Muldvine

On Christmas Eve, at any European holiday fair, you can try a glass of mulled wine.

In England, they traditionally sell another drink - Muldwine. Wines and even brandy are used in its preparation. The difference between mulled wine and gluhwine (mulled wine) is that the former is not served with fruit, except for a few slices of orange. But spices are used much more.

Summervine

Although "summer wine" - this is how Summer Wine is translated into Russian - cannot be called gourmet drink, it is worth a try to find out about the preferences of rural residents in the warm season.

Wine is made from a variety of fruits. The practice is widespread in England home cooking summervine.

Whiskey

For most connoisseurs of strong alcoholic beverages, whiskey is associated with Ireland and Scotland. In England, its production was frozen for for a long time and resumed in 2009.

The taste of the drink depends on how it is drunk: in pure form or with ice. The British love to use whiskey in original cocktails. There are three varieties English drink: Grains (based on wheat, barley or rye), malts and blends.

Among the brands are especially popular:

• English Whiskey;
• Cutty Sark;
• chapter 17;
• St George Distillery;
• Hicks & Heley.

The choice of alcoholic beverages in England is quite large. Guests of the country should not forget that the appearance in public places of the United Kingdom in drunk punished by law.

At that time, the British were considered leaders in the worship of the green serpent, but this did not prevent them from ruling the colonial empire. The turn of the 18th-19th centuries was an era of economic growth and the growth of the power of England. At the same time, William Pitt Sr., the head of the British cabinet in 1766-1768, was known for being able to go to speak to deputies, drunk, and vomit on the floor of the Palace of Westminster. This did not affect the prime minister's career in any way. And they said about Pitt's cabinet that the only quality that united the politicians in its composition was the ability to drink well.

Drunkenness at this time was a common and all-encompassing phenomenon in continental Europe. The nobles (in the overwhelming majority who served in the military) drank more than others, which was explained both by the peculiarities of the then sanitation and the specific conditions of army life. True, the British still stood out against the general background. So, the German scientist Karl Moritz, who traveled around England in the 18th century, recalled that he could not drink on a par with the British, and English ale seemed too strong to him.

Public opinion of the era believed that if an "officer and gentleman" could drink a lot of alcohol, he thereby demonstrated his best qualities: willpower, fortitude and strength of health. As he wrote about the mores of officers early XIX century historian William Douglas: "In those days of great drunkenness ... not a single officer was considered fit to command a company if he did not master three bottles of port wine at dinner." At the same time, the eccentric MP and landowner John Mitton, the owner of a huge fortune, became famous in England. He drank four to six bottles of brandy a day, and when he traveled, he always carried a huge wine collection. Mitton managed to drink almost everything he owned in fifteen years.

Against the background of this cheerful life, the position of the English conservative William Wilberforce was considered a real feat of abstinence. Having become a staunch Christian, he became famous not only for his fight against slavery, but also for his inspired speeches against drunkenness. Wilberforce set a rule for himself: no more than six glasses of wine a day. This is a real teetotaler!

Sweet, strong, cheap

The choice of drinks in those days was very different from modern assortment. If now dry wines are in the first place, then fortified wines were especially revered in those years. It's all about taste and technology. Without modern achievements in chemistry, which allows the use of preservatives and storage of wine for a very long time, then it was possible to save only fortified wines, while dry ones spoiled very quickly. Therefore, most of all they drank port wine, sherry, Madeira and liqueur wines like tokay, muscat, Cypriot commandaria. In addition to people in fortified and dessert wines liked the sweetness.

Strong drinks were also in use. After a law was passed in England at the end of the 17th century that encouraged the distillation of grain spirits, gin came to the fore in terms of production and consumption. But why gin and not whiskey? The answer is simple - the quality of the then distillation did not allow for sufficient purity of the product. This meant not only a hard hangover in the morning, but also a nasty taste directly when drinking. To combat this scourge, they added juniper berries and herbs.

