Drinks of Gor
GOREAN ALE: is more akin to an Earth lager than an actual ale or beer. It is a deep golden color. Popular in Torvaldsland, it is traditionally served in a tankard.
"The Forkbeard himself now, from a wooden keg,
poured a great tankard of ale, which must have been of the measure of five gallons. Over this he then closed his fist. It was the sign of the hammer, the sign of Thor. The tankard then, with two great bronze handles, was passed from hands to hands among the rowers. The men threw back their heads and, the liquid spilling down their bodies, drank ale. It was the victory ale."
~*Marauders of Gor, page 82*~
MEAD: Common in the northern cities of Gor. Mead seems to be brewed by fermenting honey and water. As shown in the quote, it is thick and sweet, served in a horn.
"Here Jarl," said Thyri, again handing me the horn. It was filled with the mead of Torvaldsland, brewed from fremented honey, think and sweet."
~*Marauders of Gor, page 90*~
RENCE BEER: Normally kept in flagons, it is a drink popular with the rence growers who produce it themselves. Rarely found outside of the rence islands. Rence has many uses, some of which are paper and a food product.
"At such times there is drinking of rence beer, steeped, boiled and fermented from the crushed seeds and the whitish pith of the plant."
~*Raiders of Gor, page 18*~
BAZI TEA: A popular drink served in the Tahari. It is drunk in three tiny cups, heavily sugared. It is brewed from bazi tea leaves. Online there seems to be a myth that alludes to a huge ceremony when fetching and serving this drink. However, it is not found in any book.
"Tea is extremely important to the nomads. It is served hot and heavily sugared. It gives them strength then, in virture of the sugar, and cools them, by making them sweat as well as stimulating them. It is drunk three small cups at a time, carefully measured."
~*Tribesmen of Gor, page 38*~
BLACKWINE: Brewed from beans grows primarily in Thentis, this drink is expensive, probably due to the fact that trade is limited. This drink is served hot and is mentioned as being similar to Earth coffee, but much stronger. Although it is normally served with sugars and cream, it can be served 'second slave' which is black with no sugar.
"On the tray, too was the metal vessel which had contained the black wine, steaming and bitter, from far Thentis, famed for its tarn flocks, the small yellow-enameled cups from which we had drunk the black wine, its spoons and sugars, a tiny bowl of mint sticks and the softened, dampened cloths on which we had wiped our fingers.
~*Explorers of Gor, page 10*~
CHOCOLATE: similar to Earth cocoa, this hot beverage can be sugared and creamed. As shown in the quote, the beans come from the tropics, and are sold by Cosian Merchants. Its made from beans brought back on one of the early voyages of acquisition and is generally served in higher-class establishments.
"`This is warmed chocolate,' I said, pleased.
It was very rich and creamy.
`Yes, Mistress,' said the girl.
`It is very good,' I said.
`Thank you, Mistress,' she said.
`Is it from Earth?' I asked.
`Not directly,' she said. `Many things here, of course, ulitmately have an Earth origin. It is not improbable that the beans from which the first cacao trees on this world were grown were brought from Earth.'
`Do the trees grow near here?' I asked.
`No, Mistress,' she said, `we obtain the beans from which the chocolate is made, from Cosian merchants, who in turn, obtain them in the tropics."
~* Kajira of Gor, page 61*~
KA-LA-NA: Wine distilled from the fruit of the ka-la-na tree. It is red in color normally served at room temperature. Although it is shown that a ka-la-na bush is yellow, most quotes show the drink itself to be red.
I went to his locker near the mat and got out his Ka-la-na flask, taking a long draught myself and then shoving it into his hands. He drained the flask in one drink and wiped his hand across his beard, stained with the red juice of the fermented drink.
~*Tarnsman of Gor, page 168*~
"Aphris got up and fetched not a skin, but a bottle, of wine, Ka-la-na wine, from the Ka-la-na orchards of great Ar itself..."
~* Nomads of Gor, page 151*~
KAL-DA: A hot drink,made from citrus juice, cheap kalana and spices. Probably similar to mulled wine served on Earth at Christmas time.
Kal-da is a hot drink, almost scalding, made of diluted Ka-la-na wine, mixed with citrus juices and stinging spices.
~*Outlaw of Gor, page 76*~
"I had hardly settled myself behind the table when the propietor had placed a large, fat pot of steaming Kal-da before me. It almost burned my hands to lift the pot. I took a long, burning swig of the brew and though, on another ocassion, I might have thought it foul, tonight it sang through my body like the bubbling fire it was, a sizzling, brutal irritant that tasted so bad and yet charmed me so much I had to laugh."
~*Outlaw of Gor, page 78*~
TA-WINE: A wine made from ta grapes which come from the vineyards of Cos.
