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First Cocktail 5,000 Years Old

Posted by Zonk on from the it's-got-a-little-bit-of-age-to-it dept.

Praxiteles writes "The first cocktail was...grog?! From the article: 'The first cocktail ever was made in Mesopotamia 5,000 years ago, using wine, beer, apple juice and honey. Patrick McGovern defined the mix as "grog", an archaic drink that in the United States is sold as the Midas Touch'."

5 of 258 comments (clear)

  1. I'm wondering... by demondawn · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If the traces of apple and honey weren't actually from alcohols based on those particular ingredients (apple brandy or mead, for example.) Other than that, though, it is pretty amazing how much they can find out about the diets of ancient peoples using a combination of archaeology and chemistry.

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    1. Re:I'm wondering... by ergo98 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Other than that, though, it is pretty amazing...

      It's most amazing how conclusively these findings are presented. I guess it doesn't sound as interesting to say "The first cocktail appears to be 5,000 years old and made with these ingredients, based upon current archeological knowledge, which of course is almost certain to change as we uncover more information in the future".

      Perhaps I'm a cynic, but I've seen these sort of absolute statements proven wrong countless times.

  2. Newest Oldest by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Now that they've found evidence of the ingredients of a 5000 year old drink, what makes them so sure its the "first ever"? Of course that's what they thought the last one was, however old (<5000 years) it might have been. This kind of arrogance really makes people look stupid. How about just "first in history"? That description would tell us as much about the drink as it might hint at how limited is our knowledge of history. I'll drink to that.

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  3. Re:Thanks Slashdot by Hannah+E.+Davis · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Hey, the title of the site does not specify what kind of nerds it caters to -- sometimes us science/history nerds need news too. It's neat learning where things come from, whether those things are ancient cocktails or pieces of software.

    Plus the booze angle appeals to the average computer scientist/student :)

  4. No it's not! by ergo98 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Science is authoritative...

    Science is authoritative when there is a strong confidence that the theory is correct (such that there is with gravity). Where there isn't that confidence, scientists regularly disclaim their statements, using terminology like "we believe...", or "it appears...". Few scientists immediately proclaim absolute based upon preliminary, or incomplete, information. "Bumble Bees can't fly! News at 11".

    This is especially true of archaeology, a field where it is pretty difficult to place vague things like "firsts". To claim a first for something as generalized as an alcoholic drink is pretty questionable. Of course archaeology, like all other fields, has people who want attention.