September is a month when lots of special things occur. “Labor Day”, the first Monday in September, is celebrated as a holiday in the USA & Canada; September 21st is recognized as the International Day of Peace around the world; the 22nd marks the Autumnal Equinox; Rosh Hashanah, marking the beginning of the Jewish new year, often happens in September (the 25th in 2022); the 29th is Michaelmas, an ancient Celtic “Quarter Day” marking the end of the harvesting season.
So, as if there’s not enough to be celebrating already, in 2007 September was also officially listed by the US Senate as “National Bourbon Heritage Month” (as it needs to be ratified by the Senate every year, since then it’s also become known as Kentucky Bourbon Heritage Month – a minor distinction for Bourbon lovers everywhere). This observance calls of a celebration of bourbon as America’s “Native Spirit” and, happily, goes on all month.
Of course, in our hearts, every month is Kentucky Bourbon Heritage Month. And every day is National Bourbon Day!
To help with all the celebrations coming up in September, we thought this would be a good time to share some of the stranger hangover remedies throughout history that we’ve come across (though not necessarily tried ourselves…..).
A) According to ancient papyrus scrolls found in Egypt, one way to remedy a hangover was to wear a wreath of leaves around your neck from a shrub called an Alexandrian laurel.
Unearthed in 1898, the papyri, all written in Greek and containing numerous medical cures and remedies, include one for a "drunken headache." The text is believed to be roughly 1,900 years old.
B) Kitab al-Tabikh, is a 10th-century cookbook written by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq, which contains several recipes for lemonade -
- all of which were thought to prevent hangovers when added to alcoholic beverages. One is for "simple lemonade made with lemon juice, sugar, and water," another mixes lemonade with quince juice and one more option is to flavor lemonade with mint. Should those fail, al-Warraq also suggested to avoid drinking alcohol in one big gulp. Instead, have it in several small doses and breathe deeply between one dose and the other. Should a hangover strike anyway, "cold water first thing in the morning" was recommended.
C) Ancient texts from Mesopotamia, dating back as far as the 12th century BCE, offer insight into drinking and remedies for hangovers alike.
According to the texts: "If a man has taken strong wine and his head is affected and he forgets his words and his speech becomes confused, his mind wanders and his eyes have a set expression; to cure him, take licorice, beans, oleander... to be compounded with oil and wine before the approach of sunset, and in the morning before sunrise - and before anyone has kissed him - let him take it, and he will recover".
D) In the old wild west days in the USA, cowboys were a hardy lot. A remedy they would use for hangovers was to boil rabbit dung in tea.
Reportedly, the high levels of nutrients like potassium could help replenish what the body lost after a night of drinking – just like it does for the soil.
E) In medieval England, eels had many uses - as food, they functioned as currency and were used to make clothing and accessories.
For hangovers, eels were again useful, although to be effective they were to be eaten raw and accompanied by bitter almonds.
F) Every country has its special way of curing hangovers and Sicily, in Italy, is no exception. Old Sicilians believe that eating dried bull penis (also known as Pizzle) is the way to combat a hangover.
Full of vitamins, proteins and minerals, it’s said to offer a nice boost of energy. Interestingly, this particular cure is popular in Bolivia as well.
G) John Gaddesden served as a court physician in England during the late 13th and early 14th centuries. He wrote Rosa Anglica, a medical treatise, between 1304 and 1314. The text contains hangover remedies for men and women alike: “If anyone have drunk too much, if it be a man the testicles should be washed with salt and vinegar, and if it be a woman, the breasts...”
While we’re not entirely sure about the immediacy of the effectiveness of this last one, it certainly seems that it would take one’s mind off the hangover, at least for a little while.
#bourbon #september #holidays #hangover #roshhashanah #equinox #wildwest #england #kentucky #bourbonheritagemonth #nationalbourbonday #laborday
Comments