The Sling and the Toddy are sort of like fraternal twins. Emerging during the eighteenth century, both are essentially sweetened, diluted spirits. Key differences are the dilution level (slings were 1:1, toddies were weaker at 1:2) and garnish. Though both could be served hot or cold, eventually the sling became associated with cold (or at least room temp) preparation, while the toddy was more likely to be served hot. This two-pronged recipe calls on popular spirits of the day, spiced rum-based liqueur, “apple molasses” and raspberry leaf tea. Note that these are true-to-period as far as their dilution—a real (delicious) history lesson for you!

Bang is essentially a warm 50/50 mix of ale and cider, fortified with gin or whiskey, sweetened (traditionally with treacle), and flavored with ginger and spice. It is differentiated from other beer cocktails we’ve studied because it doesn’t contain citrus and it isn’t a flip because it doesn’t call for eggs. Bang is kind of it’s own thing, and it’s just what I want to drink on a cold fall evening.

Ginger was an absolutely essential ingredient in eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century American drinks, a fact borne out by flipping through period household manuals. These contain all manner of gingery “receipts,” from ginger wine to ginger pop, beer, and lemonade; it was also called upon as supporting character in all kinds of recipes. Our spicy ginger syrup provides a perfect base ales, beer, and pops!

With its cider, perry, and sherry, Drink Divine seems more a descendant of wassail than anything else, especially with the bit about putting a “toasted biscuit” into it. (Represented in our recipe by the suggestion of serving with digestive biscuits!) To this simple mixture, I added ginger and allspice dram, but otherwise kept it simple; after all, the original recipe lives up to its name with no help!