The history of drinking
饮酒的历史
Uncorking the past
打开尘封已久的历史
Recreating old drinks provides an enjoyable form of time-travelling
重新酿造古代的酒给人以时光旅行式的享受
Dec 20th 2001 | from the print edition
IT MAY be small―each molecule is less than a billionth of a metre long, and consists of a handful of atoms of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen―but ethyl alcohol makes an excellent time machine. People have enjoyed alcoholic drinks since prehistoric times, making drinking one of the few strands that runs throughout the history of western civilisation. Appreciating the art, music or literature of long-vanished cultures can require years of study; recreating their drinks, and comparing them to what we enjoy today, is simple in comparison, not to mention more fun. The consumption of alcohol is so widespread in history, says Patrick McGovern, an archaeological chemist at the University of Pennsylvania, that drinking is, in effect, "a universal language".
可能很小――每一个分子只相当于十亿分之一米的长度，由许多碳原子、氢原子和氧原子组成的乙醇就像一部时间的机器。人类从史前时代就喜欢饮酒，让喝酒成为西方文明史的一部分。欣赏消失已久的艺术、音乐和文学作品需要很多年的时间；重酿当时的酒，拿来和现在的酒对比，做对比简单，却没有那么有趣。宾夕法尼亚大学的考古化学家Patrick McGovern说酒精消费在历史上分布很广，事实上，饮酒是"一个全球话语"。
At the same time, of course, different cultures' attitudes to alcohol provide a window on a wide range of social and cultural practices. Alcoholic drinks have always been prized for their supposedly medicinal qualities, though exactly what these qualities were, and how best to take advantage of them, has only become clear in modern times. In short, the drinks of history are familiar enough that we can understand and appreciate them, while different enough to teach us something about the time and place in which they were originally drunk. Some of them can even be recreated at home, with commonly available ingredients.
当然，对待酒精的不同文化态度也为社会和文化实践领域的广阔空间提供了一扇窗口。饮用酒精一直在医学上占优势。这些优势是什么，怎样更好地利用酒精，其实这些问题在现代才搞明白。总之，我们对历史上的酒是很熟悉的，我们知道并能欣赏，让我们酿酒的起源时间和地点。只要配合现在常见的原料，在家都可自己酿造。
The oldest surviving recipe in the world (3,800 years old) is for beer. It formed part of a hymn to the Sumerian goddess of brewing
世界上最早的（3800年前）保留下来的酿酒配方是啤酒。是对苏美尔酿酒女神赞诗的一部分。The oldest surviving recipe in the world is for beer. It can be found on a 3,800-year-old clay tablet, as part of a hymn to Ninkasi, the Sumerian goddess of brewing. Sumerian documents, including the legal code drawn up during the reign of King Hammurabi around 1720BC, show that beer played an important role in Mesopotamian rituals, myths and medical practices. It was drunk by all members of society, from top to bottom, and tavern keepers were expected to abide by strict rules: the penalty for overcharging, for example, was drowning.
世界最早保留下来的酿酒方法是啤酒。被发现刻在距今3800年前的陶土文物上，是对苏美尔酿酒女神宁卡希赞颂诗歌的一部分。苏美尔文献，包括公元前1720年颁布的汉莫拉比法典，都证明啤酒在美索不达米亚宗教仪式、神话和医学上发挥着重要的作用。从上层统治者到底层民众，全社会的人都喝啤酒，人们希望酒馆老板严格遵守规定：啤酒定价高就要受处罚，例如，判处溺水死亡的刑罚。
In addition to being at the heart of Mesopotamian culture, beer may even have been the foundation for the whole of western civilization. In the 1950s Jonathan Sauer, an American botanist, suggested that the original motivation for domesticating cereal crops (and thus switching from a nomadic to a settled lifestyle) might have been to make beer, rather than bread. The question of whether beer or bread came first has been debated ever since.
除了作为美索不达米亚文化的核心外，啤酒也是整个西方文明的基石。20世纪50年代，美国的植物学家Jonathan Sauer认为引种谷物（从游牧转为定居生活）的原动力就是为了酿酒，而不仅仅是为了面包。自那时以来到底最初的动因是为了酿酒还是为了做面包一直争论不休。
Beer makers of Sumer
苏美尔酿酒师
Supporters of Sauer's idea have pointed out that many of the first cereals to be farmed were unsuitable for baking without tiresome preparation, but were suitable for brewing. Beer, they suggest, may have emerged in an attempt to make wild barley edible by mixing it with water and fruit. The thick beer produced in this way would be just as nutritious as bread, in addition to being slightly alcoholic.
Sauer想法的赞成者指出许多第一次引种的谷物对没有令人厌烦的准备工作的烘烤不适应，但是适于酿酒。他们认为啤酒出现是在一次尝试做大麦食物的过程中，把麦子和水、水果混合得到的。这种方式做出了重浓度的啤酒，除了做酒精用外，和面包一样有营养。
Sumerian documents lend credence to this idea. For although Sumerian beer was made using bappir, a form of bread that could be stored for long periods, it seems that bappir was consumed only when no other food was available. In other words, its primary function may have been to store the raw materials for making beer in a convenient form.
苏美尔人的文献证明了这个观点。即使苏美尔人用啤酒面包――一种可以贮存很久的面包――酿酒，但是看起来啤酒面包只在没有其他食物可用的情况下才被想起来食用。换句话说，它的第一作用就是贮存酿酒的原材料。
If beer really does underpin western civilisation, that would explain its high status in Sumerian culture. The seal of Lady Pu-Abi, queen of the city of Ur around 2600BC, shows her drinking beer from a cup through a straw; just such a straw, made of gold and lapis lazuli, was found in her tomb, and can be seen today in the British Museum.
如果啤酒是西方文明的支柱，也就解释了它在苏美尔文化中的崇高地位的原因。公元前2600年的乌尔城王后普阿比的印章上显示她用吸管喝杯子里的啤酒，这样一根用黄金和天青石做的吸管在她的墓室中找到，现在保存在大英博物馆中。
So what would this Ur-beer have tasted like? A number of attempts have been made to brew Sumerian beer according to the Ninkasi recipe. Two such tipples were made in the early 1990s at the Anchor Brewery in San Francisco, though they were not put on sale to the general public. They involved a certain amount of guesswork. One problem, says Michael Jackson, a beer expert who has tasted various pseudo-Sumerian beers over the years, is that modern brewers avoid the use of wild yeast, which would have made the original beers taste "winey and sour". Another problem, he says, is that it is not clear what was added to ancient beers to balance the taste of the grain. It may well have been fruit, but could also have been honey.
