This is a folk tale from Mexico that tells how a pulque vendor tricks the Devil. Pulque as you may remember from our post on the 400 Drunken Rabbit Gods of the Aztecs is a traditional Mexican alcoholic beverage that is made from fermented agave (or maguey). Although the story takes place on a completely different…
The story of the Highlander and the Devil is an old Scottish folk tale. It reminds a bit of the encounters the Beer King Gambrinus and the Serbian saint Sava had with Satan, but as it plays in Scotland of course this is a whisky story. Unlike the formentioned folk tales from Belgium and Serbia…
The story of the sheepdog Sirko and the wolf is a popular Ukranian folk tale. And like many good stories from Ukraine vodka plays a key part in this one as well. As a big lover of wolves I personally like this tale very much since the wolf isn’t the ultimate villain for a change. After all…
This is a folktale from Serbia about the country’s national strong drink rakija. It reminds a bit of the legend of Gambrinus, which was told in Belgium and Holland, about the introduction of quality hoppy beer. In the Serbian tale the Devil appears again and introduces Saint Sava, an important prince and the first archbishop of…
As this is our 500th post on Lords of the Drinks, we wanted to do a special story. And what better than the great legend of Gambrinus, the King of Beer. You might have seen him before, as he is the fine gentleman you see in the LOTD-logo. This mythical figure was known from folklore tales…
Most people can probably tell you who Dionysus or Bacchus is, since ancient Greek and Roman mythology are quite well spread in the Western World. But have you ever heard of an African colleague of these Wine Gods called Mbaba Mwana Waresa? Well, the Zulus believe that this Goddess created beer and taught people how…
The ancient Greeks and Romans had Gods for nearly everything. One of the most famous now, and most popular in those days, was Dionysus, or Bacchus in Roman. Less well known is his loyal sidekick Silenus. A shame because this old drunkard was the one who taught the God of Wine and Partying how to…
When asked about Irish folkloric characters, most people won’t get a lot further than leprechauns. You know, those dwarf-sized figures with a big red beard, huge hat and always smoking a pipe. In Irish mythology they were hard workers, who did all kinds of chars (mainly fixing shoes) for people. If they weren’t too busy…
Lords of the Drinks 