An historian asks, “What happened on a particular day – a battle? The death of a king?” The social historian asks, “What did people do on that day – what did they wear? What did they eat?”

Today we will answer the question, “What did people drink in Bennington?” We know that people were living within the boundaries of the present town as early as 1782, so we will take that as a starting place. My references for this foray into the past include: Tea With Jane Austin; the two Town histories and Colonial Spirits.

As we saw last month, there were many non-alcoholic beverages available to early residents. Do not think that our early residents were teetotalers: alcoholic beverages were part of daily life. The Farm Wife had to be well-versed in turning plant matter into beverages: for family consumption, to supply to hired hands, to serve to guests, to preserve the harvest, and for medicinal use.

>>Gruet is an ancient fermented mixture made from herbs and grains but no hops. It is a light, refreshing alcoholic beverage with a short storage life. It would be made and served at home during the summer when the flavoring herbs were ripe.

>>Beer was consumed in vast quantities all day long. This was in keeping with traditions from the Old Country. When we read today about a man of that era drinking a gallon of beer a day, it sounds shocking. But you should know that the alcohol content was very low: 1-2.5% — practically water! Beer was made at home and also at taverns and public houses. With the addition of hops, beer could keep for months.

>>Cider was a very important beverage in early times. By 1800, apple trees had become well-established and their fruit was needed to make the mildly alcoholic drink we refer to today as ‘hard cider.’ Cider is very easy to make and was put up in barrels to last the family through the year. The alcohol content was 3.5-4%. In the winter, the cider barrels would freeze – except for the alcohol portion. Teenage boys would sneak out to the shed and get schnonkered on the highly intoxicating liquid. Cider was usually of the ‘still’ variety, not the bubbly cider more popular today. 

>>Apple jack is distilled cider. Distilling was a common home activity to make small quantities of medicinal alcohol necessary for preparing tinctures. Most farm wives had a distillation apparatus and they took pride in preparing liqueurs and other distilled delights. A gallon or two of apple jack would be doled out for celebrations or as medicine for its stimulating effect.

>>Wine from Europe could be purchased at great expense in port cities, but it is unlikely that even the most wealthy Bennington citizens were drinking it until the later 1800s. Local people could make do with home-made wine. So-called ‘country wines,’ they were not made from wine grapes but from local fruits. If the Good Wife sent the children out to pick wild fruit, some of it went into pies and jellies and lots of it went into wine. Wine would be served socially and also used for medicinal purposes. “Take a little wine for the stomach’s sake,” said Saint Paul to Saint Timothy. 

>>And then there is rum. Made with molasses from the Triangle Trade, rum could be purchased at the tavern or even at Whittamore’s general store. Making rum oneself was not a common practice since it took ingredients in quantities not found at home. Rum was in punch, in cocktails [they go back to the 1700s], and sometimes drunk straight up. Rum was used to influence voting all over the 13 Colonies as ‘vote buyers’ would bribe people with liquor to vote early and often for their candidate.

Rum in those days was a rather nasty beverage. To temper its harsh flavor, many other ingredients were added.  A typical drink of the era might have been a Cold Flip. It contained rum, molasses, salt, a raw egg, and brown ale all shaken together and topped with nutmeg. Then there was Regent’s Punch, made of tea, rum, wine, and fruits.

The next installment of the Bennington NH Historical Society Blog will be posted on November 11, 2024. If you click the Subscribe button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month – for free.