Collecting Wine Glasses
In Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management published in 1861, a section on beverages includes a recipe for Champagne-Cup, aeelebration drink ‘suitable for pic-nics, balls, weddings and other festive occasions’. To make
it, a quart bottle of ‘brisk’ Champagne (bubbly, rather than ‘still’ or ‘non-mousseux’ Champagne which was also drunk at the time) is mixed with two bottles of Soda-water, a liqueur-glassful of brandy or Curaçao, and two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Apart from the fact that the blend is then poured into a large silver cup to be passed to each guest in turn, the recipe doesn't sound too far from today's Champagne cocktail, served in acoupe and guaranteed to get the evening going.
