Beverages

[Uschi]

I do enjoy wine and bubbly, but I also enjoy fizzy water and juice spritzers. Not quite the same, but a treat and something special . and works great against thirst.

[northleedsbhoy]

At New Year when I lived in Scotland my mum, my aunt’s and my gran used to make ginger wine from an essence that they got from, I think, the chemist. It was simple to make and just involved adding it to water and sugar then boiling and letting it go cold, these days I would use powdered sweetener or some other artificial substance.

Us kids would have it like that but the batch made for the adults would have something like rum added to make it alcoholic. I really looked forward to New Year as that was about the only time it was made. I’ve just asked Mr Google and it is still available.

https://www.youngsgroup.co.uk/catalogue ... 560-detail

Cheers
NLB

[aero280]

My mother never drank alcohol. She just didn’t like it; not for any other reason. Back in the day people would keep trying to persuade her to “Try this”. In the end she found that a glass of Schweppes Dry Ginger Ale was a good choice, it looked like a whisky and soda, and stopped people pestering to try alcohol.

[scullion]

my mum, my aunt’s and my gran used to make ginger wine from an essence that they got from, I think, the chemist.

that looks like the sort of stuff we'd like - shame it's not available down here.

[Stokey Sue]

I was intrigued as I remember chemists selling such things

It seems you now get it it, logically enough, from home brew suppliers, in Smooth or Flaming Hot

https://www.youngsgroup.co.uk/catalogue ... 560-detail

Always read the label on any gingery thing described as Fiery or Extra Hot, it has usually been pepped up with chilli and I find some quite unpleasant

[Pampy]

When I was young, my Mum used to make lovely ginger wine from scratch from a recipe of my Grandma's. I wanted to make it but couldn't find burnt sugar and my attempts to make it were abysmal!

[northleedsbhoy]

my mum, my aunt’s and my gran used to make ginger wine from an essence that they got from, I think, the chemist.

that looks like the sort of stuff we'd like - shame it's not available down here.

I’ve had another conversation with Mr Google and the essence can be bought online from here.

https://www.wineonlinestore.co.uk/produ ... nce-smooth

Cheers
NLB

[scullion]

thanks! i've ordered some.
i am lazy! i didn't think about looking online - just at where it could be bought locally, from their website.

[northleedsbhoy]

thanks! i've ordered some.
i am lazy! i didn't think about looking online - just at where it could be bought locally, from their website.

Enjoy

Cheers
NLB

[Suffs]

When I was young, my Mum used to make lovely ginger wine from scratch from a recipe of my Grandma's. I wanted to make it but couldn't find burnt sugar and my attempts to make it were abysmal!

I would point out that ginger wine is alcoholic … as is properly made ginger beer!

[Earthmaiden]

I think there was a brand of non-alcoholic widely drunk by some at Christmas - in the 60s at least. My mother loved it and she was strictly teetotal, I used to be allowed it too. It certainly wasn't ginger beer or anything like that. I didn't realise it could be alcoholic until MIL, who I had seen drink it every Christmas for years, had trouble standing up after a couple of glasses in her mid-90s.

[Suffs]

When I was a youngster people like Ma and Granny would drink Stones’ Ginger Wine at Christmas thinking it was not alcoholic … ‘it couldn’t be, it wasn’t made from grapes’ … they’d been brought up in the Methodist tradition and were quite innocent … or naive … about ‘drinks’.

And then there was the Christmas lunchtime when Ma passed out cold on the floor as Pa was carving the Capon … she’d had several chocolate liqueurs (a present from her brother in Leighton Buzzard) while she was upstairs making the beds that morning ‘cos it was cold and the cherry brandy ones warmed her up. She had no idea they were alcoholic either

[Earthmaiden]

[Badger's Mate]

In my childhood, drinks like ginger wine, cherry brandy & advocaat were considered to be suitable for consumption by children at Christmas, although the first was mainly an essential ingredient of whisky Mac and mum would drink the other two. Everyone knew full well that they were alcoholic drinks.

Dad would also go to a off licence for something special for the adults, a bottle of Emva Cream ‘sherry’. I don’t know if it’s still available. M - do you still see it in Cyprus?

[aero280]

Gosh! Emva Cream! That takes me back.

There was also a “sherry” called Monte Cristo. My father kept a bottle for visitors. He liked it. Everyone else thought it was vile…

[mistakened]

Dad would also go to a off licence for something special for the adults, a bottle of Emva Cream ‘sherry’. I don’t know if it’s still available. M - do you still see it in Cyprus?

Yes, I have a bottle of Emva Dry with my cooking essentials. I use it as a substitute for Chinese wine.

Moira

[Stokey Sue]

There were all sorts of “sherries” around, I remember Emva and also South African brands of Cape Sherry.

There were huge advertising campaigns for slightly posher brands of sherry, a bottle of Harvey’s Bristol Cream or Croft Original was considered a suitable gift to thank someone for help during the year, I suspect some of them recirculated a few times without ever being drunk.

If you want decent sherry, M&S own is good, Morrisons The Best in half bottles even better and currently on offer

[Badger's Mate]

We have his & hers sherry. I quite like all the styles, as I do for the wines of Madeira, but have always got a dry one; whereas Mrs B covets her PX.

[Busybee]

PX sherry is like Christmas in a glass. We always have a bottle of Croft original knocking about too.

BB

[northleedsbhoy]

Sherry, well the really cheap stuff I buy that I wouldn’t give to my worst enemy, gives a wonderful flavour to casseroles or dishes I make in a lidded stir fry pan. I normally go for the pale cream (sorry if that offends anyone…). Seriously, I do like a sherry occasionally.

Cheers
NLB