Mulled wine has been enjoyed for thousands of years. Even the Romans were known to drink hot wine peppered with different spices. But have you ever considered mulled beer? Turns out, hot or mulled beer was the drink of choice in English and American taverns, especially during the winter. Its proponents claimed, like Benjamin Rush, …
Author Archives: Michael Carver
Historical Tidbits — The Jay Treaty
When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. November 19, 1794 — Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America (AKA the Jay Treaty) facilitated ten years of peaceful …
Martha Washington’s Rum Punch
Elections in the 18th Century were festive. Food and drink were provided to voters to encourage both turn-out (often 85 percent of the eligible voters[1] participated). Songs were sung and GALLONS of rum punch were consumed. Prior to Prohibition, handing out drinks in order to woe voters was common. When Washington entered politics for the …
Schuylkill Fish House Punch
Fish House Punch is an alcoholic drink consisting mainly of rum. The first mention of Fish House Punch — though not yet by that name — may be in the notes of William Black, the secretary of the embassy of Virginia Commissioners who visited Philadelphia in 1744. He recounted being met by locals on the …
Dirty Business and Politics are Often Bedfellows
We all think of Benjamin Franklin as a grandfatherly type who invented and published things, sort of that eccentric neighbor who was everyone’s friend, but there was a ruthless side to Franklin. In 1728, a printer named Samuel Keimer founded the Pennsylvania Gazette, the second newspaper ever printed in the colony. It did not do …
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“Colonials were a despicable people — hardly worthy to call themselves the king’s subjects.”
The French and Indian War gave many British aristocrats their first view into what their American colonists were like. They were not impressed! War thrust people of diverse backgrounds and views into close contact, the French and Indian War was no exception. Britons and Americans learned first-hand that many of the commonalities that they believed …
The Spice Trade – Nutmeg, Mace, and Cloves
Okay, we are deep in the Pumpkin Spice season. It’s not safe to order a cup of coffee lest you get dragged into the Anglo-Dutch Wars. I like nutmeg and spices a lot but I think I would rather have Manhattan but the Dutch choose to keep the Maluku Islands and their special spice – …
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Black Tea Punch
Punch was introduced from the Indian subcontinent to England by employees of the East India Company in the late 17th century. The original drink was named paantsch from Hindi पाँच (pāñć), meaning “five,” as the drink was frequently made with five ingredients: alcohol, sugar, juice from either a lime or a lemon, water, and spices …
The Brewmeister was in Lewes
I brewed pumpkin beer in Lewes, DE yesterday at the Historic Lewes Town Campus of the Lewes Historical Society (https://www.historiclewes.org/locations/historic-shipcarpenter-street-campus/). For those of you who have not yet been to Lewes for its historical museums and interpretation, its well worth the drive (especially now that the summer season is over). Want to have the Regimental …
The Regimental Brewmeister is on BLUESKY
For about a year I played with broadcasting my blog onto Facebook. I have learned to truly loath a huge population of Facebook users and so this week I killed the feed. For those who use social media, you can converse with the Regimental Brewmeister on BlueSky (https://bsky.app/) as @colonialbrewer.bsky.social Want to have the Regimental …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 