Today we are going to learn about some new Brunch Beverages, but before we can learn about cocktails we must have a Libation Learning session. You guessed it, we are going to learn about that trendy weekend meal, we all love to indulge in.
The etymology of the word itself is pretty obvious, it is the combination of breakfast and lunch and is usually served between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m (a little known fact that if the meal is served after the noon hour is it called Blunch). Brunch usually includes alcohol on its menu. What may shock you is that this word came into use in 1895, that’s right people have been brunching for 126 years.
We know how the word was formed, but why was this meal invented and who is the genius that invented it?
We can all thank English author Guy Beringer and his hangover for brunch. He first proposed this crazy idea in his 1895 essay “Brunch: A Plea”. He wrote about this new meal in defense of himself and other Saturday night rabble-rousers, who may awake with a hangover. He felt that instead of waking these people early and serving them heavy spreads of meat pies and the like that a combination meal of lighter fare would be the ideal compromise. Brunch is a meal that should be shared with friends that you can regale with your tales of debauchery from the night before and if you need a hair-of-the-dog cocktail with your meal no one will judge, probably because they need one as well.
“The world would be kinder and more charitable if my brief were successful. To begin with, Brunch is a hospitable meal; breakfast is not. Eggs and bacon are adapted to solitude; they are consoling, but not exhilarating. They do not stimulate conversation. Brunch, on the contrary, is cheerful, sociable, and inciting. It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper; it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow-beings. It sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week. The advantages of the suggested innovation are, in short, without number, and I submit it is fully time that the old régime of Sunday breakfast made room for the "new course" of Sunday Brunch.” Guy Beringer
Toast & Marmalade
1½ parts Bourbon
¼ part Scotch whisky liqueur
½ part Honey syrup
½ part Lemon juice
1 tsp Marmalade
2 dashes Wild Life Black Walnut Bitters
Vigorously shake all ingredients with ice, you may need a little extra violence to ensure that the marmalade is sufficiently incorporated in the mix. Strain into an ice-filled short glass.
Breakfast Bramble
1 ½ parts Gin
¾ parts Blackberry Liqueur
1 ½ tbsp stone fruit jam
1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
½ part fresh lemon juice
Combine all the ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a glass with fresh crushed ice and garnish.
The Well-Heeled Libationist