Posca

(Roman Beverage)

March 15: Ides of March

Highlander’s Mum is nearly 90 as of this blog post date. Her elixir for longevity is apple cider vinegar. She drinks that stuff to stay healthy and feel youthful. We tried to drink it daily like her but it is a strong taste that we just did not personally acquire. This ancient Roman beverage called posca is less harsh, with its simple yet healthy 3-ingredient mix—water, honey and red wine vinegar—which we made to mark the Ides of March.

Thanks to her vinegar drink (plus prayer, good genes and healthy habits), Highlander’s Mum is considered lucky with longevity. The Roman general and politician Julius Caesar was not so fortunate as his fate was being stabbed to death in 44 B.C. In high school literature class, we read about him in the classic Shakespeare tragedy (for those who forgot or do not know the story, do a simple search online for short summaries).

Try posca on the Ides of March. But beware of its briny-sweet mix taste.

Recipe
(Adapted from The Hamilton Spectator)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Directions

In a measuring cup, pour water. Stir in honey until dissolved. Stir in the red wine vinegar. Pour into glasses. Serve. 

Notes

  • Honey is harder to dissolve in colder water (ancient Romans did not have refrigerators or ice so we guess that they drank posca at room temperature).
  • Try other Roman recipes in our blog, such as saltimbocca alla Romana (veal Roman-style) and in ovis opalis (Roman boiled eggs).