Rurik wanted to believe that what was in the bottle was distilled alcohol, but people in this era could 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 small horn cups on their desks, which also had a bronze base. 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. The woman was so shocked that she almost dropped the wine glass in her hand.
"Chief! You!" Gould asked in surprise.
"She is 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."
"Chief, are you praising me? Do you like this woman? I can give her to you."
"No need! I won't steal anyone's love." Otto let go of the maid holding the wine and let go of his big hand.
When the woman poured Rurik wine, 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's drink a toast. In this cold world, we can at least share a glass of sweet and precious wine."
"Then drink."
Otto raised his wine glass without any graceful gesture. He drank the glass of wine in one gulp as if he were drinking water. Suddenly, a sweet feeling filled his entire mouth, and his whole body was shaken up.
"It's really sweet, even sweeter than mead?! The wine doesn't even taste too strong."
"You need a stronger alcohol smell? You'll feel it soon."
Rurik has drank mead in the past few years, and it was the first time he tasted wine today. In his opinion, the wine Gould collected was not as "extremely sweet" as his father said, and to be honest, it was.
It's very sweet, and that's the price. It's probably like the kind you can buy in a supermarket in another dimension for 10 yuan for 500 ml.
As for the alcohol concentration, it should never exceed three degrees.
It is more like a lightly fermented grape juice, and its sweetness 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. You see, it seems to be filled with water, but in fact it is wine! I don't
I know what to call it, but let’s call it the Wine of God.”
"Wine of Gods?" 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 really amazing. Chief, you can taste it, you will have an unprecedented experience."
"Oh? Really? Bring it quickly!"
This time Gould personally pulled out the cork, and in an instant, an almost pure alcohol smell spurted out. Rurik could feel its specialness with a quick breath.
"It's definitely grain wine! It has a special smell that only grain wine can have. The alcohol content of this thing must be very high. Is it really surprising that people in the ninth century could really make high-alcohol wine?"
In that plane, Rurik also drank in the world for thousands of years. Low-alcohol wine can be called a kind of drink, and high-alcohol wine is generally accepted as "wine". In terms of drinking, I am afraid that the residents of the entire world are
It is not as diverse as the Chinese, and only the Chinese generally drink strong liquor.
There is a saying that children should not drink alcohol. Rurik felt that his weak body had really drank a lot of strong alcohol, but he couldn't get drunk to pieces quickly? His life might even be in danger.
But people of this era did not have this concept. Russian parents even encouraged their sons to drink because it made them look more like a man.
Drinking has always been a rare behavior and is known as one of the enjoyments of life.
As a noble man of the tribe, Gould asked the maid to fill Rurik's empty wine glass.
The remaining wine in the glass was filled with mellow spirits. The strong smell of wine stimulated Rurik's nose, and a strong urge to drink made Rurik boldly move his mouth towards it.
The Russians do not yet have any complicated drinking rituals, so no one thought it was inappropriate for Rurik's bold attempt.
He licked it slightly with the tip of his tongue, and the spicy feeling immediately affected his tongue.
He took another bold sip and swallowed it bravely.
This must be distilled liquor, the alcohol content is surprisingly high. Rurik felt a strong burning sensation in his throat, which showed that it was not a good liquor, it was the so-called low-end liquor at the level of an old village chief.
A really good wine should be soft in the mouth, and you can still feel a faint sweetness on the back of your tongue. Although the alcohol content is high, it is not spicy. When the wine enters your stomach, you should feel a warm feeling of happiness. After drinking a few glasses of high-quality wine, you will have your own taste.
The wonderful feeling of drunkenness and ecstasy is what drinkers are keen on.
The quality of the spirits Gould took out was very average, but he still praised loudly 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 the burning sensation in his throat really made him think that methanol was accidentally mixed into it?
Looking at the wild behavior of his father Otto, 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 breathed a long sigh of relief and felt a warm feeling in his belly.
Another unprecedented experience.
"This is wine? It's incredible! I have never drunk such wine! It's really good wine. Gould, please tell me where you got it." Otto asked hurriedly.
Gould held the wine glass and tasted it carefully, but he did not have the courage to drink it all in one gulp.
"I bought it from the Franks. Just the wine in the bottle cost me a gold coin. So this bottle of wine and the bottle cost a huge sum of thirty gold coins."
"This... what kind of luxury is this?!" Otto glanced at the empty cup again, then glanced at the glass bottle, and couldn't help but sigh, "Didn't I drink at least two of your gold coins with this glass of wine? For this reason
You have to make at least seven pieces of sulfur soap to earn this glass of water-like wine?"
"Haha, you think it's like water? Look at me."
After saying that, Gould made a crazy move, holding up the oil lamp and bringing the burning cotton thread close to his cup. In an instant, Gould's calf-horn wine cup ignited with flames - the wine started to burn.
