The Tippler's Guide to the Mid 17th Century

Historical rabbit holes, for those who are inclined.

These slender booklets from Historical Management Associates are the work of an organization dedicated to historical re-enactment in the UK. They are written with a stickler’s attention to historical precision and a conviction that nothing is too arcane to investigate. Some of the books are simple transcriptions of period manuscripts; others represent significant original research, as in Cattle Farming and Grazing Management, which is 52 pages long but cites 36 sources, many of them published in the 17th century.

From the introduction:

“This book covers alcoholic drinks and drinking but does not try to cover brews that were solely or primarily medicinal. A great deal of alcohol was used in cooking and in some cases there is a rather grey area between a runny alcoholic food and a drink. Possets and Syllabubs have been included in this book although food cooked with alcohol has not.”

Sections include

• drinking establishments and laws
• prices
• beers and ales
• cider and perry
• bragget
• hydromel, mead and metheglin
• spirits
• imported wines
• wine management
• fruit wines
• composite drinks such as buttered beer, hypocras, and usquebath

Stapblebound. 84 pages.