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Gorean Drinks





  • Ale
    Made from grains and hops that were brought to Gor during the acquisition voyages, Gorean Ale is closer to a honey lager than to an ale or beer found on earth. Its color is deep and golden. The north regions, like Torvaldsland, have a strong ale. Ale would be rarer outside of the northlands. In Torvaldsland, it would commonly be served in a drinking horn. In taverns south or Torvaldsland, it would simply be served in a cup or goblet.
    ~ Stored in casks in cold storage
    ~ Served in either drinking horns (hanging on pegs beside the shelves) or tankards (kept on the shelves)
    "The Forkbeard himself now, from a wooden keg, poured a great tankard of ale, which must have been of the measure of five gallons. Over this he then closed his fist. It was the sign of the hammer, the sign of Thor. The tankard then, with two great bronze handles, was passed from hands to hands among the rowers. The men threw back their heads and, the liquid spilling down their bodies, drank ale. It was the victory ale."
    Marauders of Gor, p 82
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "The Forkbeard greets you! shouted Ivar. I blinked. The hall was light. I had not understood it to be so large. At the tables, lifting ale and knives to the Forkbeard were more than a thousand men."
    Marauders of Gor, p 194

  • Bazi tea
    Bazi tea is a common Gorean drink, enjoyed by High and Low Castes. It is commonly served hot and heavily sugared. It may be served in either of two fashions. First, there is a more traditional and formal serve. The tea is carefully measured into three tiny cups, which are drank in rapid succession. Various sugars and milks may be added. Such a serve would rarely, if ever, be done in a paga tavern. It is more likely to be done in one's own home while entertaining. Second, Bazi tea is also drank informally, in regular-sized cups (or mugs), with or without sugars and milks. Some taverns may have a pitcher of tea ready for its customers. Cakes and Bazi tea is a popular breakfast on Gorean holidays. (Note: The intricate "Bazi tea ceremony" found online is not found in the books, but showing great care when serving is always pleasant to watch.)
    ~ Tea leaves kept in small basket on the counter. Water kept hot over the fire in a kettle.
    ~ Cups and mugs are kept on the shelves
    "Tea is extremely important to the nomads. It is served hot and highly sugared. It gives strength then, in virtue of the sugar, and cools them, by making them sweat, as well as stimulating them. It is drunk three small cups at a time, carefully measured."
    Tribesmen of Gor, p 38
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "Is it ready? I asked. I looked at the tiny copper kettle on the small stand. A tiny kaiila dung fire burned under it. A small, heavy, curved glass was nearby, on a flat box, which would hold some two ounces of the tea. Bazi tea is drunk in tiny glasses, usually three at a time, carefully measured. She did not make herself tea, of course... She lifted the kettle from the fire and, carefully, poured me a tiny glass of tea."
    Tribesmen of Gor, p 139

  • Black wine
    Made from beans brought back to Gor during the early acquisition voyages and grown in the mountain of Thentis. Black wine is Gor's equivalent of earth's coffee, only much, much stronger, more similar to Expresso. It is a strong, bitter drink that is served typically, from small silver pot resting on a tiny brazier, and poured into a demitasse sized silver cup. The cup is then set to a matching silver saucer and sugars, white (4 small spoonfuls) and yellow (6 small spoonfuls). Bosk or verr cream is used. Bosk cream in Ko ro ba. At times, the milk may be found in powder form though it is not the prefered way.
    "First slave" indicates that the black wine is to be served with sugars or cream.
    "Second slave" indicates that the black wine is to be served without sugars and cream.
    ~ Black wine is kept hot in a small pot over a brazier on the hearth of the cooking fire.
    ~ Cups or mugs (often requested) are kept on the shelves
    "I had heard of black wine, but had never had any. It is drunk in Thentis, but I had never heard of it being much drunk in other Gorean cities...Then I picked up one of the thick, heavy clay bowls...It was extremely strong, and bitter, but it was hot, and, unmistakably, it was coffee."
    Assassins of Gor, p 106
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "Too, I had brought up a small bowl of powdered bosk milk. We had finished the creams last night and, in any event, it was unlikely they would have lasted the night. If I had wanted creams I would have had to have gone to the market."
    Guardsman of Gor, p 295
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    " Second slave,' I told her, which, among the river towns, and in certain cities, particularly in the north, is a way of indicating that I would take the black wine without creams or sugars, and as it came from the pouring vessel, which, of course, in these areas, is handled by the "second slave," the first slave being the girl who puts down the cups, takes the orders and sees that the beverage is prepared according to the preferences of the one who is being served." "The expression "second slave," incidentally, serves to indicate that one does not wish creams or sugars with one's black wine, even if only one girl is serving."
    Guardsman of Gor, pp 244-245