这种乌尔啤酒味道怎样呢？一些想尝试的人按照宁卡希配方酿造苏美尔啤酒。两种这样的酒20世纪90年代初在旧金山的Anchor酿酒厂问世，但是没有向市场推广。他们做了大量的实验。多年来致力于品尝仿苏美尔啤酒的酿酒专家迈克尔•杰克逊说，有个问题是现在的酿酒商不愿使用可能会使啤酒尝起来像葡萄酒或发点酸的原始发酵剂。另一个问题是，还不知道古代啤酒中添加了什么来平衡谷物的口感。可能是水果，也可能是蜂蜜。
This means there are various modern beers that may resemble the ancient kind. Mr Jackson notes that lambic beers from Belgium use wild yeast, for example; he also recommends Sahti, a Finnish beer that is flavoured with juniper, which he describes as "the last primitive beer to survive in Europe". Philip Rogers, of the Anchor Brewing Company, says that the Ninkasi brew he tasted was reminiscent of mead; another beer, also based on the Ninkasi recipe, has been compared to Jade, a French organic beer.
这也意味着有多种现代啤酒已很接近古代啤酒了。例如比利时的兰比克啤酒用原始发酵剂。他还推荐芬兰啤酒Sahti，弥漫着杜松树的味道，被他誉为"欧洲流传下来的最原始的啤酒"。Anchor酿酒厂的菲利普•罗杰斯说宁卡希啤酒像蜂蜜酒；以宁卡希为配方的另一种啤酒可以媲美法国有机啤酒Jade。
To further complicate matters, says Mr McGovern, the distinction between beer, wine and mead starts to break down once honey and fruit are included in the brewing process. Furthermore, his analysis of drinking vessels, found in a tomb in central Turkey dating to around 700BC and thought to be that of King Midas, suggests that beer, wine and mead may have been mixed together in equal quantities to make an early form of cocktail.
McGovern说更复杂的是，从蜂蜜和水果加入到酿酒过程中后，啤酒、葡萄酒和蜂蜜酒三者之间没有区别了。此外，通过对饮酒容器（出土于土耳其中部一座公元前700年的坟墓中――可能是Midas国王的坟墓）的分析他认为相同分量的啤酒、葡萄酒和蜂蜜酒混合在一起制成了最初形式的鸡尾酒。
A similar drink seems to have been adopted by the Minoan civilization of Crete after about 1500BC. Mr McGovern is currently collaborating with a Cretan wine maker to recreate this drink: six different blends of wine, spices, mead and beer are brewing at this very moment. His findings have also been used by Sam Calagione of the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Lewes, Delaware, to create a beer called "Midas Touch", which was launched in June (see www.dogfish.com for details).
公元前1500年后，相似的酒被希腊克里特文明吸收。McGovern现在和克里特酿酒者合作重新制造这种酒：用葡萄酒、香料、蜂蜜酒和啤酒等六种混合物酿造。他的发明也被美国特拉华州刘易斯市角鲨头工艺酿酒厂的Sam Calagione应用在酿酒上，制造出一种叫做"Midas Touch"的酒，于当年六月份上市（详细情况见www.dogfish.com）。
Galen's wine: Rome, c. 170AD
盖伦葡萄酒，罗马，公元170年
Some time towards the end of the second century AD, Galen of Pergamum, physician to the emperor Marcus Aurelius, descended into the Palatine cellars in Rome and conducted what must be regarded as one of the greatest vertical wine-tastings in history. Before his appointment as imperial physician, Galen had been a doctor at a gladiatorial school, where he had learned of the medical value of wine to disinfect wounds. Galen also believed that wine was an extremely potent medicine. So when it came to preparing a theriac, or medicinal potion for the emperor, Galen decided that it should be based on the finest wine in the world. "Since all that is best from every part of the earth finds its way to the great ones of the earth," he wrote, "from their excellence must be chosen the very best for the greatest of them all." He duly headed for the cellars.
公元二世纪末，帕加马市的盖伦，马可•奥勒留国王时期的物理学家，去罗马皇宫的酒窖，指出哪个是可以被称为是历史上最好喝的葡萄酒。在被任命为皇家御用物理学家之前，盖伦是一所训练角斗士学校的医生，在学校里他发现了酒有消毒伤口的医用价值。盖伦认为酒有药效。当为国王准备糖浆或药品时，盖伦认为药中应该加入世界上最好的酒。"所有的一切都想尽善尽美，好的想变得更好，更好的想变成最好的。"他前往酒窖。
In Roman times, it was universally agreed that the finest wine was that of the Falernian region near Naples. In fact, in a foreshadowing of the French appellation regulations, there were three types of Falernian wine. Caucinian Falernian originated from vineyards on the highest slopes of Mount Falernus; Faustian Falernian came from vineyards on the central slopes; and wine from the lower slopes was known simply as Falernian.
罗马时代，众所周知最好的酒是那不勒斯附近的Falernian地区的酒。事实上，通过法国名称规则的预测，有三种这样的酒。Caucinian Falenian源自Falemus山高坡上的葡萄园。Faustian Falenian源自中部坡度的葡萄园。低坡度葡萄园中的葡萄酒叫Falernian。
Perhaps surprisingly, given modern tastes, the most prized Falernian was a white wine. Roman sources indicate that the grapes were picked fairly late, resulting in a heavy, sweet wine that was golden in colour and could be aged for decades. The nearest contemporary equivalents would appear to be long-aged sauternes wines, such as Chateau d'Yquem. But Falernian would have tasted very different, for a number of reasons. For a start, it was allowed to maderise, which caused it to turn amber or brown. A modern drinker presented with a glass of Roman wine might also notice that its taste was affected by the pitch or resin that was used to make impermeable the earthenware jars in which the wine was stored.
也许使人吃惊地是， 现代口味的话，最应受嘉奖的Falernian是一种白葡萄酒。罗马资料显示，葡萄采摘越晚，就能酿出重口味，甜的葡萄酒，金黄的颜色，可以贮存几十年。最接近当时质量的现代酒，是保存很多年的苏特恩葡萄酒，如伊甘葡萄酒。但是有一些原因使Falernian 尝起来有些不同。第一，葡萄酒会变成褐色。现代人喝上一杯罗马葡萄酒会觉得它的味道受做不易渗透的陶罐用的柏油或松香的影响，酒就是被贮存在这种陶罐中。
But the most dramatic difference between Roman and modern wine is that the Romans never drank wine on its own; they always mixed it with other ingredients. Indeed, the practice of drinking wine straight was regarded as barbaric. Most often, wine was simply diluted. The amount of water added depended on the circumstances (it was up to the host to decide) and the temperature, but the proportions were typically one part wine to three parts water. Diluting wine served two purposes: it made it into a thirst-quenching drink that could be consumed in large quantities, and the presence of alcohol also made the water safe to drink, an important consideration in the growing cities of the Roman Empire, as it still was in 18th-century Europe.
