IN THE COCKTAIL BAR

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20821, 3 June 1939, Page 5

IN THE COCKTAIL BAR

ORIGIN OF NAMES OF DRINKS Have you ever wondered where we got the names of our various drinks? “Cider,” once spelt “cyder,” comes from the Hebrew “shekar,” meaning “strong drink.” It first became popular in England in the time of Edward I. “Perry” is, as its name implies, just fermented juice of pears. The word “gin” is short for “Geneva,” and is a misnomer, as the spirit has nothing to do with Geneva. The confusion in the name came about through the French name for juniper juice “genievre.” This was pronounced first “geneever,” which was so like “Geneva” that “Geneva” was adopted for trade purposes either in ignorance or to conform with popular miscon- - ception. “Port” gets its name from “Oporto” ; in Spain, hut “porter” from the London porters, whose favourite drink this used to be. Muscat wines were brought from the East by the Crusaders in the 12th and 13th centuries. “Sherry” was first made in Seres —Spain. Champagne was not known to the | ancients. It was discovered by a Ben- \ edietine monk, Dorn Perignon, who first successfully bottled it in the 17th century. “Beer.” from the German “bier,” was first brewed by the Egyptian god- , dess Isis from barley, much us we brew it still. . i “Rum,” derived from the Latin for sugar, “saecharum,” was called "rumbullion” in the 17th century. The Devorishire term for an uproar is “ruinpus." Sailors called the drink “rumbowling.” which was shortened to “rumbo” and then “rum.”