drinks of Gore

Each home has its own menu but to learn all the drinks is wise as you may be taken visiting to other Homes that have drinks we do not. Read about each drink, learn how they are stored and what vessels they are served in.



ALE:

Gorean Ale is closer to a Honey Lager than to an ale or beer...a deep gold in color, and brewed from the grains of Gor and hops imported from earth in the early years during the acquisition voyages. It is traditionally served in tankards or horns. Although it is traditionally served chilled, it can also be served room temperature and. The north regions, like Torvaldsland, have a strong ale. Ale would be rarer outside of the northlands. Ale is poured in the cold room from a keg type container, so don't try to pick it up. It is brewed from sa-tarna (like a wheat) and wild grains. It has a slightly bitter dry taste. It is one of two favored drinks of Torvaldsland. Ale is kept in a cask or keg, tap the cask, let the liquid pour, recork the cask.



BAZI TEA:

A Very aromatic tea brewed fresh from Bazi leaves, it is an herbal beverage (pekoe, green tea, from seeds imported from Earth); traditionally served hot and heavily sugared, drunk 3 tiny cups one at a time. The serve is ceremonial. It comes ground and placed in canisters and is carefully measured. A popular drink in the Tahari and several other select areas, it is drunk in three tiny cups, heavily sugared. Brewed fresh from bazi tea leaves, we can assume the tea itself to be quite strong.

Items needed: A red lacquer tray, urn, 3 small bazi tea cups, bowl of white and yellow sugar.
Note: there is no "Red" sugar on Gor, Salt is Red.

How to Serve: On IRC, there is much ceremony around the bazi tea serve. A prayer said with each cup (First is for the Past; Second for the Present; Third for the Future)

1. Retrieve 3 small bazi tea cups, one red, one yellow and one blue, a black and red lacquer tray and the jar of bazi leaves.

2. Move to the hearth and fill the urn with the boiling water

3. Fetch a bowl of yellow and white sugars.

4. Return to his feet in the nadu position and set the tray before you.

5. Three pinches of bazi tea leaves are placed in each tea cup.

6. Add yellow sugar to the first cup, white to the second and one of each to the third.

7. Pour hot water from the urn and swirl the water to blend. Set aside All preparatory implements and bring to your belly then heart, soon to hold it up to him in offer. Verse a silent prayer of ‘the Past’.

8. Pour hot water from the urn and let the sugars dissolve. Caress your belly then up to your heart for three beats and offer the second cup to Master. Verse a silent prayer for ‘the present’.

9. Pour the last cup, take to your belly and heart, offering the last cup to him with a silent a prayer to ‘the future’.

10. Place empty cups inverted on tray as each is handed back.



BEER, RENCE:

Steeped, boiled and fermented from the whitish pith and crushed seeds of the rence plant, it is a drink of the rence growers of the Delta of the Vosk. Rence beer is commonly available only in the marsh communities. Rarely found outside of the rence islands. Normally kept in gourd flagons, served in a tankard or horn.



BLACKWINE:

A coffee, traditionally served with white and yellow sugars and bosk milk in mugs. It is grown on the slopes of Thentis, and it is thought to have come from Earth on a slave acquisition run. It is very strong and bitter and it is traditionally served very hot, sometimes other sugars, spices or cream may also be served with it. This drink is rather expensive due to limited trading of the product. It is very similar to Earthen coffee though is much stronger. It appears to be a thick strong drink more potent then espresso. BlackWine is prepared in the servery, where cream and sugar are placed on the tray and the BlackWine poured from a kettle on the hearthfire (some girls bring the kettle with them and pour it at the Master's feet.) First slave is the reference to mean They wish both sugars and the cream, second meaning They wish it black, while tanned blackwine means with cream only. Traditionally, you would add 4 tiny sthingyfuls of white sugar and 6 tiny sthingyfuls of yellow sugar. You need not be so specific during a serve however.

BREEDING WINE:

This is a drink given by the Master to His slave to reverse the effects of Slave Wine. It is a sweet beverage mixture of watered down ka-la-na, making a slave girl fertile; also called second wine, it is made from the extract of the teslik plant. It is given to a girl when a Master wants to breed her. As with slavewine, it will be given to a girl by her Master.



CHOCOLATE:

Made from beans of the cacao tree brought back on one of the early Voyages of Acquisition, this is the same as the chocolate of Earth. It is served in higher class establishments. It is now grown in the jungles of Gor themselves. It is a rich and creamy drink. There are no known marshmallows on Gor. Not all taverns would carry this item. Kept in powder form in pantry. It is served hot and in a mug, sugared, and is popular in some cities.



CITRUS JUICE:

There are a variety of juices on Gor as there are numerous fruits. They are generally served icy cold in a tall goblet and found in pitchers in the cool room. Juice can be made from most of the fruits found on the plains. Larma fruit juice is very popular, served cool and at times sold from stands to passing travelers within or around a city.