但是罗马酒和现代酒最大的不同就是，罗马人从来不纯喝酒，总要加点其他的东西。实际上，直接饮酒被看做是野蛮的，未开化的行为。大多数情况下，酒被稀释了。由具体情况（主人决定）和温度决定添加多少水，酒和水的比例基本上是1:3。稀释酒有两个目的：使酒变成解渴的饮品，从而大量消费，酒精使饮用水的安全性提高了，这种方法萌发与罗马帝国时期的城市中，一直持续到18世纪。
On occasion, wine was diluted with seawater. This was done, according to Pliny, "to enliven the wine's smoothness"
有时，葡萄酒用海水稀释。Pliny说这样做大大提升了葡萄酒的口感。
On occasion, wine was also diluted with sea water. According to Pliny the Elder, one of several Roman authorities on wine, this was done "to enliven the wine's smoothness". But water was not the only additive. Snow was sometimes mixed with wine to cool it; honey was sometimes added to create an aperitif known as mulsum; and various herbs and spices were commonly added to wine to mask the fact that it had turned to vinegar. Keeping wine in good condition was difficult in Roman times, so most wine was drunk within a year of production; "old" wine was categorised as wine more than a year old.
有时，葡萄酒用海水稀释。据罗马的葡萄酒专家Pliny说，这样做可以大大提升葡萄酒的口感。但是做添加剂的不仅可以用水。雪有时也混合在里面，起冰镇的作用；蜂蜜也被添加进去制成一种叫mulsum的开胃酒；多种香草和香料添加进葡萄酒中掩盖已经其实已经变酸的事实。在罗马时代贮藏酒是困难的，所以酒的保质期在一年以内；超过一年的就成为陈酒了。
As a wine-lover, Galen must have relished the prospect of searching the imperial cellars for the finest Falernian. He started with 20-year-old Falernian and then tasted earlier and earlier vintages. "I kept on until I found a wine without a trace of bitterness. An ancient wine which has not lost its sweetness is the best of all." Eventually, Galen settled on a Faustian Falernian as the finest wine in existence. Alas, he did not record the year. Earlier in the Roman period, the general consensus had been that the Falernian of 121BC was the best vintage; according to Pliny, this wine was still being drunk 160 years later, when it was offered to Caligula. So it seems likely that Galen would have had Falernian vintages as much as 200 years old available during his tasting session.
作为一个爱酒的人，盖伦一定希望从皇家酒窖中找到最好的Falernian，他从20年份的Falernian开始，然后又品尝更早的葡萄酒，我一直品尝找到我找到一种没有苦味的葡萄酒，一种贮藏年份长的酒不失其甜味，就是酒中的极品。最后，盖伦认为Faustian Falernian是现存最好的葡萄酒。哎呀，遗憾的是他记下年份。罗马时代的早期，公认的是，公元前121年的Falernian是最好的葡萄酒。Pliny说这种酒160年后还能饮用，还被供奉给罗马皇帝卡里古拉。可能在盖伦品的是200年历史的Falernian葡萄酒。
But while Falernian was the finest Roman wine, it was hardly typical of what Romans like Galen drank every day. How can such wines be recreated? Hervé Durand, a French wine maker, has set up a "Roman vineyard" near Nîmes in the south of France, where he follows the wine-making procedures described by Roman writers as closely as possible. He produces three pseudo-Roman wines: Turriculae, a white wine that is lightly flavoured with salt water; Carenum, a spiced red wine; and Mulsum, which is flavoured with honey. Similarly, several wine makers in Italy make wines that trade on the Roman connection. But they are not designed to be diluted or mixed with honey and they are not full of herbs. In other words, they are quite palatable, and thus, alas, not authentic.
Falernian是最好的罗马葡萄酒，但是罗马人也不像盖伦这样天天饮酒。这些酒怎样被重新酿造呢？法国酿酒商Hervé Durand在法国南部的尼姆市附近建造了一个罗马葡萄园，他遵照罗马作者所叙述的酿酒程序酿酒。他生产了三种仿罗马时期的葡萄酒：Turriculae,一种有盐水味的白葡萄酒；Carenum,一种含香料的红葡萄酒；和有蜂蜜味的Mulsum。相似的是，很多意大利酿酒商也利用罗马配方酿酒。但是这些酒没有被稀释或添加蜂蜜和香料。换句话说，酒很美味，却不是真正的罗马葡萄酒。
According to Jerry Paterson, an expert on Roman wine at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England, the contemporary wines that are most similar to Roman wines are young, sweet white wines, such as those made in Germany or around the French town of Vouvray. The nearest red wine, he suggests, is Italian wine made with the Aglianico grape. Add half a cup of honey to a bottle of white wine, and refrigerate, to make mulsum; or simply add water in order to drink wine, Roman style.
英国纽卡斯特大学罗马葡萄酒专家Jerry Paterson认为最像罗马酒的现代酒是年份短的甜白葡萄酒，比如在德国和法国沃莱城生产的葡萄酒。他认为，最接近的红葡萄酒是用亚格力安尼克葡萄做成的意大利葡萄酒。在一整瓶白葡萄酒中加半杯蜂蜜，冷藏，做成mulsun;或者仅加水。
Shakespeare's sack: England, 1598
1598，英国，莎士比亚的西班牙葡萄酒
On the afternoon of April 19th, 1587, Sir Francis Drake led his convoy of 31 ships into the port of Cadiz, where the Spanish navy was being prepared to invade England. The Spanish were taken completely by surprise, and Drake's men quickly looted, sank or burnt every ship in sight. After clearing the harbour of stores and fending off a Spanish attack, Drake and his ships escaped without the loss of a single man. Back in England, Drake became a national hero, and his daring attack became known as the "singeing of the King of Spain's beard".
1587年4月19日的下午，弗朗西斯•德瑞克带领他的31艘船队驶入加的斯港，西班牙海军正准备侵略英国。让西班牙人始料未及的是，德瑞克的下属迅速抢劫、沉没或烧毁视野中的所有船只。洗劫了贮存货物的港口并击退了西班牙人的进攻后，德瑞克和他的船队没有伤亡一人，成功撤退。回到英国后，德瑞克成为了国家的英雄。他果敢的进攻因为"让西班牙国王胡子着火"而出名。
As well as setting back the Spanish plan to invade England by several months, Drake's daring attack sealed the success of a popular new drink. For among the stores that he plundered from Cadiz were 2,900 large barrels of sack, a wine made in the Jerez region of Spain, and the forerunner of today's sherry. Its popularity stemmed from a law, passed in 1491, that wines made for export should be exempt from taxes. (The name sack is derived from the Spanish word sacar, meaning to take out, or export.) The wine makers of Jerez looked for overseas markets, and sack started to take off in England. In 1587, the celebratory drinking of the sack brought back from Cadiz by Drake gave it a further boost and made it hugely fashionable, notwithstanding its Spanish origin.
用了数月粉碎了西班牙人侵略英国的计划，德瑞克勇敢的进攻使一种酒大受欢迎。从加的斯掠夺回来的货物中有2900个桶，里面装有产于西班牙赫雷斯地区的葡萄酒，也就是雪利酒的前身。它受欢迎源于一部1491年颁布的法律――出口葡萄酒可以免税。（sack这个词源于西班牙单词sacar意思是拿出去，出口）。赫雷斯酿酒商开始放眼海外市场，出口英国葡萄酒。1587年，受欢迎的酒被德瑞克从加的斯带回来了，尽管它源于西班牙，在英国成为流行、时尚的饮品。
For obscure chemical reasons, sack was an unusually long-lasting and robust wine. This made it ideal for taking on long sea voyages, during which alcoholic drinks acted as a vital social lubricant that lessened the hardship of spending weeks packed into a cramped ship. Columbus took sack with him to the new world in the 1490s, making it the first wine to be introduced into the Americas. When Magellan set out to circumnavigate the world in 1519 he spent more on sack than he did on weapons.
