The Thinking Drinkers

Royal drinks for raising a glass to Her Majesty

  • From Spectator Life
Image: Getty

History suggests the Royal Family have always been enthusiastic drinkers. The most obvious example is Henry VIII, a monarch who proved to be excessive in everything he did, and spent an estimated £6m a year on booze. And in more recent centuries you’ll discover an ongoing Royal appreciation.

Queen Victoria for example was an eminent imbiber of alcohol, her preferred poison being an unusual mix of whisky and red wine. Together. In the same glass. She was particularly partial to Vin Mariani, a drink made by Angelo Mariani by steeping cocoa leaves in French red wine for six months. Alleged to be the original recipe for Coca-Cola, each fluid ounce once contained 7.2 milligrams of cocaine, although today’s incarnation is produced using top-growth Bordeaux fortified with de-cocainised Peruvian Coca leaf.

After Victoria came King Edward VII who reigned from 1901 to 1910. Along with drinking, his pastimes included golf, hunting, inking up his body with tattoos, bedding mistresses and taking regular spins in his Daimler (hopefully not while drinking). He’d ride the Daimler during inclement weather and so stressed out were his physicians, they ordered a liqueur to keep him warm. Kings Ginger was born and today’s recipe is inspired by the original spirit formulated in 1903 by Berry Bros. & Rudd.

In more recent times the Queen Mother was the Royal family’s elbow-bending trendsetter. With spirits ranging from Dubonnet, Chartreuse and Beefeater Gin, she also became the highest-spending private buyer of Veuve Clicquot. In the 1930s, she founded the ‘Windsor Wets’ Club, a high-society drinking circle whose motto was ‘Aqua vitae non aqua pura’ (‘Spirits, not water’).

With such consistent form then, it’s no great surprise to discover plenty of discerning drinks with a Royal Warrant, the stamp of approval given to goods supplied to HM The Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh or HRH The Prince of Wales or their Households.

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