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Saturday, 25 January 2014

English bitters


He drank little and was now only drunk from one glass of English bitters. The revolting bitters, made from nobody knows what, intoxicated everyone who drank it as though it had stunned them. Their tongues began to falter.

Anton Chekhov - In the Ravine (1900)

Chekhov is describing a wedding and presumably this is a reference to Angostura bitters rather than English beer which is not at all revolting. Maybe they drank it neat.
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9 comments:

  1. Sackerson25 January 2014 at 21:02

    Couple of drops in a brandy sour: excellent.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A K Haart25 January 2014 at 21:24

    Sackers - I've never tried it. I wonder why the label doesn't fit properly.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sen. C.R.O'Blene26 January 2014 at 06:35

    Essential for a Pink Gin!

    Two drops swirled round the glass beforehand, and either tipped out or 'left in'. before adding two measures of gin, and a big splash of tonic. Some ice but no lemon.

    Also rather nice as a tiny addition to a cold glass of lime cordial...

    ReplyDelete
  4. James Higham26 January 2014 at 09:28

    Trusty John Smith by my side.

    ReplyDelete
  5. A K Haart26 January 2014 at 13:51

    Scrobs - I'm almost tempted to try the stuff.

    James - John Smith!?*! That's not beer.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sam Vega26 January 2014 at 13:52

    I've read about an American tourist who, guide book in hand, walks into a "traditional English 'pub'" and asks the barman for a pint of best bitters.

    The rest is obvious...

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  7. Longrider26 January 2014 at 18:14

    I was once given it to help with a migraine. Not sure it made any difference though - I still felt awful for twelve hours.

    ReplyDelete
  8. A K Haart26 January 2014 at 18:41

    Longrider - you have my sympathies. Even a simple headache knocks me back.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Longrider26 January 2014 at 21:24

    Giving up coffee was the final solution. Not had one for about four years. A normal headache is a minor inconvenience for me. I take a couple of paracetamol and carry on.

    ReplyDelete

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