由于某些难理解的化学原因，西班牙的这种葡萄酒保存时间异常长久、且香味浓，特别适宜于长时间的旅行，在这段航程中，它成为一种重要的社会润滑剂，如果是别的葡萄酒还要浪费几个星期打包进一个狭小船舱。1490年哥伦布带着这种葡萄酒发现了新大陆，成为第一种带进美洲的葡萄酒。麦哲伦1519环游世界时消费的葡萄酒比武器要多得多。
But it was in England that sack was most popular. By far the most famous tribute to it was written by William Shakespeare in 1598. In "Henry IV, Part 2", Falstaff sings its praises in a long speech and concludes: "If I had a thousand sons, the first human principle I would teach them should be, to forswear thin potations and to addict themselves to sack." This was, of course, an anachronism: the play was set long before sack was introduced to England. But it is tempting to conclude that Falstaff's words reflect Shakespeare's own love of sack, which was widely shared. His fellow playwrights Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe also wrote hymns to sack; Marlowe was probably drinking it on the night he was killed in a tavern brawl.
在英国sack葡萄酒十分受喜爱。1598年莎士比亚写下对它最美的颂词。见"亨利四世，第二部分"，福斯塔夫用很长的话语赞颂这种葡萄酒，并总结说："如果我有1000个儿子，第一条家规就是，不要喝淡酒，要饮sack酒"。时代开了一个小玩笑，这出戏在sack酒进入英国之前就上演很久了。但是用福斯塔夫的那段话作结显示了莎士比亚对sack酒的钟爱，并被广为传颂。与他合作的剧作家本•琼森和克里斯托弗•马洛也写诗赞美sack酒。马洛死在酒馆纷争的那天晚上可能还在喝sack酒。
In 1604, sack was granted official recognition of sorts when James I issued an ordinance limiting its consumption at court. "We considering that oftentimes sundry of our nobility and others, dieted and lodged in our Court, may for their better health desire to have Sacke, our pleasure is that there be allowed to the sergeant of our cellar twelve gallons of Sacke a day, and no more." By this time sack was popularly known as sherris-sack (sherris being a corruption of Jerez), which eventually became the modern word sherry.
1604年sack酒获得官方的认可。詹姆斯一世在皇室颁布一条法令限制它的消费。"我们认为皇室人员用餐，为了他们的健康考虑喝Sacke酒，酒窖的守卫一天不多于12加仑。这时sack又称为sherris-sack（sherris意思是堕落的赫雷斯），演变成现代的单词sherry。
Sack was still popular in the late 17th century, and appears frequently in the diary of Samuel Pepys. On the morning of March 5th 1668, Pepys was summoned to Westminster to defend the Navy Office's practice of paying sailors with negotiable bills instead of money. On the way he decided to fortify himself: "to comfort myself did go to the Dog and drink half-a-pint of mulled sack". Pepys also refers several times to "sack-posset", a medicinal brew of sack, sugar, spices, milk and beaten eggs that was traditionally served at weddings in early colonial America.
Sack一直流行到17世纪，经常出现在苏美尔人佩皮斯的日记中。1668年3月5日的早晨，佩皮斯被召唤到威斯敏斯特（英国议会）为海军政府的训练（给水手谈判的账单而不是金钱）做辩论。在路上他决定为自己壮胆："为了让自己放松，喝半品脱（1品脱=1/8加仑）sack酒。帕皮斯也提到几次sack牛乳酒，由sack、糖、香料、牛奶和敲碎的鸡蛋酿造，在早期殖民地美洲婚礼上饮用。
What did sack taste like, and can its taste be experienced today? For many years it was believed that sack derived its name from seco, meaning dry, and that it was therefore a dry wine. But according to Julian Jeffs, an expert on the history of sherry, this is wrong, and sack was actually sweet. It was not aged for more than a year or two, unlike modern sherry, which is usually aged for at least three years. This suggests, says Mr Jeffs, that sack probably tasted quite similar to a cheap, young oloroso sherry. It was often further sweetened with honey or sugar: hence Falstaff's nickname of "Sir John Sack-and-sugar".
Sack酒味道怎样，现在还能品尝到吗？多年来人们认为sack来源于单词seco，意思是干燥的，是一种干葡萄酒，但是雪利酒历史研究专家Julian Jeffs认为这种说法是错误的，雪利酒很甜，只需用1、2年，而不像现在的雪利酒酿造要用三年。Jeffs认为sack尝起来很像便宜的、年份短的西班牙甜雪利酒。加上蜂蜜或糖会更甜：因此福斯塔夫的昵称是John Sack-and-sugar先生。
A glass from the past
历史的写照
Recreating the drinks of the past is an intellectual challenge, says Mr McGovern. It is an inexact science, and the results can be horrible. "But once you've created something that's tasty and delicious, it's like you've brought the past back to life," he says. "It makes it much more real for people―it isn't just something forever buried." Better still, in addition to recreating a tiny aspect of the past, there is now strong scientific evidence that alcohol, taken in moderation, can help you travel forward in time too, by reducing the risk of heart disease by as much as 40%. Cheers!
重酿古代的酒是一个明智的挑战，McGovern说，没有科学的指导，结果是可怕的。"但是一旦你创造出好吃的东西，就想你重温了过去"，"让人觉得真实，不是永远的埋葬过去。"更好的是，除了重温过去的某个方面，也为适量饮酒增加人的寿命提供了强有力的科学证据，适量饮酒可以让心脏病的风险降低40%。太好了！
from the print edition | Christmas Specials
注释：
1.Hymn to Nikasi,叫做宁卡希的赞美诗，宁卡西是美索不达米亚平原的酿酒女神。
2.Bappir,一种传统的啤酒面包，是用发芽大麦制成的，可以长期保存。
3.City of Ur，乌尔城（Ur，City Site of），西亚的古代城市，位于伊拉克的穆盖伊尔。该城平面呈叶形。（详见百度百科，http://baike.baidu.com/view/174590.htm）
4.Pergamumu,帕加马，古希腊城市，现为土耳其伊兹密尔省贝尔加吗镇。
5.Marcus Aurelius，马可•奥勒留（公元121年4月26日－180年3月17日），全名为马可•奥勒留•安东尼•奥古斯都（Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus）。著名的"帝王哲学家"，拥有凯撒称号（Imperator Caesar）的他是罗马帝国五贤帝时代最后一个皇帝，于161年至180年在位。代表著作《沉思录》。
6.Falstaff，莎士比亚作品中的戏剧人物。
饮酒的历史
Uncorking the past
打开尘封已久的历史
Recreating old drinks provides an enjoyable form of time-travelling
重新酿造古代的酒给人以时光旅行式的享受
Dec 20th 2001 | from the print edition
IT MAY be small―each molecule is less than a billionth of a metre long, and consists of a handful of atoms of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen―but ethyl alcohol makes an excellent time machine. People have enjoyed alcoholic drinks since prehistoric times, making drinking one of the few strands that runs throughout the history of western civilisation. Appreciating the art, music or literature of long-vanished cultures can require years of study; recreating their drinks, and comparing them to what we enjoy today, is simple in comparison, not to mention more fun. The consumption of alcohol is so widespread in history, says Patrick McGovern, an archaeological chemist at the University of Pennsylvania, that drinking is, in effect, "a universal language".