Another way to improve the quality of the drink is a long exposure of alcohol to oak barrels. This is how cognac and whiskey are made, but it is clear that it was much more profitable to sell freshly distilled alcohol, so aged drinks quickly became the lot of rich people. Basically, the whiskey of that time was completely different from the current one: the vast majority of producers could not stand their product and actually sold barley vodka.

third pillar strong alcohol was rum. It became extremely popular for two reasons. First, it was made from the waste of the sugar industry. Wasteless production, so to speak. Secondly, due to the specifics of the technology, rum initially had a pleasant sweet taste and a special aroma, which favorably distinguished it from grain alcohol.

Well, in the North American colonies in the XVIII century, the production of bourbon begins. The colonists considered it whiskey, because bourbon was made using a similar technology, but the raw material for this drink was not barley, but corn and rye, which grew in abundance in the colonies and were very cheap. Pretty soon it became clear that the profit from the production of alcohol was not much inferior to the income from tobacco or cotton plantations, and even there was no need to worry about selling the product to Europe. After all, bourbon consumers lived in the place of its production.

In conclusion, we note that drinking water at that time was risky. Boiling for any reason, as we have now, has not yet become a custom, including due to a shortage of fuel, and raw water served in best case laxative, and at worst - sent to the next world. Alcohol, thus, served to disinfect the body. Sometimes - excessive. We will tell you more about the consequences of the global binge, especially in the military sphere.

Rejoice, drinkers fresh air: Drinking alcohol in public places is not formally prohibited in England and Wales (however, of course, you must be over 18 years old to do this). If you want to take a drink outside of a bar or pub, or buy it from a store and open it immediately when you leave, you are not prohibited by law. True, it is always better to be careful with glassware.

In practice, there is the concept of Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) - a rule that leaves the control of drinking in public places to the police. It operates in certain zones known as Controlled Drinking Zones. And if you drink in an area where there is such a restriction, then the policeman can prohibit it and even confiscate what you drink.

Important: even in these zones, drinking alcohol in itself is not a violation of the law. But you have to stop drinking If required by the police.

Manifesto Club organization that opposes excessive control Everyday life, made a map of such zones. PSPO sites counted 74 in 32 areas of London. This is how it looks on the map.

Can you drink on public transport?

In public transport in London, which belongs to the Transport for London structure, you cannot drink or carry an open container of alcohol with you. But you can drink on National Rail trains and on board the Thames Clippers. True, the carrier may from time to time introduce a “dry law”. Sometimes this happens during major football matches and other city events. Information about this appears in advance.

Can the bartender refuse to pour me a drink?

Maybe he has every right to. Without explaning the reason. The 2003 Licensing Act allows the bartender to kick you out of the establishment or even call the police. The document also prohibits those under 18 from working in a bar and the sale of alcohol at unspecified hours.

Can the cops take my drink?

If you are under 18, then the police have the right to confiscate alcohol and tell your parents what you were caught doing. This is regulated by a document called the 1997 Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act. In cases involving an adult, the appeal of a police officer will be advisory. And already your refusal to obey and stop drinking on the street in this case can be regarded as resistance. And that could be the reason for the arrest. Please be aware that a Temporary Event Notice may apply during city events such as the Christmas Market. And in this case, no one can forbid you to calmly drink your mulled wine somewhere in the park next to the event.

What is a Drinking Banning Order (DBO)?

If you have repeatedly drunk in public places and this ended in complaints from others and the intervention of the police, then you may be issued a special DBO (Drinking Banning Order). Its action can last from two months to two years. And such a piece of paper can be issued to persons over the age of 16 years. The warrant may prohibit you from purchasing any alcohol or even from going to places where alcohol is drunk.

It is better not to drink with a horse, cow or pig

Some aspects of alcohol consumption are still regulated by the Licensing Act of 1872.

In addition to the expected restriction on being drunk in a public place (the maximum fine is £200), this law also contains amusing anachronistic rules. For example, there are especially strict consideration of cases of inappropriate behavior if the offender has a bicycle, horse, cow, pig or steam engine, as well as (and here it is more understandable) weapons.

Britain leads the way in drinking

How many more handicapped children do you have to have before Britain acknowledges the problem of alcoholism? We have become the best in the world when it comes to drinking, and now we are paying the price.

