The Titanic By the Numbers-- Part 4: Food, Wine Parings & Cigars

Number of courses served during the ship's final first class dinner:   10

Menu choices:  oysters, consomme, poached salmon, filetm mignn, lamb with mint sauce,  punch romaine,  roast squab, cold asparagus,  vinigrette, pate de foie gras, Waldorf pudding.

Wine pairings:  each course had one.

Spirits and cigars:  Offered after dinner

Second Class fare:  Classic French bistro and American  dishes

Third Class:  Typically soup or stew

--Cooter

Prohibition Hangover-- Part 3: No 'Intoxicating Liquor' Over 0.5% and Some Successes

By the time the constitutional amendment was ratified in January 1919, many states had enacted their own prohibition laws.  That October, Congress passed a law detailing how the federal government would enforce Prohibition.  

It was known as the Volstead Act in recognition of its foremost champion, Representative Andrew Volstead of Minnesota.  The law banned the manufacture, sale and transport of any "Intoxicating liquor" -- beverages with an alcohol content of more than 0.5%, including beer and wine.

Statistically, Prohibition was not an utter failure.  Deaths from alcohol-related cirrhosis declined as did arrests for public drunkenness.

--CootDrink

What They Ate (and Drank) on Titanic's Last Night

From the October 16, 2019, Chicago Tribune by Amy Bizzarri.

Before it sank to the bottom of the ocean in the wee hours of the morning on April 15, 1912, the "floating mansion" that was the Titanic set the bar for luxurious dining.

Four city blocks long and as tall as an 11-story building, the mega-ship spoiled its first-class passengers with exquisite 10-plus course meals prepared by top chefs using state-of-the-art cooking equipment, including toaster and the electric sorbet maker, served in airy cafes and lavish dining halls that rivaled the finest restaurants in Paris.

More than 1,000 bottles of wine, 850 bottles of spirits and 20,000 bottles of beer were stocked in the ship's hold and the bartenders knew the latest and fanciest drinks.  That included the stirred, strained and bracing Manhattan and the gun and sparkling lemonade Tom Collins.

If you've always wanted to know what they ate and drank, author Veronica Hinke has a book to tell you just that, titles "The Last Night on the Titanic:  Unsinkable Drinking, Dining & Style."

--CootDrinker

Drinking Wine Spo-De-Doh in NC

From the May 20, 2012, WRAL (Raliegh, NC) "Grape Expectations. //// I sure didn't know that at one time North Carolina was the top wine producing state. However, the Civil War and Prohibition (both national and state) wiped it out. //// However, wine is making a comeback. In 2002 there were 25 wineries and there are more than 100 today. In 2009, the wineries did $1.3 billion in sales. //// Good Grapes in the Old North State. --Cooter