可能很小――每一个分子只相当于十亿分之一米的长度，由许多碳原子、氢原子和氧原子组成的乙醇就像一部时间的机器。人类从史前时代就喜欢饮酒，让喝酒成为西方文明史的一部分。欣赏消失已久的艺术、音乐和文学作品需要很多年的时间；重酿当时的酒，拿来和现在的酒对比，做对比简单，却没有那么有趣。宾夕法尼亚大学的考古化学家Patrick McGovern说酒精消费在历史上分布很广，事实上，饮酒是"一个全球话语"。
At the same time, of course, different cultures' attitudes to alcohol provide a window on a wide range of social and cultural practices. Alcoholic drinks have always been prized for their supposedly medicinal qualities, though exactly what these qualities were, and how best to take advantage of them, has only become clear in modern times. In short, the drinks of history are familiar enough that we can understand and appreciate them, while different enough to teach us something about the time and place in which they were originally drunk. Some of them can even be recreated at home, with commonly available ingredients.
当然，对待酒精的不同文化态度也为社会和文化实践领域的广阔空间提供了一扇窗口。饮用酒精一直在医学上占优势。这些优势是什么，怎样更好地利用酒精，其实这些问题在现代才搞明白。总之，我们对历史上的酒是很熟悉的，我们知道并能欣赏，让我们酿酒的起源时间和地点。只要配合现在常见的原料，在家都可自己酿造。
The oldest surviving recipe in the world (3,800 years old) is for beer. It formed part of a hymn to the Sumerian goddess of brewing
世界上最早的（3800年前）保留下来的酿酒配方是啤酒。是对苏美尔酿酒女神赞诗的一部分。The oldest surviving recipe in the world is for beer. It can be found on a 3,800-year-old clay tablet, as part of a hymn to Ninkasi, the Sumerian goddess of brewing. Sumerian documents, including the legal code drawn up during the reign of King Hammurabi around 1720BC, show that beer played an important role in Mesopotamian rituals, myths and medical practices. It was drunk by all members of society, from top to bottom, and tavern keepers were expected to abide by strict rules: the penalty for overcharging, for example, was drowning.
世界最早保留下来的酿酒方法是啤酒。被发现刻在距今3800年前的陶土文物上，是对苏美尔酿酒女神宁卡希赞颂诗歌的一部分。苏美尔文献，包括公元前1720年颁布的汉莫拉比法典，都证明啤酒在美索不达米亚宗教仪式、神话和医学上发挥着重要的作用。从上层统治者到底层民众，全社会的人都喝啤酒，人们希望酒馆老板严格遵守规定：啤酒定价高就要受处罚，例如，判处溺水死亡的刑罚。
In addition to being at the heart of Mesopotamian culture, beer may even have been the foundation for the whole of western civilization. In the 1950s Jonathan Sauer, an American botanist, suggested that the original motivation for domesticating cereal crops (and thus switching from a nomadic to a settled lifestyle) might have been to make beer, rather than bread. The question of whether beer or bread came first has been debated ever since.
除了作为美索不达米亚文化的核心外，啤酒也是整个西方文明的基石。20世纪50年代，美国的植物学家Jonathan Sauer认为引种谷物（从游牧转为定居生活）的原动力就是为了酿酒，而不仅仅是为了面包。自那时以来到底最初的动因是为了酿酒还是为了做面包一直争论不休。
Beer makers of Sumer
苏美尔酿酒师
Supporters of Sauer's idea have pointed out that many of the first cereals to be farmed were unsuitable for baking without tiresome preparation, but were suitable for brewing. Beer, they suggest, may have emerged in an attempt to make wild barley edible by mixing it with water and fruit. The thick beer produced in this way would be just as nutritious as bread, in addition to being slightly alcoholic.
Sauer想法的赞成者指出许多第一次引种的谷物对没有令人厌烦的准备工作的烘烤不适应，但是适于酿酒。他们认为啤酒出现是在一次尝试做大麦食物的过程中，把麦子和水、水果混合得到的。这种方式做出了重浓度的啤酒，除了做酒精用外，和面包一样有营养。
Sumerian documents lend credence to this idea. For although Sumerian beer was made using bappir, a form of bread that could be stored for long periods, it seems that bappir was consumed only when no other food was available. In other words, its primary function may have been to store the raw materials for making beer in a convenient form.
苏美尔人的文献证明了这个观点。即使苏美尔人用啤酒面包――一种可以贮存很久的面包――酿酒，但是看起来啤酒面包只在没有其他食物可用的情况下才被想起来食用。换句话说，它的第一作用就是贮存酿酒的原材料。
If beer really does underpin western civilisation, that would explain its high status in Sumerian culture. The seal of Lady Pu-Abi, queen of the city of Ur around 2600BC, shows her drinking beer from a cup through a straw; just such a straw, made of gold and lapis lazuli, was found in her tomb, and can be seen today in the British Museum.
如果啤酒是西方文明的支柱，也就解释了它在苏美尔文化中的崇高地位的原因。公元前2600年的乌尔城王后普阿比的印章上显示她用吸管喝杯子里的啤酒，这样一根用黄金和天青石做的吸管在她的墓室中找到，现在保存在大英博物馆中。
So what would this Ur-beer have tasted like? A number of attempts have been made to brew Sumerian beer according to the Ninkasi recipe. Two such tipples were made in the early 1990s at the Anchor Brewery in San Francisco, though they were not put on sale to the general public. They involved a certain amount of guesswork. One problem, says Michael Jackson, a beer expert who has tasted various pseudo-Sumerian beers over the years, is that modern brewers avoid the use of wild yeast, which would have made the original beers taste "winey and sour". Another problem, he says, is that it is not clear what was added to ancient beers to balance the taste of the grain. It may well have been fruit, but could also have been honey.