.
"Ah! What's going on? What are you drinking? Is this wine?" Otto exclaimed in disbelief.
"This is wine, so I call it the wine of the gods." Gould said proudly, "Great leader, do you think it is worth it for me to spend a huge sum of money to buy such a bottle of wine?"
"It's worth it. Can wine burn? I've never heard of it."
Gould smiled, and then in front of Otto's shocked face, he drank the burning flames in one gulp, and then burped full of wine.
He went on to talk proudly: "Wine that can burn, isn't it the wine of God?"
"It's indeed a miracle. I didn't know the Franks could create 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."
Rurik's face gradually turned rosy because he drank some wine, and he felt confused. Gould talked about the origin of strong liquor. Did it really come from the Romans?
In fact, the truth is more complicated than this. Including glass bottles and spirits in bottles, whether they are Franks or Eastern Romans, they are middlemen who make the difference.
In the Western world, it was the Egyptians who first invented alcohol distillation. They did this to make some spices that were soluble in alcohol. The purpose was quite simple at first.
This technology gradually spread to the north, to the ancient Arabian Peninsula, and further to ancient Persia. The locals knew how to make wine, and were also happy to distill alcohol and process spices.
In this era, alcohol was completely banned in the Arab world, but the skill of distilling alcohol 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, and then the spice 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, and doctors believed that the spices dissolved in the spirits helped the wound heal faster, but they did not know that the spirits were the best medicine.
However, they were absolutely prohibited from drinking alcohol. In this regard, life in Eastern Rome was more secular, and Eastern Romans could drink alcohol.
Among the vast number of Eastern Romans, actual subject democracy has been gradually replaced by the ancient Slavs. The Slavs who went south have even settled in the Peloponnese Peninsula. Although they speak Greek, their lives are increasingly like those of the Greco-Romans.
, but they still retained many ancient Slavic habits.
For example, their love for wine cannot be changed by any factors! If the king orders them to abstain from drinking for religious or health reasons, commotion will immediately break out.
The attitude of the Slavs everywhere was very determined. Even if there was not enough food to eat, part of the wheat must be used to make wine. They could not imagine a life without wine, even a thousand years later.
Even for the Slavic people living in Novgorod, they 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. They had enough food, and they could produce alcohol on a large scale. They only used alcohol as a solvent for spices, medicines and
Use of incendiary agents.
In order to make profits, merchants sold various rare items to the Eastern Romans at high prices. Glass bottles and alcohol were all high-profit commodities on this road. Of course, silk, porcelain and tea were always the three most profitable.
Some profiteers in the Eastern Roman Empire invented the blending technique, in which grape juice was blended with a little alcohol that was almost distilled by the cannibals into almost pure alcohol, and sold as wine.
The highly concentrated alcohol was transported to Northern Europe for sale, which brought extreme profits. After all, only a handful of businessmen dared 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 advantage of 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 the gods must be that the person who makes it extracts this essence.
Come out. If I can get the essence of a bottle of wine, I can freely mix wines with different flavors. Chief, I don’t know if you have ever thought about it like this."
"I..." Otto thought for a moment, and thought about it carefully. There is indeed such a truth. He said haha: "I didn't think too much, I can make wine myself. Maybe you are right, if there is the essence of wine, maybe
We can get it all out."
"Thank you for your understanding, but unfortunately I don't know how to do it. I believe those Romans already know how to do it. If I can learn the skills, I will be richer." Gould's red face revealed heavy regret.
.Regret came to his mind, and he drank the strong wine in the glass in one gulp.
Rurik stared at the fat Gould with wide eyes. In an instant, the little boy's blood boiled over. 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.
People become light and airy.
"G... Gould, do you want to know?" Rurik suddenly shouted.
"You, what? What do you know?"
"You want to know? How to get the essence of wine out of ordinary wine, just like how to get edible salt out of sea water."
"You..." Gould, who was also in a daze, suddenly cheered up. He slammed the table hard and shouted excitedly: "Quick! Tell me the answer."
"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 pressed his son back on the leather mat and scolded: "Are you crazy? How did you know? You still want to ask for a hundred gold coins. Boy."
,you're 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 one hundred
Gold coins. If you don’t have any...then give me fifty."
"Rurik, do you really know? Okay, I'll give you money."
Gould never looked down upon Rurik. Even though he was a little confused now, Gould tried hard to maintain consciousness. He firmly believed that Rurik was not making any nonsense.
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 mind has become more and more rigid. Driven by a strong desire for knowledge, he called his subordinates and framed himself.
Bring the special small money box with gems.
His rough hands opened the lock unsteadily, and without looking too much, 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 on the table, which was suspended from the ceiling.
The fire shines, reflecting the golden light that can 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.