If that sounds familiar, you’re probably thinking of the time-honored American tradition of slapping a bag of wine, drinking from the spout and then passing it on. They would flick the boot before and after taking a drink and passing the bootie to the left hand side. During World War I, German soldiers were said to pass around a leather boot filled with beer before battle for good luck. The story passed down and picked up steam. It was a lot better to drink out of than his own smelly leather boot, though. Whoever he was, he was no Cinderella, and he definitely wasn’t wearing any glass boots on an everyday basis. His troops lived to tell the tale but the general skimped on his promise by getting a glass boot custom-made. He promised his soldiers that if they won the upcoming battle, then he would drink beer out of his boot. One story by Philly Beer Scene places the credit for the German drinking boot to an unnamed Prussian general in an unnamed war. They also turned the drinking boot into a hazing ritual. They lost the riding spur and the boot strap and increased the size to a liter, which is a little more than double the English pint version. It found a new, more appropriate home in mid-1800s Prussia, which is now a part of Germany. Thankfully, drinking out of a boot wasn’t forgotten. By the 1870s, though, the English gentry got tired of boot drinking and found other ways to show their alcoholic dominance. Pint-sized mugs shaped like fancy riding boots with spurs and straps were offered up to wealthy Englishmen, because rich people love to use everyday things in extravagant ways. Both Alpine Village in Torrence, California, and the online retailer Beersteins And Mugs date the origin of the glass boot to English hunting and horse riding clubs in the 1800s.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |