Rosemary Ginger Beer

This is a totally simple refreshing non-alcohol beverage. Ginger beer seems to have been first brewed in England in the 1700s and it became a popular drink in all of the British Isles and in numerous (then) British colonies and possessions like Canada, Jamaica, Australia and South Africa. It is my understanding that the original fermentation process produced both an alcohol content, as well as the sparkling fizz of the drink, which was made with yeast; but that later, the process was altered to make an alcohol free brew, and later still, the carbonation process (injecting carbon dioxide under pressure) was used to give the drink its fizz. The brewing process for ginger beer typically includes using real ginger; thus, the soft drink has a bit spicier taste than ginger ale, as ginger ale is typically carbonated water with ginger flavored syrup. For rosemary syrup, here is the link, it's simple:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2020/03/herbal-syrup-rosemary.html  

 

Ingredients (per drink):

 

tall glass (10 to 12 ounces)

ice

5 or 6 ounces ginger beer (according to glass size and amount of ice)

2 teaspoons to 3 teaspoons (that makes 1 tablespoon) rosemary syrup (your preference to taste)

rosemary for garnish

lemon slice for garnish

 

Add a little bit of ice to the glass (a small amount of ice makes it initially easier to mix), add some ginger beer and 2 teaspoons rosemary syrup, stir to mix, add more ice, and more ginger beer (to near the top of the glass), stir and taste; add another teaspoon (or more) of rosemary syrup, to suit your taste preference. Garnish with some fresh rosemary and a slice of lemon.

 

WORD HISTORY:

Beverage-The main part of this word is related to "potable," "potion" and "poison," all Latin-derived words borrowed by English from French, and to "imbibe," another Latin-derived word, either borrowed from Latin, but with French influence, or perhaps the other way around. "Beverage" goes back to Indo European "po/poi," which meant "to drink." This gave Latin "bibere," with the same meaning, and this passed to Latin-based Old French as "boivre/beivre," and it produced the noun "bevrage" (no 'e' between v and r), meaning "a drink," with the suffix "-age," often indicating "the act or process of the main word to which it was attached), tracing back through Latin "aticum/aticus" to Indo European "at." "Old French "bevrage" was "beverage" in the Anglo-Norman dialect that developed among the Norman descendants of England, and this was borrowed by English in the mid 1200s, and meaning "a drink." 

Rosemary Sloe Gin Fizz

About 50 years ago sloe gin was a common liqueur in American bars and restaurants. Back then a "sloe gin fizz" was known all over the U.S., even though not everyone made it the same way, as I recall, with some adding club soda to the sloe gin, while others added either Sprite or ginger ale. Nowadays it's still around, but when I went to the liquor store to buy a bottle recently, I had to explain to the clerk what I meant, because I didn't immediately see it on the shelves. She finally got the drift, but she too had a hard time locating it; so, you might say the whole thing was a "sloe" process. Obviously sloe gin is not as well known today. By the way, "sloe" is pronounced like "slow." Sloe gin typically has an alcohol content of 25% to 30%. For a little more, see the "Word History," below.     

I'm not much for shaken and strained drinks, so I use a tall glass with some ice cubes. Of course, you can always adjust the amounts to suit your own taste.

Ingredients (per drink): 

 

1 1/2 to 2 ounces sloe gin

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 1/2 ounces rosemary syrup*

club soda (fresh, with lots of fizzzzzzz)

ice cubes

rosemary for garnish

 

In a tall glass (10 to 12 ounce), add the sloe gin, lemon juice, rosemary syrup, then stir well. Add some ice cubes, but don't fill the glass with ice. Add the club soda to nearly fill, then carefully stir a little to mix (if the soda is really fizzy, the drink may bubble up or even run over, so be careful). Garnish with a sprig of rosemary. (You: Hey, what's that stem with the green needles?  Me: That's rosemary.  You: What's that little stem with needles next to it?  Me: That's "rosemary's baby." YIKES!)    

* Real easy to make, here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2020/03/herbal-syrup-rosemary.html

 

WORD HISTORY:

Sloe-This word is distantly related to "livid," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English via French. "Sloe" goes back to Indo European "sleihuo," which had the notion "blue, bluish, dark blue/purple." This gave Old Germanic "slaihon/slaihwon," which meant "sloe, the dark blue fruit/berry of  the blackthorn bush/small tree." (Note: Blackthorn bushes are related to hawthorns and plum trees, among many others.) The Germanic form gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "slah" (long a), with the same meaning, and this then became "sla," then "slo," before the modern form. The sloe berry is a tart, mouth-drying fruit that is common to parts of Europe, especially to England. The English began adding alcohol, one of those being gin, and sweetener to the berries and this became "sloe gin." Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German has "Schlehe," Low German once had "sle," Dutch has "slee," but now more commonly used in the compound "sleedoorn," literally "sloethorn," as the hedge-like bush has many thorns, Danish has "slåen," Norwegian has "slåpe," but now used in the compound "slåpetorn" (sloethorn), Swedish has "slån," more common in the compound "slånbär" (sloe berry), Icelandic "sló" (?).    

Herbal Syrup: Rosemary

If you like rosemary as I do, you'll like this; you may even LOVE this. It is great in certain cocktails and added to green tea (I add a little lemon juice too). Remember, this is not a drink in itself, but rather a concentrate used to flavor other beverages; thus, it is meant to be very sweet and heavily flavored with rosemary, as it will be diluted in the drinks you make. I consulted the article at this link to do this article:
https://www.foodandwine.com/cocktails-spirits/rosemary-syrup-cocktails

Of course, you can make a smaller amount by reducing the amounts of the ingredients.

Ingredients (for 1 cup +):

6 to 8 stems (each about 5 to 6 inches long) of fresh rosemary
1 1/3 cup fresh water
1 cup sugar

Put the rosemary into a pan with the water, bring to a light boil, then reduce to a simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the sugar, stirring as best you can to make sure the sugar dissolves. Let the rosemary steep for about 20 to 30 minutes, then remove the rosemary stems and strain the liquid through a sieve into a pitcher or a jar, cover it and store it in the refrigerator. 


Picture is of green tea with rosemary and lemon ...

WORD HISTORY:
Theme-This word is related to a number of words including "do" and "deed," both from the Germanic roots of English, and "thesis," a word borrowed by English from Latin, which had borrowed it from Greek. It goes back to Indo European "dhe," which had the notion, "to make, to bring about (later in English, as in, "to do harm"), "to be engaged in an activity (later in English, as in, "they got ready to do battle"), to put." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek "théma," meaning, "that which is set down;" thus, "a statement or assertion that brings further discussion about a matter;" thus, "a subject, a proposal, a topic." Latin borrowed this as "thema," with the same meanings, which passed to Latin-based Old French as "tesme" (seemingly the 's' was silent) also with the same meanings. English borrowed the word as "teme" (seemingly in some cases) and "theme," in the first half of the 1300s, from French, and with reinforcement by Latin. German, a close cousin of English, borrowed the word directly from Latin as "Thema" (pronounced "tay-mah"), and it is the standard word in German for "subject."