On Friday we were at the Eagles concert at the O2 arena in Greenwich. All the former brilliance of the group was present there, and it has not become less. Nearly 20,000 spectators sang along to the songs "Desperado" and "Witchy Woman". Everything was fine, except for one thing - men and women persistently (more precisely, becoming unstable) got drunk during the entire three hours of the concert. We sat in the cheap seats upstairs, which means there were a few steps to climb. The people present at the concert constantly went down to the bar, while they slipped and stumbled, and then returned to the top with several glasses filled with an amber-colored liquid splashing in all directions.

The father of the family sitting next to us and his adult sons got so drunk that they could no longer go upstairs in order to watch the second - and best - half of the concert. Meanwhile, my pants and face were already covered in light beer. The managers of this arena seemed to be doing nothing to keep the drunks from getting more drunk. Why, you ask? Just think about how much money they get.

In addition, attractive young salesmen are hired to carry beer, glasses and offer their goods, accompanied by dazzling smiles. And who will clean up the vomit and spilled liquid? Cleaners who, of course, receive the minimum wage.

People spent a lot of money to go to an Eagles concert. It was a memorable evening, but many will not be able to remember anything about it. Why is this a large number of men and women find pleasure only in getting drunk? Yes, I like to drink a glass of wine, but I will never be able to pass this particular Britishness test.

The World Cup seems to be about as much about drinking as many liters of alcohol as it is about playing ball. Our National Health Service is phenomenal. Despite mounting pressure and endless complaints, last week some Washington-based foundation declared her the best in the world. However, people who are in a state of intoxication may well drag down this much valued institution.

A new alarm sounded late last week over cases filed by emergency departments. During the week that the World Cup began and when England played their first meeting with Italy, large quantity people applied for urgent medical care than for the entire period of accounting for such data. Doctors predicted a similar increase - they know only too well how the bad habits of this nation lead to a health disaster.

The bad news doesn't stop there: the number of cases of liver cancer in England has increased significantly. Between 2003 and 2012, these rates increased by 70% for men and 60% for women. Scientific research point to a relationship between the species. cancer and high alcohol consumption. The worst of it was data released last week that showed that the number of diagnosed cases of fetal alcohol syndrome - that is, babies born with alcohol coursing through their small veins and arteries - has tripled over the past 15 years. There is also a fear that a much larger number of such cases are not recorded, and thus children are doomed to suffer all their lives.

Children are getting used to drinking alcohol earlier; girls and women today think feminism is about getting drunk like men; clandestine drinking is on the rise among Muslims and other immigrant communities; middle-class people become addicted to red wine and believe that it makes them sophisticated and elegant; dangerous levels of alcohol consumption are being observed today among university students, for whom drunkenness has now become almost an indicator of fitness for higher education.

The leaders of the universities, as far as I know, did nothing at all to solve a problem that has become a real shame for the education system. Perhaps, like many fashionable and misguided parents, they think it's cool when kids get drunk - just a ritual of initiation.

The Labor government under Tony Blair thought it would be great if the pubs were open at any time. In addition, they are also guilty of indulging this dangerous habit and facilitating access to alcohol, just like cigarette manufacturers in previous decades. Despite doctors' campaigns, the conservatives refused to set minimum prices for wine, beer and lager. The alcohol industry has both its politicians and representatives of the academic world.

It seems that freedom and choice are the only national imperatives, even when all this leads to the birth of children with disabilities, as well as rape, the collapse of the health care and welfare systems, street and domestic violence, and the complete destruction of the personality (several alcoholics in my family they killed themselves and their loved ones).

How nice it would be if a few seasoned lawyers filed a class action lawsuit against those responsible for the rise in alcoholism that is ruining our lives and depriving the nation of its future. Yes, that means against you, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and also against members of your cabinets. This also applies to the team of graduates of private boarding schools that today run our country. They have failed to protect the people they govern from a danger that is far worse than drugs and more evil than terrorism because it affects most people.

