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HISTORY153 - Isthmus of Tehuantepec

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Recently I gave a talk at the Hacienda at the Canyon retirement community in which I live about my Great Grandfather Eugene Ring’s adventures during his unplanned travels to the California Gold Rush in 1848 - 1850.  Part of those travels included crossing southern Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec (see map below), under duress, in 1850, after being abandoned with nine other shipmates on the Pacific coast by his sailing ship while they were ashore looking for much-needed water .  (For those interested, my Great Grandfather’s memoir of his complete travels is attached.) The Isthmus of Tehuantepec is a narrow land bridge in southern Mexico.     After giving my presentation, I realized that there was still a lot I didn’t know about the overall history of this fascinating place where my Great Grandfather was so sorely tested.  So, this blog will cover the History of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. After an introduction, I will discuss the Isthmus’s early Mesoamerica...
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HISTORY152 - Alcoholic Beverages

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The other day, Pat and I were talking about store-bought premixed bottled alcoholic cocktails like margaritas, Manhattans, old fashioneds, and others, that we enjoy, especially since the COVID pandemic.   Somehow, that set us off on wondering when these kinds of alcoholic beverages were first offered and indeed, what was the history of standard alcoholic beverages like beer, wine, and spirits.  So, that wondering led to the subject of this blog, the history of alcoholic beverages.   After an introduction to the basic types of alcohol plus cocktails, I will discuss alcoholic beverage origins in prehistoric times, their development from early civilizations through Medieval times, the impact of distillation technology, and then the continued development of alcoholic beverages from the 18 th century to the present.   I will also highlight the development of cocktails, the consumption of alcoholic beverages today, and trends for the future. As usual, I will li...
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