  • Breeding wine
    Given to slaves that are to be "bred" Reverses the effect of Slave Wine. May only be administered by a Master or Mistress.
    "She did not need the sit root, of course, for, as she had pointed out, she had had some within the moon, and indeed, the effect of sip root, in the raw state, in most women, is three or four moons. In the concentrated state, as in slave wine, developed by the caste of physicians, the effect is almost indefinite, usually requiring a releaser for its remission, usually administered, to a slave, in what is called the breeding wine, or the "second wine". When this is administered she usually knows that she has been selected for crossing with a handsome male slave."
    Blood Brothers of Gor, p. 319

  • Chocolate
    Similar to "hot chocolate" found on Earth. The original beans were brought back on an acquisition voyage.
    ~Chocolate powder is kept in a jar on the counter
    ~Mugs are kept on the shelves
    "This is warmed chocolate," I said, pleased. It was very rich and creamy. "Yes, Mistress," said the girl. "It is very good," I said. "Thank you, Mistress," she said. "Is it from Earth?" I asked. "Not directly," she said. "Many things here, of course, ultimately have an Earth origin. It is not improbable that the beans from which the first cacao trees on this world were grown were brought from Earth." "Do the trees grow near here?" I asked. "No Mistress," she said, "we obtain the beans from which the chocolate is made, from Cosian merchants, who in turn, obtain them in the tropics."
    Kajira of Gor, p 61
  • Ka la na
    A dry, potent red wine made with the juice of the ka la na fruit. There is a constant discussion online, as to whether there was a white ka la na mentioned in the books. Nothing has been found, but if a Master or Mistress requests white ka la na, you serve it. Ka la na is never served in silver (thought to render it poisonous though nothing is found in the books on this.) Ka la na is served in goblets, either room temperature, or chilled.
    Thought to be a symbol of romantic love
    ~Stored in bottles on a rack near the fire, and also in the cold storage
    ~Goblets are stored on the shelves
    "...and drops of a red, winelike drink made from the fruit of the Ka-la-na tree."
    Tarnsman of Gor, p 68
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "I went to his locker near the mat and got out his Ka-la-na flask, taking a long draught myself and then shoving it into his hands. He drained the flask in one drink and wiped his hand across his beard, stained with the red juice of the fermented drink."
    Tarnsman of Gor, p 168
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "I turned and, among the furnishings of the tent, found a bottle of Ka-la-na, of good vintage, from the vineyards of AR, the loot of a caravan raid. I then took the wine, with a small copper bowl, and a black, red-rimmed wine crater, to the side of the fire."
    Captive of Gor. p 331
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "The Ka-la-na thicket was yellow in the distance..."
    Slave Girl of Gor, p 250

