North German Hot & Cold Anglian Mug: Angler Muck (Heiß und Kalt )

This drink is from the northern section of the Schleswig part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, from an area called "Angeln," near the border with Denmark, with the Baltic Sea lying off its east coast. The "general area" had been the home of the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes that sailed off to Britain centuries ago, settled there, and helped to found England, the name of which, as well as the name of the language that developed there from various Germanic dialects, are derived from the Angles. 

There are two versions of "Angler Muck," one that is served hot (German: heiß/heiss), which is good for winter, and one that is served cold (German: kalt), which makes it good for summer. "Korn," a very popular north German grain alcohol or brandy is the alcohol most often used for the cold drink, but you can substitute vodka and I don't think they'll punch you in the "mug" (see Word History below).There is actually a special ceramic mug in Germany for the hot drink (see photo below for an example), which is often kept warm on a small warmer called a "Stövchen," a word taken from Low German into standard German and also a close relative of English "stove," and literally translated as "little stove." They are typically heated with a candle.

 

Ingredients for the cold Angler Muck:

 

1 part vodka or clear grain alcohol/brandy

1 part lemonade

1 part club soda/sparkling water

ice cubes

 

Make the lemonade to your own recipe and sweetness/tartness preference. The club soda/unflavored sparkling water gives the lemonade some evfer.... ah, efverves... ah, bubbles. 

 

The recipe for the hot version of Angler Muck is: heat together 1 pint of rum and 1 pint of water (do not boil). As the liquid heats, add 4 tablespoons sugar and 6 to 8 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (your own taste preference). Stir to mix and dissolve the sugar. Serve hot.

 

 Cold Angler Muck ...

 

Mug for the hot Angler Muck; the Angler Muck Pott ...

About this photo, see: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mucktopf.jpg#file

 

WORD HISTORY:

Mug-The origin of this word is unknown, but it shows up in English in the mid 1500s as the word for "a bowl, cup or earthenware jug with a handle." Germanic relatives of English had forms of the word, and it's very likely that the word came to English either through Low German, which has "muck," as well as "mukke" and "mugge" (Note: Low German is not a standard language, but rather a series of dialects, so often there is more than one spelling for a word, or even a different word all together. Low German often has been referred to as a dialect of German, but many linguists have come to assign Low German its own designation as a separate language. It is "similar" to its close cousins Dutch, Frisian and English, but it also bears many similarities to its cousin (standard) German and to German dialects, but with several differences.) It is also possible that "mug" came to English via Danish or Norwegian "mugge" (one of the Low German forms, "mugge," is perhaps just a coincidence, or it could have been picked up from Danish, which is nearby, or even from Norwegian, which isn't that far away; then again, it might have been the reverse). By the way, Swedish has "mugg" and Dutch has "mok" (West Frisian "mok?" If so, from Dutch?). Old English had "muga," which meant "haystack, heaped up corn (grain)," but whether this is related to "mug" is unclear. Mugs of old often were made into designs of faces, and this seems to be the source of "mug" being used as a slang word for "face." This idea then was applied to photos in the second half of the 1800s, when photography became popular; thus, "mugshot," for a "person's facial photo in police records." Since a person's face is "who we are," likely this lies behind the notion of "mug" being used for a person, usually a man, and often a person of bad repute (likely from the added idea of being known to police), and the further idea of "mug" for usually a man, but further "a stupid man," seemingly from thieves jargon for a "man stupid enough to get caught and thus have a record with law enforcement." The verb form "mug" is from circa 1825 and its use in fist fighting, boxing, for "hit someone in the mug (face)," and this expanded in meaning by the mid 1800s to "a physical attack on a person with the intent to rob them."