For those willing to look for it, something dreamy exists in Spring. It lives in the delicate scent of blooming flowers, the crispness of air at dawn, the way day slips softly into night. It’s light and ethereal, soft all over.
Within this dreaminess exists my own reading inclinations. For reasons inexplicable, I find myself drawn to classic novels during the spring months, particularly Victorian and Regency classics by women writers. Is there not something dreamy about reading Jane Austen novels surrounded by flowers on a Spring day?
This Liquor Literacy foray is inspired by such classic novels, the eras they were written in, and the women who wrote them.
The Drink
In keeping with the women of Regency and Victorian England inspiration, this Liquor Literacy is inspired by a wine that was incredibly popular with the middle and upper classes during those eras—sherry. More specifically, and suited to springtime, we’re making a cool and refreshing cocktail from the Victorian era with its own interesting history, the Sherry Cobbler.
Ladylike Drinking: The History of Sherry and Sherry Cobblers in England
In England, the Regency period marks the years of the Prince Regent’s rule in his father, King George III’s, place when he had been deemed unfit to rule due to illness. As a sub-period of the Georgian period, the Regency era only marks the years 1811-1820. From 1820, when King George III died, to 1837, the former Prince Regent ruled as King George IV. Queen Victoria’s coronation in 1837 marks the beginning of the Victorian period which lasted until 1901.
It was within these eras that we saw lasting, impactful classic novels by groundbreaking women come to life. Authors such as Jane Austen, Mary Shelly, George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans), and the Brontë sisters wrote and published their works during these eras, helping shape our modern understanding and impression of life during these times. Much of our modern idea of life during the Regency era—the daily lives of upper-class families specifically—comes from Jane Austen’s novels and the numerous adaptations of her work. More modern takes on this era, like the Bridgerton book series and TV show which utilizes twists on the era that make it more relatable and fun, have helped bring the Regency era to light in a new and exciting way for many people, especially younger audiences.
Taking a deeper dive into the social scenes of Regency and Victorian England allows for a look at the drinking habits of those involved. We often revere the habits of our favorite male classic authors, even their drinking. We associate these authors with the typical gentlemanly type and see their drinking habits as a part of that—distinguished men drinking darker, stronger, “manly” drinks such as whiskey or brandy. While this is certainly fine, it made me curious about this part of their female counterparts’ lives. What were Regency and Victorian women drinking? What might our favorite female authors have been drinking when not writing future classics?
Though mixed drinks became more popular in the late 19th century, the majority of alcoholic beverages of Regency and Victorian England were often simple—wine, ale, gin, brandy, etc. These drinks had their rises and falls in popularity throughout the ages, especially wines which, being more of a gentleman’s drink as opposed to a working class drink due to its being imported and therefore more expensive and fancy, saw its many varieties go in and out of style.
Regency and Victorian women had to conduct themselves within the bounds of social acceptability always. That meant everything they did—even small things like drinking socially—was dictated by the rules of social acceptability which were, of course, determined by men. It was only acceptable for middle and upper-class women of the Regency and Victorian eras to drink while dining and during some social engagements, always under male supervision. The men of the age were concerned with women’s ability to govern their passions, especially during a “moral panic” in the late 19th century that resulted from women’s access to alcohol through medical prescriptions and licensed grocers. Men thought upper-class women were using these ways of acquiring alcohol to drink in secret, which was a major concern for these men who thought women craved alcoholic intoxication more than men and couldn’t control themselves.
“No, Sir, claret is the liquor for boys; port, for men: but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy.”
-Samuel Johnson who provides an example of the attitude toward men’s drinking that most certainly did not extend to women
Even in approved drinking settings, middle and upper-class women weren’t drinking the same strong dark liquors as men; it wasn’t acceptable or “ladylike.” Instead, women could drink gin and various wines (Jane Austen was known to have been a wine drinker), sherry being one of the strongest drinks they were allowed.
While sherry, a fortified wine made from white grapes in Spain, had been traded in England since the 12th century, it grew wildly popular during the Tudor Court after Sir Francis Drake seized nearly three thousand barrels of it during a 1587 raid on the Spanish in what became known as “the singeing of the beard of the King of Spain.” It became incredibly fashionable at court, leading to overall increased demand. Sherry, often nicknamed “sack” possibly because of Sir Francis Drake’s method of obtaining it, was also a favorite of Henry VIII. According to Catharine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife, Henry kept all the best wines of the Canaries and Sherish (another name for sherry) for himself. Sherry was also a favorite of Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, the latter of whom drank multiple bottles a day. England saw another surge in sherry’s popularity during the Regency and Victorian eras, with 43% of all wine imports to England in 1864 being sherry. It even became the custom to offer guests at one’s home a biscuit and a glass of sherry upon their arrival.
“If I had a thousand sons, the first humane principle I would teach them should be, to forswear thin potations and to addict themselves to sack.”
– Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2
The Sherry Cobbler is a simple cocktail that originated in America. Named for the crushed ice “cobbles” the drink is poured over, the Sherry Cobbler is possibly the first shaken drink ever and is the first drink to popularize the use of straws. While multiple sources have claimed the true origins of the drink are rather murky, it’s widely thought that the cocktail was first made in the 1820s or 1830s. Don’t be mistaken by the reference to the drink in Washington Irving’s 1809 satire A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty: “They lay claim to be the first inventors of those recondite beverages, cock-tail, stone-fence, and sherry-cobbler…” Mention of the Sherry Cobbler was only added to the Author’s Revised Edition of the book that came out in 1848. Considering that, it seems the first references to the drink came sometime in the mid-1830s. What really brought the cocktail international popularity, though, is none other than the work of Charles Dickens himself.
“This wonderful invention, sir’ said Mark, tenderly patting the empty glass, ‘is called a cobbler. Sherry cobbler when you name it long; cobbler, when you name it short.”
-Charles Dickens, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit
In his novel The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, serialized from 1842 to 1844, Dickens first mentions the Sherry Cobbler in early chapters, having one of his characters make the drink and later having another experience drinking it for the first time. Dickens is also credited with the first printed mention of drinking the cocktail through a straw, quite an unusual thing at the time.
“Since the era of Sherry Cobblers, many, very many, have learned a new use of straw.”
-True Sun (NY), April 8, 1844
While clearly inspired by a Sherry Cobbler he’d had while traveling in America, Dickens apparently didn’t portray the country in a way that pleased many Americans, New Yorkers especially. An 1843 New York paper said, “The only thing in New York that Dickens finds it agreeable to compliment, in his last issue of absurdity and dullness, is a sherry cobbler.”
Whatever Dickens’s opinion of America, he seemed to like the cocktail enough to give it praise in his novel. The Sherry Cobbler became one of the most popular drinks of the 19th century—partly due to the booming ice trade, the already-popular sherry, and the exciting new invention of straws. Even Queen Victoria was known to have tried the Sherry Cobbler.
The Recipe
Cobblers are simple cocktails made of any spirit, some sugar, crushed ice, and fruit—usually citrus. Sherry was often thought of as only a dessert wine because of its sweetness. In reality, sherry comes in various forms ranging from dry to sweet. For a Sherry Cobbler, we’ll be using Amontillado Sherry—amontillado meaning “in the style of Montilla,” an area of Spain that produces similarly aged wines but technically cannot produce sherry—which is dry. You may also recognize this type of sherry’s name from Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado.
This recipe originally appeared on Punch Drunk and makes one cocktail.
3 1/2 ounces amontillado sherry
1/2 ounce simple syrup
2 or 3 orange slices
Lemon slices and mint for garnish
Note: Simple syrup is equal parts water and sugar. Put both in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let it cool before using.
Directions
Add orange slices and simple syrup to cocktail shaker and muddle. Add the sherry and crushed ice and shake well. Pour over crushed ice and garnish with lemon slices and mint. Sherry Cobblers are traditionally served in a Collins glass—which is just a regular tall glass—but anything will do.
“But, by my halidome, a sherry cobbler is a nectar fit for the gods; and the most eloquent descriptions will prove inadequate to convey a just idea of a compound so truly delicious.”
-Boston Pilot, July 18, 1846
Cheers to the women writers of Regency and Victorian England and the novels they gave us!
Pairs Well With
Emma
by Jane Austen
Emma Woodhouse is one of Austen’s most captivating and vivid characters. Beautiful, spoilt, vain and irrepressibly witty, Emma organizes the lives of the inhabitants of her sleepy little village and plays matchmaker with devastating effect.
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
Marooned overnight in a lonely home on the Yorkshire moors, the effete Lockwood dreams of a wraith locked out in the snow. Gradually he learns the violent history of the house’s owner, the fierce, saturnine Heathcliff and the thwarted love that has led him to exact terrible revenge on the two families that have sought to oppose him.
Since its original publication in 1847, Emily Bronte’s only novel, whether repelling, captivating or intriguing different generations of readers, has never relaxed its powerful grip on the public, and the figure of the haunted, brutal Heathcliff has become part of Britain’s cultural mythology.
Jane Austen’s England
by Roy and Lesley Adkins
Final Thoughts
Sherry, like most wines this unsophisticated palette has sampled, is an acquired taste. It had an unexpected flavor, strong and warm and very reminiscent of Marsala wine. It had a very similar rich, buttery taste—something I found rather unpleasant when not cooked down and served over a steaming bowl of pasta. As for the Sherry Cobbler itself, it was halfway decent…but only after I added extra simple syrup and squeezed some lemon juice in to cut through the richness and butteriness. My taste-testers mostly agreed with me; the consensus seemed to be that they’d be happy to have another cobbler as long as I added extra simple syrup and lemon.
While the Sherry Cobbler and sherry itself weren’t drinks for ladies only, this wine is a connection to the lives of women of the past. It was a small part of their lives, certainly, but opened the door to learning about the social environment they existed in and how it affected their consumption of alcohol. While perhaps not something that would’ve been socially acceptable to write about freely, it’s certainly easy to imagine the heroines of our favorite classics written by women of the Regency and Victorian eras having a tipple or two.