1892 Drinks of the world

DJ^INI^S.

154

"Oil Wednesday, April 7, I

dined with him at Sir

Joshua harangued upon the quaUties of different liquors; and spoke with great con- tempt of claret, as so weak, that * a man would be drowned by it, before it made him drunk.' He was persuaded to drink one glass of it, that he might judge* not from recollection, which might be dim, but from immediate sensation. He shook his head, and said, 'Poor stuff! No, sir, claret is the liquor for boys; port for n)en ; but he who aspires to be a hero (smiling) • must drink brandy. In the first place the flavour of brandy is the most grateful to the palate, and then brandy will do soonest for a man what drinking can do for him. There are, indeed, few who are able to drink brandy. That is a power rather to be wished for than attained.' " And two years later on he gives another illustration of the doctor's liking for strong potations. "Mr. Eliot mentioned a curious liquor peculiar to his country, which the Cornish fishermen drink. They call it Mahoga7iy ; and it is made of two parts gin and one part treacle, well beaten together. I begged to have some of it made, which was done with proper skill by Mr. Eliot. I thought it very good liquor, and said it was a counterpart of what is called At hoi porridge^ in the Highlands of Scotland, which is a mixture of whiskey and honey. Johnson said ' That must be a better liquor than the Cornish, for both its component parts are better.' He also observed, 'Mahogany must be a modern name; for it is not long since the wood called mahogany was known in this country. I Reynolds''s. Johnson

1 Now called Athol brose.