1934 What Shall We Drink by Magnus Bredenbek

170 What Shall We Drink? These should be almost axiomatic guides. For instance, one does not (or should not) drink as large a quantity of sweet wines as the "dry" wines; hence the smaller glasses. Too much sweetness cloys in using wines as well as in eating candies, and one is hkely to suffer a "sour"feehng afterward. The "dry" wines, to the contrary, are more easily as similated and hence predominate at the dinner, except for the sparkhng types, which may be used almost abundantly to start the merriment and conviviahty with which they al ways are associated. In serving cordials and liqueurs this rule of small quantity is virtually dictated by the size of the cordial glass. Never should more than an ounce and a half of these beverages be served at the meal. Cordials really take the place of sweets and should be sipped with exquisite relish, hardly more than moistening the hps at each raising of the glass. After the dinner and the cordials, there is no reason why sweet wines should not be imbibed, if one Hkes them better than the "dry," but the general preference seems to be for the effervescent and joy-making Champagnes and sparkhng Burgundies. If I may have seemed harsh toward colored bowls in wine glassware, it is because that type is a barbaric result and product of the Prohibition era, when good taste went to smash and monstrosities, both in drinks and in eating habits, thrust themselves upon the social amenities. They often disguised evil beverages which came from the darloiess of bootlegging and hi-jackery. Of course, they are dehghtfully informal and appear pretty before being filled with wine. After ah, one may do anyt^ng one chooses at informal affairs. But for the formal meal, in the name of all that culture means, avoid colored bowls as you would the plagueI