your cocktail is aromatic and liqueur based, and has a complex character that must reach the nose use a wide mouthed Cocktail Glass.
C. Red Wine Glasses for cocktails that have a Red Wine as the base spirit. Red Wine Glasses have a wider mouth and a long stem, so that the wine can be swirled an aerated to release the aroma while the long stem keeps the fingers away and avoid quick warming of the wine.
D. White Wine Glasses for cocktails with a White Wine base, since White Wines must not be aerated as much as a Red Wines, since they oxidise fast when in contact with air, White Wine glassware, in contrast to the wide mouthed bowl of a Red Wine Glassware, is narrow with a narrow mouth. A White Wine has much lighter and delicate notes and the narrow mouth and less surface area in contact with air helps retain the aroma.
E. If your cocktail is based on a Sparkling Wine like Champagne then a Flute Glass is more suitable since a Sparkling Wine is a White Wine with a secondary fermentation that produces the bubbles, and the narrow mouth flute prevents the bubbles from escaping.
F. If it's winter and you are in the mood for some hot cocktails like the Irish Coffee or Hot Toddy, go for the Irish Coffee Glass, it has a heat resistant glass and a handle.
G. Martini Glasses for Martinis or "Tinis" in general, but since these glasses have fallen off of favour these days, a Cocktail Glass will be good too.
H. IF you are serving Margaritas, don't look for Margarita Glass if you don't have one at home, Double Old Fashioned Glass or other glasses are more common these days, for serving Margaritas.
I. If you are the adventurous one, and are serving shots or shooters, of course the Shot Glass is your choice of glass,
J. Finally, if you are going all out and serving depth charges and car bomb shots, all you need is a Double Old Fashioned Glass or a Beer Mug for the beer and a shot glass to drop the bomb in.Simple Guide to Cocktail Glassware
When there is no specific glass suggested for a cocktail, it's up to you to chose a glass.
Either you just go ahead and serve using any glass available to you following these simple rules
A. Go for Tall or Collins Glasses, Highball Glasses or even Hurricane Glasses for cocktails with loads of non-alcoholic mixes, and those that require crushed or cubed ices,
B. But if your cocktail is aromatic and liqueur based, and has a complex character that must reach the nose use a wide mouthed Cocktail Glass.
C. Red Wine Glasses for cocktails that have a Red Wine as the base spirit. Red Wine Glasses have a wider mouth and a long stem, so that the wine can be swirled an aerated to release the aroma while the long stem keeps the fingers away and avoid quick warming of the wine.
D. White Wine Glasses for cocktails with a White Wine base, since White Wines must not be aerated as much as a Red Wines, since they oxidise fast when in contact with air, White Wine glassware, in contrast to the wide mouthed bowl of a Red Wine Glassware, is narrow with a narrow mouth. A White Wine has much lighter and delicate notes and the narrow mouth and less surface area in contact with air helps retain the aroma.
E. If your cocktail is based on a Sparkling Wine like Champagne then a Flute Glass is more suitable since a Sparkling Wine is a White Wine with a secondary fermentation that produces the bubbles, and the narrow mouth flute prevents the bubbles from escaping.
F. If it's winter and you are in the mood for some hot cocktails like the Irish Coffee or Hot Toddy, go for the Irish Coffee Glass, it has a heat resistant glass and a handle.
G. Martini Glasses for Martinis or "Tinis" in general, but since these glasses have fallen off of favour these days, a Cocktail Glass will be good too.
H. IF you are serving Margaritas, don't look for Margarita Glass if you don't have one at home, Double Old Fashioned Glass or other glasses are more common these days, for serving Margaritas.
I. If you are the adventurous one, and are serving shots or shooters, of course the Shot Glass is your choice of glass,
J. Finally, if you are going all out and serving depth charges and car bomb shots, all you need is a Double Old Fashioned Glass or a Beer Mug for the beer and a shot glass to drop the bomb in.
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About Us
Neel B and Mani, we are a team of two, originally from India and the United States. We are professional software engineers and passionate cocktail enthusiasts. We built this app because we saw a need for a more comprehensive and user-friendly way to find cocktails and bartending recipes. We hope you enjoy using our app as much as we enjoyed making it!We decided to use our technology skills to help others who were in the same position as us and wanted to experiment with making cocktails at home but didn\u2019t know where to start. We have been working together for more than two years and has managed to collect an extensive library of recipes as well as tips and tricks for making the perfect cocktail.
Neel B is an Electronics and Telecommunications Engineer and martial arts and fitness enthusiast. He is an avid reader, compulsive doodler, and painter. His love for cocktails arises from the art in it and the history that traces the ups and downs of modern civilisation over centuries.
Mani is an ERP and SaaS developer and architect by day and a cocktail enthusiast in her leisure. She holds a Masters in Computer Application and Programming. In addition to writing stories on the history of cocktails and alcohol, she has a special interest in cocktails in literature. She believes that the perfect cocktail can make any moment special.