FALARIAN WINE:

An exquisite, rare, fabulously expensive wine, it's cost would purchase a city. It's existence is only rumored to exist among collectors with some indication that it does exist though also amoong wealthy Ubars or Merchants who might own a precious bottle. No paga tavern would have this wine.



FERMENTED MILK CURDS:

This is an alcoholic drink among the Wagon Peoples. It would be very rare to find this drink available outside of the lands of the Wagon Peoples. Fermented milk curds are drunk by Tuchuks, it is made from bosk milk, very potent, served in a bowl.



KA-LA-NA:

A very potent sweet dry red wine, made from the fruit of the Ka-la-na tree. Like the wines of earth the quality of ka-la-na varies from that of a common table wine to premium brands. The best and sweetest coming from the Plains of Kalana. Almost incandescent, there are actually quite a variety of types of this wine. Many cities make their own brands and most people have their personal preferences. Boleto's Nectar of the Public Slave Gardens is a major brand of Ka-la-na served in Ar's public slave gardens. Boleto is a well-known winegrower from the vicinity of Ar. He is famous for the production of a large number of reasonably good, medium-grade Ka-la-nas. Ka-la-na is normally sold and served in bottles. Ka-la-na wine is reported to have an aphrodisiac effect on females. This drink symbolizes romantic love. It is served, chilled or room temperature, in a goblet. An unnamed white wine exists on Gor and there are inferences in the books that lead one to conclude that white, or other color, ka-la-na may exist. There is no passage in the books that states ka-la-na is only red. The cheap ka-la-na is kept in verr skin botas. The "good" ka-la-na is stored in bottles and each bottle has the wax seal of the city of Ar.
NEVER serve kalana in a silver vessel, the most potent poison in Gor is silver-laced kalana!!!!



KAL-DA OR CAL-DA:

An alcoholic beverage made of cheap ka-la-na wine diluted with citrus juices such as tospit and larma and mixed with strong stinging spices, unlike the sweet ones used in mulled ka-la-na. It is served hot, almost scalding from the hearth in a mug or footed bowl. It is cheap and tastes good and is most popular with the lower castes. It can be considered quite good, at least until you reach the bottom of the pot. It can and will get you drunk eventually. Can be garnished with tospit, or larma fruits (do not forget to dip fruits in honey.)



LIANA VINE:

A rainforest plant which can be used as a source of drinking water.



MEAD:

Made in Torvaldsland, it is the preferred beverage of the northland and is favored over paga there. It is made with fermented honey, water and spice, traditionally served in a large animal horn. It is thick and sweet, served heated from a little pot near the hearth and in a drinking horn. It is a golden fluid. Mead is similar to old English Beer.



MERLOT WINE:

Merlot wine is the only burgandy wine found on Gor. It is made from merlot grapes. Stored in bottles, it is served in tall goblets at room temperature.



MILK:

Can be bosk milk, verr or kaiila. Bosk milk which is rich thick and sweet, verr milk which is much like goat milk and sand kaiila milk which is redish colored and a strong, salty taste as it has a lot of ferrous sulphate. The last type is found mainly in the tahari region. (see below Sand Kailla Milk) Milk is another rarely asked for drink. It is served in a tall goblet, also served with blackwine and tea. Hot milk is also drunk. Found in pitchers in the cooler. There are milk vendors in Gorean cities like the milkmen of Earth.



MULLED KA-LA-NA:

Heated ka-la-na, with mulling spices added for flavor. Usually garnished with a piece of ka-la-na fruit or tospit, served in a goblet. Pour ka-la-na from the bottle, add mulled spices then heat with poker and add kalana fruit on top for garnishment.



PAGA:

Its full name is rarely used. (abbr. of Pagar-Sa-Tarna, lit. 'pleasure of the life-daughter'; also called sa-paga) It is brewed from the grain of Sa-Tarna. It is a heady distilled smooth hard liquor akin to whiskey. It is probably the most popular alcoholic drink on Gor, especially among both the men and women of the Kassar. There are many varieties, usually named for their city of origin, such as Ar, Tyros, Ko-ro-ba, Helmutsport, Anango, and Tharna. The primary difference in these pagas is usually the spices or grains added. Paga is a strong drink and is commonly cut with water in taverns. It may be bought from merchants in bottles or verr-skin botas. sometimes served warm to very hot, this is the drink most often served in Taverns. It symbolizes physical love (lust). Served in a wooden footed bowl, except on the plains where it is most often served straight from a bota.. A light golden color, it is rather similar to sour-mash liquor in the way it is produced. Nowhere in any of the scrolls does it mention rancid or lumpy paga of any kind.



PALM WINE:

This is a big export from the city of Schendi. There was no description given of this wine so its color, flavor and such are unknown.



SAND KAILLA MILK:

Reddish and salty, because it is high in ferrous sulfate, It is normally served in a goblet.



SLAVE WINE:

Black, brewed from bitter herbs (the main ingredient being sip root) and watered down ka-la-na, it acts as a contraceptive drunk once per month. Although a girl would not serve this wine, a slave would be given this by her Master, later books show a type only needed to be drunk once and then needing "second wine" to conteract the effects which is almost instantaneous and lasts for well over a month.