"It was Ta wine, from the Ta grapes of the terraces of Cos...In the last year heavy import duties had been levied by the high council of Vonda against the wines of certain other cities, in particular against the Ka-la-nas of Ar."
Fighting Slave of Gor, page 306
LARMA JUICE: Served cool, often sold from stands to passing travelers within or around the walls and outskirts of a city.
I purchased some larma juice for a tarsk bit. "Is it cool?" I asked. "Yes," she said.
Mercenaries of Gor, pg 257
FERMENTED MILK CURDS: : Milk that is allowed to ferment and curdle. An unusual drink and probably one that requires a strong stomach.
"By one fire I could see a squat Tuchuk, hands on his hips, dancing and stamping about by himself, drunk on fermented milk curds, dancing, according to Kamchak, to please the sky."
~*Nomads of Go, page 28*~
PAGA: Often called the drink of warriors. Having reserached Paga throughout the web sites, the best information on this drink can be found at www.silkandsteel.com Here they give good arguments to show that PAGA is actually like Earth beer, and SUL PAGA is akin to moonshine.
Paga can be served from an assortment of bottles, urns, botas, poured in to goblets, cups and kantharos(bowl, NOT 3 footed)
She knelt near the table... and put the paga, in a small kantharos... before me."
~*Renegades of Go, page 71*~
Paga!' called the standing man. `Paga!' A blonde girl, nude, with a string of pearls wound about her steel collar, ran to the table and, from the bronze vessel, on its strap, about her shoulder, poured paga into the goblet before the seated man. The fellow who stood by the table, scarcely noticing the girl, placed a tarsk-bit in her mouth, and she fled back to the counter where, under the eye of a paga attendant, she spit the coin into a copper bowl."
~*Rogue of Go, page 78*~
"I thrust out the silver paga goblet, studded with rubies, and Telima, standing beside my throne like chair, filled it."
~*Raiders of Gor, page 223*~
"Many civilians, I believe, do not know why certain warriors, by habit, request their paga in metal goblets when dining in public houses."
~*Renegades of Gor, page 77*~
"He leaned over and tossed me a skin bag of Paga , from which I took a long swig, then hurled it contemptously back into his arms. In a moment he had taken flight again, ... the bag of Paga flying behind him, dangling from its long straps."
~*Tarnsman of Gor, page 78*~
FLAVORED ICE: Probably like Earth slushies, popular at the Tarn races.
"Free women, here and there, were delicately putting tidbits beneath their veils. Some even lifted their veils somewhat to drink of the flavored ices. Some low-caste free women drank through their veils, and there were yellow and purple stains on the rep-cloth."
~*Assassins of Gor, page 141,*~
TURIAN LIQUORS: sweet liquors, served in small glasses.
She picked up the small tray from the stand near the table. On it was the small vessel containing a thick, sweet liqueur from distant Turia, the Ar of the south, and the two tiny glasses from which we had sipped it.
~*Exlporers of Gor, page 10*~
PALM WINE:
"One of her most delicious exports is palm wine."
~*Explorers of Gor, Page. 115*~
"My recommendation," said Ayari, "would be to stab him, when he is not looking, or perhaps to poison his palm wine."
~*Explorers of Gor, Page 429*~
COSIAN WINE: A sweet red wine, made from fruit, imported from Cos.
"He had brought, too, paga, Cosian wine, and water."
~*Rogue of Gor, Page.257*~
FALARIAN WINE: An exquisite, rare, fabulously expensive wine, its cost would purchase a city. Its existence is only rumored among collectors (served in a goblet).
CHO: Hot paga with whipped cream and chocolate shavings, served in a mug or bowl.
WHITE WINE: Light in color and taste, note that it is not referred to as Ka-la-na, simply wine. This is served in a goblet.
"In the hall was a open circle of small tables, at which a handful of guests, on cushions and mats, reclined. There were four men and two women at these tables, other than the Lady Florence, the hostess, and her guest of the past several days, the Lady Metpomene. The tables were covered with cloths of glistening white and a service of gold. Before each guest there were tiny slices of tospit and larma, small pastries, and in a tiny golden cup, with a small golden spoon, the clustered, black, tiny eggs of the white grunt. The first wine, a light white wine, was being deferentially served by pamela and bonnie."
~*Fighting Slave of Gor, pages 275-276*~
**NOTE**
*Although ice is not commonly found throughout Gor, Brundisium has ice and ice chips stored in the chillery.
*To check the warmth of a drink, the vessel is commonly held to the slaves cheek or other tender parts of her body.
*Most drinks can be garnished with a slice of fruit on the rim of the glass.
*Never assume a drink is to be sweetened, ask the Master/Mistress if they wish Their drink sweetened.