这种乌尔啤酒味道怎样呢？一些想尝试的人按照宁卡希配方酿造苏美尔啤酒。两种这样的酒20世纪90年代初在旧金山的Anchor酿酒厂问世，但是没有向市场推广。他们做了大量的实验。多年来致力于品尝仿苏美尔啤酒的酿酒专家迈克尔•杰克逊说，有个问题是现在的酿酒商不愿使用可能会使啤酒尝起来像葡萄酒或发点酸的原始发酵剂。另一个问题是，还不知道古代啤酒中添加了什么来平衡谷物的口感。可能是水果，也可能是蜂蜜。
This means there are various modern beers that may resemble the ancient kind. Mr Jackson notes that lambic beers from Belgium use wild yeast, for example; he also recommends Sahti, a Finnish beer that is flavoured with juniper, which he describes as "the last primitive beer to survive in Europe". Philip Rogers, of the Anchor Brewing Company, says that the Ninkasi brew he tasted was reminiscent of mead; another beer, also based on the Ninkasi recipe, has been compared to Jade, a French organic beer.
这也意味着有多种现代啤酒已很接近古代啤酒了。例如比利时的兰比克啤酒用原始发酵剂。他还推荐芬兰啤酒Sahti，弥漫着杜松树的味道，被他誉为"欧洲流传下来的最原始的啤酒"。Anchor酿酒厂的菲利普•罗杰斯说宁卡希啤酒像蜂蜜酒；以宁卡希为配方的另一种啤酒可以媲美法国有机啤酒Jade。
To further complicate matters, says Mr McGovern, the distinction between beer, wine and mead starts to break down once honey and fruit are included in the brewing process. Furthermore, his analysis of drinking vessels, found in a tomb in central Turkey dating to around 700BC and thought to be that of King Midas, suggests that beer, wine and mead may have been mixed together in equal quantities to make an early form of cocktail.
McGovern说更复杂的是，从蜂蜜和水果加入到酿酒过程中后，啤酒、葡萄酒和蜂蜜酒三者之间没有区别了。此外，通过对饮酒容器（出土于土耳其中部一座公元前700年的坟墓中――可能是Midas国王的坟墓）的分析他认为相同分量的啤酒、葡萄酒和蜂蜜酒混合在一起制成了最初形式的鸡尾酒。
A similar drink seems to have been adopted by the Minoan civilization of Crete after about 1500BC. Mr McGovern is currently collaborating with a Cretan wine maker to recreate this drink: six different blends of wine, spices, mead and beer are brewing at this very moment. His findings have also been used by Sam Calagione of the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Lewes, Delaware, to create a beer called "Midas Touch", which was launched in June (see www.dogfish.com for details).
公元前1500年后，相似的酒被希腊克里特文明吸收。McGovern现在和克里特酿酒者合作重新制造这种酒：用葡萄酒、香料、蜂蜜酒和啤酒等六种混合物酿造。他的发明也被美国特拉华州刘易斯市角鲨头工艺酿酒厂的Sam Calagione应用在酿酒上，制造出一种叫做"Midas Touch"的酒，于当年六月份上市（详细情况见www.dogfish.com）。
Galen's wine: Rome, c. 170AD
盖伦葡萄酒，罗马，公元170年
Some time towards the end of the second century AD, Galen of Pergamum, physician to the emperor Marcus Aurelius, descended into the Palatine cellars in Rome and conducted what must be regarded as one of the greatest vertical wine-tastings in history. Before his appointment as imperial physician, Galen had been a doctor at a gladiatorial school, where he had learned of the medical value of wine to disinfect wounds. Galen also believed that wine was an extremely potent medicine. So when it came to preparing a theriac, or medicinal potion for the emperor, Galen decided that it should be based on the finest wine in the world. "Since all that is best from every part of the earth finds its way to the great ones of the earth," he wrote, "from their excellence must be chosen the very best for the greatest of them all." He duly headed for the cellars.
公元二世纪末，帕加马市的盖伦，马可•奥勒留国王时期的物理学家，去罗马皇宫的酒窖，指出哪个是可以被称为是历史上最好喝的葡萄酒。在被任命为皇家御用物理学家之前，盖伦是一所训练角斗士学校的医生，在学校里他发现了酒有消毒伤口的医用价值。盖伦认为酒有药效。当为国王准备糖浆或药品时，盖伦认为药中应该加入世界上最好的酒。"所有的一切都想尽善尽美，好的想变得更好，更好的想变成最好的。"他前往酒窖。
In Roman times, it was universally agreed that the finest wine was that of the Falernian region near Naples. In fact, in a foreshadowing of the French appellation regulations, there were three types of Falernian wine. Caucinian Falernian originated from vineyards on the highest slopes of Mount Falernus; Faustian Falernian came from vineyards on the central slopes; and wine from the lower slopes was known simply as Falernian.
罗马时代，众所周知最好的酒是那不勒斯附近的Falernian地区的酒。事实上，通过法国名称规则的预测，有三种这样的酒。Caucinian Falenian源自Falemus山高坡上的葡萄园。Faustian Falenian源自中部坡度的葡萄园。低坡度葡萄园中的葡萄酒叫Falernian。
Perhaps surprisingly, given modern tastes, the most prized Falernian was a white wine. Roman sources indicate that the grapes were picked fairly late, resulting in a heavy, sweet wine that was golden in colour and could be aged for decades. The nearest contemporary equivalents would appear to be long-aged sauternes wines, such as Chateau d'Yquem. But Falernian would have tasted very different, for a number of reasons. For a start, it was allowed to maderise, which caused it to turn amber or brown. A modern drinker presented with a glass of Roman wine might also notice that its taste was affected by the pitch or resin that was used to make impermeable the earthenware jars in which the wine was stored.
也许使人吃惊地是， 现代口味的话，最应受嘉奖的Falernian是一种白葡萄酒。罗马资料显示，葡萄采摘越晚，就能酿出重口味，甜的葡萄酒，金黄的颜色，可以贮存几十年。最接近当时质量的现代酒，是保存很多年的苏特恩葡萄酒，如伊甘葡萄酒。但是有一些原因使Falernian 尝起来有些不同。第一，葡萄酒会变成褐色。现代人喝上一杯罗马葡萄酒会觉得它的味道受做不易渗透的陶罐用的柏油或松香的影响，酒就是被贮存在这种陶罐中。
But the most dramatic difference between Roman and modern wine is that the Romans never drank wine on its own; they always mixed it with other ingredients. Indeed, the practice of drinking wine straight was regarded as barbaric. Most often, wine was simply diluted. The amount of water added depended on the circumstances (it was up to the host to decide) and the temperature, but the proportions were typically one part wine to three parts water. Diluting wine served two purposes: it made it into a thirst-quenching drink that could be consumed in large quantities, and the presence of alcohol also made the water safe to drink, an important consideration in the growing cities of the Roman Empire, as it still was in 18th-century Europe.
