Rurik wants to believe that what’s in that bottle is distilled alcohol, but people in this era can already purify pure alcohol?
I saw the two Briton women who were accompanied by Goulder. One of them very obediently pulled out the cork of a bottle, and the aroma of wine immediately overflowed!
"Are the grapes ripe? Yes, it is indeed wine." Otto was in a happy mood. He was several steps away from Gould, and he could already smell the intoxicating aroma.
Both Otto and Rurik placed a pair of calf horn cups on their desks, which also had a bronze base, and the whole shape was quite aesthetic.
The woman carefully held up the wine bottle, moved to Otto in a humble kneeling posture, then lowered her head and carefully poured the wine into the glass.
Her orange-reddish hair drooped down, gently covering her young face.
Otto suddenly raised his right hand and grabbed the woman's chin. He was so shocked that the woman almost dropped the wine glass in her hand.
"Chief! You!" Gould asked in surprise.
"What a beautiful woman! Gould! You live in a comfortable house, eat and drink lavishly, and have such a woman by your side. You are the richest man living in Roseburg."
p>"Chief, are you praising me? Do you like this woman? I can give her to you."
"No need! I will not take away people's love." Otto He let go of the maid holding the wine and let go of his big hand.
While the woman was pouring wine for Rurik, Rurik raised his head and saw sadness on the woman's face.
Gould asked the woman to step back, then raised his glass and complimented: "Great leader, let us drink. In this cold world, we can at least share a glass of sweet and precious wine. Wine."
"Then drink."
Otto raised his glass without any grace and drank the glass of wine in one gulp. All. Suddenly, a sweet feeling filled the whole mouth, and the whole person was excited.
“It’s really sweet, even sweeter than mead?! The wine taste is not too strong.”
“You need a stronger wine smell? Soon you will You can feel it."
Rurik has drank mead in the past few years, and it is his first time to taste wine today. In his opinion, the wine in Gould's collection cannot be said to be "extremely sweet" as his father said. To be honest, it is indeed very sweet. That's the value. It is probably like another dimension that can be bought in the supermarket for ten yuan. I can buy the 500 ml version with the money.
As for the alcohol concentration, it must not exceed three degrees.
It is more like a lightly fermented grape juice, and the sweet feeling makes people happy.
Immediately afterwards, Gould deliberately showed the glass bottle on the far right and solemnly introduced the almost transparent liquid in it.
He looked at the curious Otto with a proud look on his face, and said with great pride: "Great leader, this is the treasure I want to show you. Look, it seems to be filled with water, but in fact it is wine! I don't know what to call it, let's just call it the Wine of God. ”
“Wine of God? Otto chuckled, "Don't tell me that you got this bottle of wine from Valhalla." "
"Of course it's not that magical. Gould shrugged, "I don't think ordinary people can create it. It's amazing." Chief, you can taste it, you will have an unprecedented experience. ”
“Oh? real? Get it quickly! ”
This time Gould personally pulled out the cork, and in an instant, an almost pure alcohol breath spurted out. Rurik could feel its specialness with a quick jolt.
p>
“It’s definitely grain wine! It has a special smell that only grain wine can have. The content of this thing must be very high. Is it really surprising that people in the ninth century could really make high-alcohol? "
In that plane, Rurik also drank all kinds of spirits. In the world a thousand years later, low-alcohol wine can be called a kind of drink, and high-alcohol wine is generally accepted as " "Liquor". In terms of drinking, I am afraid that the residents of the entire world are not as diverse as the Chinese, and only the Chinese generally drink strong liquor.
The right thing is that children should not drink, Rurik thinks If my weak body is drunk with a lot of strong alcohol, can it be drunk to pieces quickly? It may even be life-threatening.
But people in this era have no concept of this. Russian parents even encourage their sons to drink because it makes them more manly.
Drinking has always been a rare behavior and is regarded as a enjoyment of life.
As a tribe. Noble man, Gould asked the maid to fill Rurik's empty wine glass.
The remaining wine in the glass was filled with mellow liquor, and the strong smell of wine stimulated Rurik. Rick's nose gave him a strong urge to drink, which made Rurik boldly put his mouth to it.
Russian people don't have any complicated drinking rituals here, so Rurik acted boldly. No one thought it was inappropriate to try it.
