The five items on the menu at Old Fezziwig’s Christmas Party in A Christmas Carol
1. Cake
2. Negus* (see below)
3. A great piece of Cold Boiled
4. A great piece of Cold Roast
5. Mince pies
(NB: This list does not include beer, the quantity of which Dickens simply lists as “plenty of”; nor does it take into account the pot of porter supplied at the request of the energetic fiddler who, after playing a particularly wild tune, liked to plunge his overheated face into the cooling ale.)
* Negus is a drink of the mulled wine family with port as its central alcoholic ingredient (often mixed with claret).
This is hooch with a serious literary pedigree. Not only does it cheer up the proceedings of Christmas Past in London’s greatest ghost story, but also crops up in the pages of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, John Galsworthy’s The Forsyte Saga, and on numerous occasions in the jottings of the ever-thirsty James Boswell.
How to make Negus…
The hot, seasonal drink Negus was invented by one Colonel Francis Negus sometime in the early eighteenth century.
Jerry Thomas, in his 1862 book How to Mix Drinks, wrote that Negus is "A most refreshing and elegant beverage, particularly for those who do not take punch or grog after supper."
Here’s how to make it:
Take…
50 ml Port 25 ml Claret 25 ml Burgundy 1 teaspoon of Brandy 50 ml Water Half a Lemon, thinly sliced in rings Pinch of Grated nutmeg 1 Heaped tsp Sugar
Then…
Gently heat all the ingredients in a small saucepan.
Strain into a heat-proof goblet when hot.
(makes one serving)
5th December – Old Kensington – 2pm High Street Kensington Tube
5th December – Jack The Ripper – 7.30pm Tower Hill Tube (by the tram)
6th December – Rock'n'Roll London – 2pm Tottenham Court Road Tube (exit 1)
7th December – Marylebone – 2pm Bond Street Tube
7th December – London Horror Story – 7.30pm St Paul's Tube
19th December – Old Kensington – 2pm High Street Kensington Tube
19th December – Jack The Ripper – 7.30pm Tower Hill Tube (by the tram)
20th December – Rock'n'Roll London – 2pm Tottenham Court Road Tube (exit 1)
21st December – London Horror Story – 7.30pm St Paul's Tube
23rd December – A Village In Piccadilly – 2.30pm Piccadilly Circus Tube (by Eros)
26th December – Jack The Ripper – 7.30pm Tower Hill Tube (by the tram)
27th December – Hidden London – 11am Monument Tube (Fish Street Hill Exit)
28th December – London Horror Story – 7.30pm St Paul's Tube
28th December – The Beatles & Bob Dylan In 1960s London – 10am Temple Tube
30th December – A Village In Piccadilly – 2.30pm Piccadilly Circus Tube (by Eros)
Keep In Touch…