但是罗马酒和现代酒最大的不同就是，罗马人从来不纯喝酒，总要加点其他的东西。实际上，直接饮酒被看做是野蛮的，未开化的行为。大多数情况下，酒被稀释了。由具体情况（主人决定）和温度决定添加多少水，酒和水的比例基本上是1:3。稀释酒有两个目的：使酒变成解渴的饮品，从而大量消费，酒精使饮用水的安全性提高了，这种方法萌发与罗马帝国时期的城市中，一直持续到18世纪。
On occasion, wine was diluted with seawater. This was done, according to Pliny, "to enliven the wine's smoothness"
有时，葡萄酒用海水稀释。Pliny说这样做大大提升了葡萄酒的口感。
On occasion, wine was also diluted with sea water. According to Pliny the Elder, one of several Roman authorities on wine, this was done "to enliven the wine's smoothness". But water was not the only additive. Snow was sometimes mixed with wine to cool it; honey was sometimes added to create an aperitif known as mulsum; and various herbs and spices were commonly added to wine to mask the fact that it had turned to vinegar. Keeping wine in good condition was difficult in Roman times, so most wine was drunk within a year of production; "old" wine was categorised as wine more than a year old.
有时，葡萄酒用海水稀释。据罗马的葡萄酒专家Pliny说，这样做可以大大提升葡萄酒的口感。但是做添加剂的不仅可以用水。雪有时也混合在里面，起冰镇的作用；蜂蜜也被添加进去制成一种叫mulsum的开胃酒；多种香草和香料添加进葡萄酒中掩盖已经其实已经变酸的事实。在罗马时代贮藏酒是困难的，所以酒的保质期在一年以内；超过一年的就成为陈酒了。
As a wine-lover, Galen must have relished the prospect of searching the imperial cellars for the finest Falernian. He started with 20-year-old Falernian and then tasted earlier and earlier vintages. "I kept on until I found a wine without a trace of bitterness. An ancient wine which has not lost its sweetness is the best of all." Eventually, Galen settled on a Faustian Falernian as the finest wine in existence. Alas, he did not record the year. Earlier in the Roman period, the general consensus had been that the Falernian of 121BC was the best vintage; according to Pliny, this wine was still being drunk 160 years later, when it was offered to Caligula. So it seems likely that Galen would have had Falernian vintages as much as 200 years old available during his tasting session.
作为一个爱酒的人，盖伦一定希望从皇家酒窖中找到最好的Falernian，他从20年份的Falernian开始，然后又品尝更早的葡萄酒，我一直品尝找到我找到一种没有苦味的葡萄酒，一种贮藏年份长的酒不失其甜味，就是酒中的极品。最后，盖伦认为Faustian Falernian是现存最好的葡萄酒。哎呀，遗憾的是他记下年份。罗马时代的早期，公认的是，公元前121年的Falernian是最好的葡萄酒。Pliny说这种酒160年后还能饮用，还被供奉给罗马皇帝卡里古拉。可能在盖伦品的是200年历史的Falernian葡萄酒。
But while Falernian was the finest Roman wine, it was hardly typical of what Romans like Galen drank every day. How can such wines be recreated? Hervé Durand, a French wine maker, has set up a "Roman vineyard" near Nîmes in the south of France, where he follows the wine-making procedures described by Roman writers as closely as possible. He produces three pseudo-Roman wines: Turriculae, a white wine that is lightly flavoured with salt water; Carenum, a spiced red wine; and Mulsum, which is flavoured with honey. Similarly, several wine makers in Italy make wines that trade on the Roman connection. But they are not designed to be diluted or mixed with honey and they are not full of herbs. In other words, they are quite palatable, and thus, alas, not authentic.
Falernian是最好的罗马葡萄酒，但是罗马人也不像盖伦这样天天饮酒。这些酒怎样被重新酿造呢？法国酿酒商Hervé Durand在法国南部的尼姆市附近建造了一个罗马葡萄园，他遵照罗马作者所叙述的酿酒程序酿酒。他生产了三种仿罗马时期的葡萄酒：Turriculae,一种有盐水味的白葡萄酒；Carenum,一种含香料的红葡萄酒；和有蜂蜜味的Mulsum。相似的是，很多意大利酿酒商也利用罗马配方酿酒。但是这些酒没有被稀释或添加蜂蜜和香料。换句话说，酒很美味，却不是真正的罗马葡萄酒。
According to Jerry Paterson, an expert on Roman wine at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England, the contemporary wines that are most similar to Roman wines are young, sweet white wines, such as those made in Germany or around the French town of Vouvray. The nearest red wine, he suggests, is Italian wine made with the Aglianico grape. Add half a cup of honey to a bottle of white wine, and refrigerate, to make mulsum; or simply add water in order to drink wine, Roman style.
英国纽卡斯特大学罗马葡萄酒专家Jerry Paterson认为最像罗马酒的现代酒是年份短的甜白葡萄酒，比如在德国和法国沃莱城生产的葡萄酒。他认为，最接近的红葡萄酒是用亚格力安尼克葡萄做成的意大利葡萄酒。在一整瓶白葡萄酒中加半杯蜂蜜，冷藏，做成mulsun;或者仅加水。
Shakespeare's sack: England, 1598
1598，英国，莎士比亚的西班牙葡萄酒
On the afternoon of April 19th, 1587, Sir Francis Drake led his convoy of 31 ships into the port of Cadiz, where the Spanish navy was being prepared to invade England. The Spanish were taken completely by surprise, and Drake's men quickly looted, sank or burnt every ship in sight. After clearing the harbour of stores and fending off a Spanish attack, Drake and his ships escaped without the loss of a single man. Back in England, Drake became a national hero, and his daring attack became known as the "singeing of the King of Spain's beard".
1587年4月19日的下午，弗朗西斯•德瑞克带领他的31艘船队驶入加的斯港，西班牙海军正准备侵略英国。让西班牙人始料未及的是，德瑞克的下属迅速抢劫、沉没或烧毁视野中的所有船只。洗劫了贮存货物的港口并击退了西班牙人的进攻后，德瑞克和他的船队没有伤亡一人，成功撤退。回到英国后，德瑞克成为了国家的英雄。他果敢的进攻因为"让西班牙国王胡子着火"而出名。
As well as setting back the Spanish plan to invade England by several months, Drake's daring attack sealed the success of a popular new drink. For among the stores that he plundered from Cadiz were 2,900 large barrels of sack, a wine made in the Jerez region of Spain, and the forerunner of today's sherry. Its popularity stemmed from a law, passed in 1491, that wines made for export should be exempt from taxes. (The name sack is derived from the Spanish word sacar, meaning to take out, or export.) The wine makers of Jerez looked for overseas markets, and sack started to take off in England. In 1587, the celebratory drinking of the sack brought back from Cadiz by Drake gave it a further boost and made it hugely fashionable, notwithstanding its Spanish origin.
用了数月粉碎了西班牙人侵略英国的计划，德瑞克勇敢的进攻使一种酒大受欢迎。从加的斯掠夺回来的货物中有2900个桶，里面装有产于西班牙赫雷斯地区的葡萄酒，也就是雪利酒的前身。它受欢迎源于一部1491年颁布的法律――出口葡萄酒可以免税。（sack这个词源于西班牙单词sacar意思是拿出去，出口）。赫雷斯酿酒商开始放眼海外市场，出口英国葡萄酒。1587年，受欢迎的酒被德瑞克从加的斯带回来了，尽管它源于西班牙，在英国成为流行、时尚的饮品。
For obscure chemical reasons, sack was an unusually long-lasting and robust wine. This made it ideal for taking on long sea voyages, during which alcoholic drinks acted as a vital social lubricant that lessened the hardship of spending weeks packed into a cramped ship. Columbus took sack with him to the new world in the 1490s, making it the first wine to be introduced into the Americas. When Magellan set out to circumnavigate the world in 1519 he spent more on sack than he did on weapons.