The British gave mankind not only whiskey, rum and gin; Thanks to them, Spanish sherry and Portuguese Madeira exist. Now the authorities are trying to encourage the British themselves to drink less, or at least pay more for bad habit

Of all the many gifts given to humanity by the British, from Newton to Shakespeare, from the Industrial Revolution to the pop culture revolution, from Big Ben to the works of Lord Norman Foster, the world is least inclined to appreciate Britain's unparalleled contribution to what and how modern man drinks. And if the conversation about drinks comes up, then the first thing that comes to mind is the introduction of tea into use in Europe. The British were the first to export tea en masse from China, and subsequently cultivate it in India. They were the first in the Old World to make tea consumption a cult activity.

But the merits of the British to lovers are more strong drinks even bigger. Assuming for a moment that Britain never existed in the world, one would have to get used to the idea that people would not recognize the delights of whiskey and gin, rum and ale. Rum, for example, English settlers began to make from sugar cane on the island of Barbados 300 years ago.

And what about such Portuguese wines as port and Madeira, which the British actually invented, set up their production and began to import for themselves and the rest of the world? The same story with Spanish sherry (the latter is stubbornly called sherry by the British). Bordeaux wine is called claret by the British. Without English merchants and without English consumers, this now world famous French wine would very well have been one of the hundreds of regional wines in France.

"Scandalous Drinking"

Of course, the sincere and centuries-old romance of the Englishman with alcohol did not remain without consequences for the island nation itself. In this day and age, when everything or almost everything is monetized, drunkenness costs the British health insurance system (NHS) £2.7bn a year. But these are only direct budget losses. And the real price that British society pays for drunkenness, according to Prime Minister David Cameron, is an order of magnitude higher and is somewhere in the range of 17 to 22 billion pounds.

On the occasion of the bicentenary of Lord Nelson's victory at Trafalgar, a rum of the same name for women was released in England. With a new drink, the Royal Society of Chemistry wanted to celebrate the courage of the British nurses who served under the command of the admiral.Photo: AP

In February, Cameron called compatriots' binge drinking "scandalous" and vowed to unveil the government's "alcohol strategy" while urging the private sector - pubs, nightclubs, supermarkets and alcohol producers - to do their part to promote "responsible drinking."

As part of the government's crackdown on irresponsible drinking, on April 6, a ban on the sale of alcohol below the minimum price, i.e. below the value of the excise tax on it. Subsequently, the minimum price bar is planned to be raised.

Scotland, which is seriously considering ending its three-century-long alliance with England, had earlier passed the Liquor Bill, which could become law before the start of the summer. True, by that time it is necessary to finally agree on the minimum price of one serving of alcohol.

Opponents of these innovations say that they are unfair, because they punish everyone - both those who drink moderately and those who do not know the limits. The British Association of Brewers and Pub Owners adds that higher taxation of the alcohol industry will lead to the loss of thousands of jobs.

At the same time, no one denies that the problem exists, and it is very serious. According to Henry Ashworth, head of the so-called Portman Group, which brings together liquor manufacturers, drinking in public places is "a shameful phenomenon for all of us," and members of the group are ready to be effective partners of the authorities in the fight against this phenomenon.

40 pence revolution

On March 23, the Conservative government announced the minimum price for one dose of alcohol: 40 pence (about 19 rubles). Just hours earlier, the British Ministry of Health released the latest data, according to which over the past decade, alcohol has been responsible for a 25% increase in deaths in the country from liver disease.

As Prime Minister Cameron declared, "beer is cheaper than water can no longer be tolerated."

If Parliament votes for Cameron this fall, the legislation would go into effect in 2014 and be, in the words of The Guardian, "the biggest government intervention in the health sector since the smoking ban [in public places]."

A single dose is usually understood as a glass of wine, a glass of beer or a glass of spirits.

For strongly drinking English the measure will cost 135 pounds per year of additional financial burden on the personal budget. In England, "heavy drinkers" are men who drink more than 50 drinks per week and women who drink more than 35 drinks in the same period.

British health guidelines define "moderate drinkers" as men who drink no more than 21 drinks per week, and women who consume no more than 14 drinks in seven days. For people who adhere to this framework, the financial burden of innovation will be insignificant and amount to 5-6 pounds per year. The average Englishman does not follow these guidelines, so he is expected to lose 21-23 pounds on an annualized basis. Unless, of course, he starts drinking less, which, in fact, is what the government is counting on.

The main blow, however, will fall not so much on the pocket of the average Briton, but on the budgets of alcohol producers and supermarket chains, primarily medium and small ones. They will be banned from organizing promotions on the principle: “take a pack of beer, the second one is free.” In the fiercest competition, stores are forced to constantly arrange sales of alcohol. If we recalculate into doses the cost of some brands of beer in Tesco and Sainsberry supermarkets, which are sold in small wholesale, then one dose of beer now costs 21 pence, i.e. nearly half the government's proposed minimum level. A box of Stella Artois beer (20 cans) in Asda supermarkets costs 10 pounds, after the entry into force of the minimum price, the same package will cost 17 pounds 60 pence.

According to experts, the most large network supermarkets, Tesco, will only benefit from this; competitors will have a harder time.

David Cameron admits that his revolution is unlikely to be a popular measure, “but the government's responsibility is not always to do popular things; it's about doing the right thing."

Her Majesty's Government assures that with the introduction of a minimum price per serving of alcohol, the number of crimes will fall by 50,000 per year, and the number of alcohol-induced deaths will decrease by 9,000 per decade.

Before you "catch up", you need to "accelerate"

Many experts, including, oddly enough, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, are skeptical about these promises. How, for example, will the measure affect the habit of young Englishmen to pump up even before going to a bar or pub? For some time now English language adorned with the verb to preload, which cannot be properly conveyed in one word in Russian, although the habit itself is not new to us. If to load means “to load”, then the word preload is the process of pre-puffing with strong alcohol. Accordingly, then in a pub or bar they will “catch up”. If you use this Russian slang term, it means preload - something like “accelerate”.

At midnight on May 31, 2008, a ban on the consumption of alcohol on the Underground went into effect in London. Passengers of the metropolitan subway will remember this day for a long time. Photo: rooney/flickr.com

The habit is due to the "scissors" of prices in the supermarket and in the bar. A dose of alcohol in a nightclub is 5 pounds, a bottle of hard liquor, such as vodka, costs 8 pounds in a store. Even if it goes up to £12.50, that won't stop preload in any way.

But to reduce the problem of drunkenness to finances is actually quite ridiculous - both in Russia and in England. Similarly, it is clear that prohibitive measures are effective only to a certain extent, and their effect can be both positive and negative.

In Britain, no one seriously discusses the introduction of Prohibition. Probably, the lesson of America, whose dry law the British Lord Curzon once called "a manifestation of enraged puritanism", is everyone's memory.

Another thing is that until recently in Britain there was a law that limited the time of customer service in a pub. At 11 p.m., the bartender would ring the bell and ask in a stern voice: “Gentlemen, don’t you have something to do at home?” This "last call" really meant that everyone in the pub immediately ordered a last round of drinks, often more than they could or wanted to contain.

In November 2005, the Labor government allowed pubs and bars to remain open 24/7 in the hope that if people weren't in a rush to pump up, they wouldn't be. Practice has shown that the level of drunkenness has not decreased, but rather increased, although not as much as can be judged by the headlines in the British media themselves.

According to official British statistics, the proportion of English women who drink more than the “moderate” level set by the Ministry of Health rose from 15% (1992) to 20% (2006), and then slightly decreased to 18% (2009).

Female drunkenness is a particularly painful problem in the country. This spring, the theater company Paper Birds staged the play Thirsty (“Thirst”). The plot is simple. Two young women, sitting on the toilet in adjacent toilet stalls, tell each other stories about drunken women - some quite funny, others shocking.

These are fictional stories. They were collected during the year by the leading actors Gemma McDonnell and Kylie Walsh. Surveys of women and men paint a collective portrait of the English drinking woman: "young, overweight problems, from a working-class family, clumsy, out of control."

The authors did not set themselves the task of convincing drinking compatriots to stop drinking. As the actresses told The Guardian newspaper, "we want to explore alcohol and our relationship to it - a mixture of love and hate."