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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'."

3 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.

    --
    Going back to school for entry-level jobs?
    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. 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 :)