Victorian drinks, from Arf–and–Arf and Caudle to Shandygaff and Tom and Jerry were very popular. In the 1950s it was a very popular drink in Carleton Place according to the newspapers. This recipe is alleged to come from Dickens. An article in The Bollard in September 2008, points out that the ale one uses in this recipe determines the lightness of the drink.
As unabashedly sentimental about the holiday as his famous forebear, great grandson Cedric Dickens says his second favorite Dickensian line, also from ”A Christmas Carol”: ”I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year.” To which he adds, ”What a wonderful place the world would be if we all did just that.”
Ingredients:
6 teaspoons (1 ounce, 30 mililiters) orange Brandy liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
Juice of 1 1/2 medium-sized lemons (about 4 1/2 teaspoons, 3/4 ounces, 22 mililiters)
1 1/4 cup (10 ounces, 300 milliliters) English-style ale
1 1/4 cup (10 ounces, 300 mililiters) ginger beer (here’s how to make your own)
Twist of lemon peel, for garnish
Preparation
Pour the liqueur and lemon juice into your drinking vessel of choice along with a few ice cubes, then top off with the ale and ginger beer.
Stir gently.
Garnish with a lemon peel. Because you’re worth it.
lindaseccaspina 