The following essential information can be found under "Cups, Cocktails and Grogs," in Dickens "Dictionary of the Thames, 1889."
"Water-parties and picnics at Nuneham, or under the shade of Cliveden or Quarry Woods, require at all times a good and sufficient lunch to make the day go off in a satisfactory manner, and the presence of somebody who knows how to combine ice, sugar, lemon, and "drinks" artistically is an additional advantage.
Take four good-sized lumps of sugar and the peel of half a lemon cut very thin. Put these into your jug or mug, and add sufficient water to cover the sugar. Let the sugar melt and then add a glass of sherry and half a glass of brandy. Put in as large a lump of ice as circumstances will admit of, and immediately add a bottle of claret and a bottle and a half or two bottles of soda-water.
Then take out the lemon-peel, insert a handful of borage, a sprig of fresh mint, and a couple of thin slices of lemon, stir and drink. Some artists have a weakness for adding a piece of cucumber rind, and the suggestion is not without merit. Other mixes add liqueur, but, with a reservation in favour of orange brandy this course is not to be recommended.
The best variation in the original theme is to leave out the brandy, decrease the quantity of sugar, and add a bottle of champagne. There are very few cups better than this."
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Introduction
A judicious mixer
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