He licked it with the tip of his tongue, and the spicy taste immediately affected his tongue.
He took another bold sip and swallowed it bravely. .
This must be distilled wine, the alcohol content is surprisingly high. Rurik felt a strong throat-sharp feeling, which shows that it is not a good wine, which is the so-called old village chief level. A low-end wine.
A really good wine should be soft in the mouth. You can still feel the light sweetness on the back of the tongue. Although the alcohol is high, it is not spicy. When the wine enters the stomach, it should feel warm and happy. Feeling. Drinking a few glasses of high-quality wine will make you drunk, and the wonderful feeling of ecstasy is what drinkers are keen on.
The quality of Gould's spirits is very average, but he still has it. He loudly praised that what he had in his hand was good wine. It was obvious that this person had no idea what good wine was.
After taking a sip, Rurik didn’t want to take another sip. He had already taken a big sip and his throat was burning. The feeling really made him think that methanol was accidentally mixed in?
Looking at the wild behavior of father Otto again, this strong man really drank it all in one gulp.
The strong spicy feeling in his throat really gave Otto an unprecedented feeling. The unprecedented extreme spicy feeling made his whole face become distorted. After enduring the pain, he let out a long sigh of relief. , the warm feeling in my belly is an unprecedented experience.
"This is wine? It's incredible! I have never drunk such wine! It is really good wine. Gould, please tell me where you got it." Otto asked hurriedly.
Gould was holding the wine glass and savoring it carefully, but he did not have the courage to drink it all in one gulp.
“I bought it from the Franks. It was just the wine in the bottle, but it cost me a gold coin. So this bottle of wine and the bottle cost a huge sum of thirty gold coins. "
"This...how luxurious is this?" Otto glanced at the empty cup again and glanced at the glass bottle, and couldn't help but sigh, "Didn't I drink this glass of wine? You need at least two gold coins to make at least seven pieces of sulfur soap to earn this glass of water?"
"Haha, you think it's like water?"
After saying that, Gould made a crazy move and suddenly picked up the oil lamp and brought the burning cotton thread close to his cup. In an instant, Gould's calf-horn wine glass burst into flames—the wine was burning.
"Ah! What's going on? What are you drinking? Is this wine?" Otto shouted in disbelief.
"This is wine, so I call it the wine of the gods." Gould said proudly, "Great leader, I spent a huge sum of money to buy such a bottle of wine, do you think it is worth it?"
"It's worth it. Can wine burn? I've never heard of it."
Gould smiled, and then drank the burning flames in front of Otto's shocked face. , and then let out a burp filled with the aroma of wine.
He went on to talk proudly: "Wine that can burn, isn't it the wine of God?"
"It is indeed a miracle. I didn't know that the Franks could still make it." Such a miracle."
Gould shrugged, "I guess it was not made by the Franks. I prefer to believe that it was created by the Romans."
Stay. Because Rick had drunk some wine, his face gradually turned rosy, and he felt confused. Gould talked about the origins of the spirit, but did it really come from the Romans?
Actually, the truth is more complicated than this. Including glass bottles and bottles of spirits, whether they are Franks or Eastern Romans, they are middlemen who make the difference.
In the Western world, the Egyptians were the first to invent alcohol distillation. They did this to make some alcohol-soluble spices. The purpose was quite simple at first.
The technology gradually spread to the north, to the ancient Arabian Peninsula, and further to ancient Persia. The locals know how to make wine, and they are also willing to distill alcohol and process spices.
In this era, alcohol was completely prohibited in the Arab world, but the skill of distilling wine and making spices was not abolished.
There are also some local medical experts who believe that spices must be holy things. Applying spice solutions to the suppurating wounds of the injured can drive away the evil things that cause abscesses. The pus and blood are drained, after which a perfume solution is applied.
Such a high concentration of alcohol kills all kinds of bacteria and viruses in the wound at once, and the wound recovers quickly.
This experience was inherited. Doctors believed that the spices dissolved in the spirits helped the wounds heal faster, but they did not know that the spirits were the best medicine.
However, they were absolutely prohibited from drinking. In this regard, the days in Eastern Rome were more secular, and Eastern Romans could drink.