SUL PAGA:

Distilled alcoholic drink made from suls, Sul paga is a clear, drink, very strong, and its similar to earthen vodka. It is seldom available outside of a peasant village. It would be a rarity in a paga tavern to find sul paga available. Served cold, heated or room temperature in a footed bowl, it also symbolizes physical love (lust). It also comes in verr-skin botas.



TA-WINE:

A sweet, dry white wine made from Ta grapes from the Isle of Cos. Ta grapes also grow in areas outside of Cos and wine can also be made from those grapes. Thus, different cities have their own varieties of Ta wine. The grapes themselves are a reddish color. The wine is a favorite of the Mistress' and is found in bottles. Can be served at any temperature although it is usually served at room temperature, in a goblet.



TEA:

A beverage of leaves steeped in hot water and served in a mug. It is a tea, rather like the pekoe of Earth, it is generally served in the higher class establishments. There are several types of tea, one of the most famous being Bazi tea, though it is very expensive and not likely to be found on the plains. Other teas can be made with herbs and are often used by camp healers to cure common ailments. It comes ground in containers.

TEA:

A beverage of leaves steeped in hot water and served in a mug. It is a tea, rather like the pekoe of Earth, it is generally served in the higher class establishments. There are several types of tea, one of the most famous being Bazi tea, though it is very expensive and not likely to be found on the plains. Other teas can be made with herbs and are often used by camp healers to cure common ailments. It comes ground in containers.



TURIAN LIQUEOR:

A thick, sweet syrupy flavored and heavily sugared liqueur from Turia, served in tiny goblets. These liqueurs are considered the best on Gor, and are rather like the dessert wines, comes in bottles.



TURIAN WINE:

A thick syrupy wine so sweet and thick that is it said one can see a thumbprint on its surface. It is served room temperature or chilled in small wooden goblets. It comes in bottles, and is a very acquired taste.



WATER:

Spring water from the mountains or from the liana vine or carpet plants from the rain forest area inland of Schendi. It is served in tall water goblets, with or without ice chips/shards. In a Home it will be in a cask or keg, if you are in a camp you would get it from the stream or a bota.



WINE:

There are many types of wine available on Gor. Though not all are specifically mentioned there are various passing references to the varieties of wines served at dinners throughout the books. Therefore hearing someone ask for a 'white wine' or a 'dry red wine' should not cause shock.



WHITE WINE:

A wine light in color and taste, it is not described in detail just as white wine.



GENERAL DRINK INFORMATION:



Wine bottles in racks in cooler and servery (cold and room temp)
paga, etc kept on hooks in cooler, servery and near hearth (cold, warm, or hot)

Many Gorean wines are very strong, 80 to 100 proof. Most Earth wines in comparison are only about 12 proof. Thus, wine may commonly be cut with water. This occurs often when wine is drunk at homes at meals, at certain parties and in some taverns. A wine krater, a mixing bowl, is used to mix the wine and water. "Krater" is an ancient Greek term that means "mixing bowl." If the wine is not cut, it might also be served in very small amounts. At more raucous parties or taverns, the wine is rarely cut or only in a slight amount.

There are a number of common drinking vessels in the taverns of Gor. There are generally no restrictions over what cup or bowl you use to serve a certain drink. Paga and wine can be served in nearly any drinking vessel. Most taverns will have ordinary vessels of cheap metal or pottery. They will not have vessels of gold or silver. Only the most expensive of taverns might have such expensive items.

Goblets, of various materials, are the most common vessel in taverns. Some goblets have rings, maybe four or five, around the cup area and a patron may ask for his cup to be filled to a certain ring. Sometimes bowl-like vessels are also used. A kylix, an ancient Greek term, is a footed, two-handled cup. A kantharos is a deep drinking cup with a high-footed part and upraised handles to grip it. It derives from the Greek word meaning "ung beetle." Some peoples use drinking horns. The Wagon Peoples and Torvaldslanders both use such horns. A bota is a leather flask commonly used for paga and wine. Most botas are made of verr skin. A bota is squeezed to release a stream of liquid. Botas are commonly carried by travelers, as they are portable and not subject to breakage. A bota would not be served within a paga tavern. Wine and paga may also be sold in bottles of various sizes. A hydria, another Greek term, is a high-handled, water vessel. It is a curious aside that the drinking vessels on Gor almost all derive from Greek sources.

A Note on Ice:

There was no refrigeration on Gor, this made ice rather expensive to acquire at certain times of the year and certainly made cold storage very difficult. The average Tavern or Inn will not have bowls of ice just lying around for anyone to play with and if they have managed to acquire ice, it certainly will not be drinkable as it will be from a natural source and most likely dirty and covered in sawdust to maintain its chill.

Minced, flavored ices, for warm days. Served in a goblet. These were served at a Tarn race. Probably prepared/poured in the servery.