Cock Ale? Ahem.

Reading the words “Cock Ale” while finding myself in Portland recently led to a string of unintentional associations. Oregon. Craft beer. Lumberjacks. Wow, who knew? Alas, cock ale has nothing to do with Oregon or its (no doubt sexy) men. It’s literal. Cock ale is beer made with rooster meat. As reported by Gastro Obscura, cock ale was once a British mainstay and many a pub’s name is a tribute to it: The Famous Cock, The Cock and Bottle, and so on. Much appreciated in the 1600s for its medicinal properties, cock ale was made (often by women) by immersing a rooster in a batch of boiling ale along with raisins, dates, nutmeg, and Sherry. Cock ale’s medicinal and restorative properties were legend. Besides purportedly curing tuberculosis, it was considered an early form of Viagra. So: cock ale to the rescue for what ails you. Think of it as craft beer meets chicken soup. And if that doesn’t work, there’s always a cocktail.

Which Eastern European country makes a wine known as Bull’s Blood?

A. Hungary

B. Bulgaria

C. Turkey

D. Romania

One of the most popular well known dry reds of Hungary is Egri Bikavér—bull’s blood of Eger. It is made primarily from the kékfrankos and kadarka grapes, grown in Eger. The legend behind the wine dates back to the mid-1500s when the fortress of Eger, which belonged to the Magyars (ancestors to modern Hungarians), was besieged by the Turks. The Magyars (men, women and reportedly, even children) fought fiercely, drinking huge amounts of red wine in the process. As the story goes, when the Turks encountered the Magyars’ ferocious fighting skills and saw their red-stained faces, they retreated, fearing that the Magyars attained their prowess by drinking the blood of bulls.

565k

Number of locations in the U.S. that sell wine, according to Nielsen. That’s about 120,000 more locations than ten years ago. Of these, just over 373,000 are restaurants, bars, stadiums and other on-premise places, and… Continue reading

Cock Ale? Ahem.

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