Among the vast number of Eastern Romans, the actual subject democracy has gradually been replaced by the ancient Slavs. The Slavs who went south have even settled in the Peloponnese Peninsula. Although they speak Greek and live more and more like Greco-Romans, they still retain many ancient Slavic habits.
For example, their love for wine cannot be changed by any factors! If the king orders them to abstain from alcohol for religious or health reasons, riots will immediately break out.
The attitude of the Slavs in various places is very determined. Even if the food is not enough to eat, they must use part of the wheat to make wine. They cannot imagine life without wine, even a thousand years from now.
Even the Slavic people living in Novgorod have to pay a large "tax" on wheat to the Russians. Regardless of rations and grain crops, they still have to make wine even when they are half hungry and half full.
The Abbasid dynasty owned large granaries such as Egypt, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia. If they had enough food, they could produce alcohol on a large scale. They only use alcohol as a perfume solvent, medicine and incendiary agent.
In order to make profits, merchants sold various rare items to Eastern Rome at high prices. Glass bottles and alcohol are both high-profit commodities on this road. Of course, silk, porcelain and tea are always the three most profitable.
Some Eastern Roman profiteers invented the blending technology. The grape juice was blended with a little alcohol that was almost distilled by the cannibals to almost pure alcohol, and was sold as wine.
High-quality alcohol is transported to Northern Europe for sale, which brings extreme profits. After all, only a handful of businessmen dare to cross the roadless hinterland of Europe.
Gould did not buy alcohol that was purified to the extreme. What he bought was diluted and could still be ignited.
Taking this opportunity, Gould couldn't help but talk about his views on wine: "I think the most important thing about all wine is its essence. The so-called wine of God must be made by Someone extracts this essence. If I can get the essence of a bottle of wine, I can freely mix different flavors of wine."
"I..." Otto thought for a moment and seriously thought about it.reason. He laughed: "I didn't think too much, I can make wine myself. Maybe you are right, if the essence of wine exists, maybe we can get it all out."
"Thank you I understand, but unfortunately I don't know how. I believe those Romans already know it. If I can learn the skills, I will be richer." Gould's red face revealed heavy regret. Regret filled his heart, and he drank the strong drink in one gulp.
Rurik stared at the fat Gould with his big eyes. In an instant, the little boy's blood boiled. Rurik stood up suddenly while holding on to the table. It was from this sudden standing that he realized that the alcohol had already affected his body and made him feel light.
"Gu... Gould, do you want to know?" Rurik suddenly shouted.
"You, what? What do you know?"
"Do you want to know? How to extract the essence of wine from ordinary wine, just like how to extract energy from sea water. Take out the salt you eat."
"You..." Gould, who was also in a daze, suddenly cheered up. He slammed the table and shouted excitedly: "Quick! Tell me the answer."< /p>
"You want to know? You... you give me money. Give me gold coins! Just give me a hundred gold coins and I will tell you the answer."
One hundred gold coins? Otto, who was actually a good drinker, was startled. He quickly pushed his son back on the leather mat and scolded: "Are you crazy? How do you know? You still want to ask for a hundred gold coins. Boy, you are drunk. !"
"I'm not drunk." Rurik broke free from his father's big hand and stood up unsteadily, looking even more excited. "Gould, give me the money, and I will tell you the answer now. I want a hundred gold coins. If you don't have it... then give me fifty."
"Rurik, you Really know? Okay, I'll give you money."
Gould has never underestimated Rurik. Even though he is a little confused now, Gould is trying to maintain consciousness. He firmly believes in Rurik. Rick wasn't kidding at all.
Fifty gold coins is not a small amount. According to the market in Northern Europe, it can be exchanged for five Roman pounds of pure silver!
People who drink can hardly stay rational. Now Gould can no longer care about so many things. His brain has become more and more rigid. Driven by a strong desire for knowledge, he said hello His subordinates brought him his special small money box inlaid with gems.
His rough hands opened the lock unsteadily, and without looking twice, he grabbed a handful of gold coins and piled them into a golden cylinder. Suddenly, the cylinder collapsed, and with the sound of metal, the gold coins fell onto the table, illuminated by the fire from the ceiling, reflecting the golden light that could tempt people to rob!
Look at the warriors that Gould raised with silver. They couldn't help but look at the gold coins on the table. Each one controlled their desire to plunder with willpower, but their eyes were like hungry wolves.