由于某些难理解的化学原因，西班牙的这种葡萄酒保存时间异常长久、且香味浓，特别适宜于长时间的旅行，在这段航程中，它成为一种重要的社会润滑剂，如果是别的葡萄酒还要浪费几个星期打包进一个狭小船舱。1490年哥伦布带着这种葡萄酒发现了新大陆，成为第一种带进美洲的葡萄酒。麦哲伦1519环游世界时消费的葡萄酒比武器要多得多。
But it was in England that sack was most popular. By far the most famous tribute to it was written by William Shakespeare in 1598. In "Henry IV, Part 2", Falstaff sings its praises in a long speech and concludes: "If I had a thousand sons, the first human principle I would teach them should be, to forswear thin potations and to addict themselves to sack." This was, of course, an anachronism: the play was set long before sack was introduced to England. But it is tempting to conclude that Falstaff's words reflect Shakespeare's own love of sack, which was widely shared. His fellow playwrights Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe also wrote hymns to sack; Marlowe was probably drinking it on the night he was killed in a tavern brawl.
在英国sack葡萄酒十分受喜爱。1598年莎士比亚写下对它最美的颂词。见"亨利四世，第二部分"，福斯塔夫用很长的话语赞颂这种葡萄酒，并总结说："如果我有1000个儿子，第一条家规就是，不要喝淡酒，要饮sack酒"。时代开了一个小玩笑，这出戏在sack酒进入英国之前就上演很久了。但是用福斯塔夫的那段话作结显示了莎士比亚对sack酒的钟爱，并被广为传颂。与他合作的剧作家本•琼森和克里斯托弗•马洛也写诗赞美sack酒。马洛死在酒馆纷争的那天晚上可能还在喝sack酒。
In 1604, sack was granted official recognition of sorts when James I issued an ordinance limiting its consumption at court. "We considering that oftentimes sundry of our nobility and others, dieted and lodged in our Court, may for their better health desire to have Sacke, our pleasure is that there be allowed to the sergeant of our cellar twelve gallons of Sacke a day, and no more." By this time sack was popularly known as sherris-sack (sherris being a corruption of Jerez), which eventually became the modern word sherry.
1604年sack酒获得官方的认可。詹姆斯一世在皇室颁布一条法令限制它的消费。"我们认为皇室人员用餐，为了他们的健康考虑喝Sacke酒，酒窖的守卫一天不多于12加仑。这时sack又称为sherris-sack（sherris意思是堕落的赫雷斯），演变成现代的单词sherry。
Sack was still popular in the late 17th century, and appears frequently in the diary of Samuel Pepys. On the morning of March 5th 1668, Pepys was summoned to Westminster to defend the Navy Office's practice of paying sailors with negotiable bills instead of money. On the way he decided to fortify himself: "to comfort myself did go to the Dog and drink half-a-pint of mulled sack". Pepys also refers several times to "sack-posset", a medicinal brew of sack, sugar, spices, milk and beaten eggs that was traditionally served at weddings in early colonial America.
Sack一直流行到17世纪，经常出现在苏美尔人佩皮斯的日记中。1668年3月5日的早晨，佩皮斯被召唤到威斯敏斯特（英国议会）为海军政府的训练（给水手谈判的账单而不是金钱）做辩论。在路上他决定为自己壮胆："为了让自己放松，喝半品脱（1品脱=1/8加仑）sack酒。帕皮斯也提到几次sack牛乳酒，由sack、糖、香料、牛奶和敲碎的鸡蛋酿造，在早期殖民地美洲婚礼上饮用。
What did sack taste like, and can its taste be experienced today? For many years it was believed that sack derived its name from seco, meaning dry, and that it was therefore a dry wine. But according to Julian Jeffs, an expert on the history of sherry, this is wrong, and sack was actually sweet. It was not aged for more than a year or two, unlike modern sherry, which is usually aged for at least three years. This suggests, says Mr Jeffs, that sack probably tasted quite similar to a cheap, young oloroso sherry. It was often further sweetened with honey or sugar: hence Falstaff's nickname of "Sir John Sack-and-sugar".
Sack酒味道怎样，现在还能品尝到吗？多年来人们认为sack来源于单词seco，意思是干燥的，是一种干葡萄酒，但是雪利酒历史研究专家Julian Jeffs认为这种说法是错误的，雪利酒很甜，只需用1、2年，而不像现在的雪利酒酿造要用三年。Jeffs认为sack尝起来很像便宜的、年份短的西班牙甜雪利酒。加上蜂蜜或糖会更甜：因此福斯塔夫的昵称是John Sack-and-sugar先生。
A glass from the past
历史的写照
Recreating the drinks of the past is an intellectual challenge, says Mr McGovern. It is an inexact science, and the results can be horrible. "But once you've created something that's tasty and delicious, it's like you've brought the past back to life," he says. "It makes it much more real for people―it isn't just something forever buried." Better still, in addition to recreating a tiny aspect of the past, there is now strong scientific evidence that alcohol, taken in moderation, can help you travel forward in time too, by reducing the risk of heart disease by as much as 40%. Cheers!
重酿古代的酒是一个明智的挑战，McGovern说，没有科学的指导，结果是可怕的。"但是一旦你创造出好吃的东西，就想你重温了过去"，"让人觉得真实，不是永远的埋葬过去。"更好的是，除了重温过去的某个方面，也为适量饮酒增加人的寿命提供了强有力的科学证据，适量饮酒可以让心脏病的风险降低40%。太好了！
from the print edition | Christmas Specials
注释：
1.Hymn to Nikasi,叫做宁卡希的赞美诗，宁卡西是美索不达米亚平原的酿酒女神。
2.Bappir,一种传统的啤酒面包，是用发芽大麦制成的，可以长期保存。
3.City of Ur，乌尔城（Ur，City Site of），西亚的古代城市，位于伊拉克的穆盖伊尔。该城平面呈叶形。（详见百度百科，http://baike.baidu.com/view/174590.htm）
4.Pergamumu,帕加马，古希腊城市，现为土耳其伊兹密尔省贝尔加吗镇。
5.Marcus Aurelius，马可•奥勒留（公元121年4月26日－180年3月17日），全名为马可•奥勒留•安东尼•奥古斯都（Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus）。著名的"帝王哲学家"，拥有凯撒称号（Imperator Caesar）的他是罗马帝国五贤帝时代最后一个皇帝，于161年至180年在位。代表著作《沉思录》。
6.Falstaff，莎士比亚作品中的戏剧人物。
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