  • Kal-da
    A hot beverage of lower grade ka la na, mixed with citrus juices spices and garnished with pieces of tospit and larma. Served in mugs
    ~Kal-da is kept in a large kettle over the fire
    ~Mugs are stored on the shelves
    "Kal-da is a hot drink, almost scalding, made of diluted Ka-la-na wine, mixed with citrus juices and stinging spices. I did not care much for this mouth-burning concoction, but it was popular with some of the lower castes, particularly those who performed strenuous manual labor. I expected its popularity was due more to its capacity to warm a man and stick to his ribs, and to its cheapness (a poor grade of Ka-la-na wine being used in its brewing) than to any gustatory excellence. Moreover, where there was Kal-da there should be bread and meat. I thought of the yellow Gorean bread, baked in the shape of round, flat loaves, fresh and hot; My mouth watered for a tabuk steak or, perhaps, if I were lucky, a slice of roast tarsk, the formidable six tusked wild boar of Gor`s temperate forests. "
    Outlaw of Gor, p 76
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "I had hardly settled myself behind the table when the proprietor had placed a large, fat pot of steaming Kal-da before me. It almost burned my hands to lift the pot. I took a long, burning swig of the brew and though, on another occasion, I might have thought it foul, tonight it sang through my body like the bubbling fire it was, a sizzling, brutal irritant that tasted so bad and yet charmed me so much I had to laugh."
    Outlaw of Gor, p 78
  • Larma juice
    A light, sweet juice served cold, in small glasses or cups
    ~Stored in a pitcher in cold storage
    ~Glasses and cup stored on the shelves
    "I purchased some larma juice for a tarsk bit. "Is it cool?" I asked. "Yes," she said."
    Mercenaries of Gor, p 257

  • Mead
    Similar to ale, made with fermented honey, water, and spices; dark amber colour; served in a drinking horn from a cask. Served warm (room temperature) in Ko ro ba.
    ~Stored in casks near the fire in the servery
    ~Horns are found on hanging from pegs beside the shelves
    "In the north generally, mead, a drink made with fermented honey and water, and often spices and such, tends to be favored over paga."
    Vagabonds of Gor, p 16
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "Here Jarl, said Thyri, again handing me the horn. It was filled with the mead of Torvaldsland, brewed from fermented, honey, thick and sweet."
    Marauders of Gor, p 90
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "Bera went to the next man, to fill his cup with the mead, from the heavy hot tankard, gripped with cloth, which she carried."
    Marauders of Gor, p 78

  • Milk
    The milk of the bosk, verr or even kaiila.
    ~Stored in pitchers in cold storage. Ko ro ba only serves bosk milk
    ~Served in small glasses stored on the shelves.
    "When the meat was ready, Kamchak ate his fill, and drank down, too, a flagon of bosk milk"
    Nomads of Gor, p 139
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "The Wagon Peoples grow no food, nor do they have manufacturing as we know it. They are herders a, and it is said, killers. They eat nothing that has touched the dirt. They live on the meat and milk of the bosk."

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "Too, she taught her skills useful to a Tahari female, the making of ropes from kaiila hair, the cutting and plaiting of reins, the weaving of cloth and mats, the decoration and beading of leather goods, the use of mortar and pestle, the use of grain quern, the preparation and spicing of stews, the cleaning of verr and, primarily when we camped near watering holes in the vicinity of nomads, the milking of verr and kaiila. Too, she was taught the churning of milk in skin bags.
    Guardsman of Gor, p 72

  • Milk curd
    Fermented milk enjoyed by the wagon people. Not found in Ko ro ba.
    "By one fire I could see a squat Tuchuk, hands on his hips, dancing and stamping about by himself, drunk on fermented milk curds, dancing, according to Kamchak, to please the sky."
    Nomads of Gor, p 28

  • Palm Wine
    No description is given, only references made to it.
    "One of her most delicious exports is palm wine." (Referring to Schendi)
    Explorers of Gor, P 115
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "My recommendation," said Ayari, "would be to stab him, when he is not looking, or perhaps to poison his palm wine"
    Explorers of Gor, p 429

  • Sa-paga, commonly referred to as Paga
    Formally named, Pagar-Sa-Tarna, which translates to "pleasure of the life-daughter"
    Made from sa-tarna grain, an amber liquid similar to whiskey.
    Thought to be a symbol of physical love
    ~Stored in botas hanging from pegs near the fire, or hanging in cold storage
    ~Served in bowls found on the shelves.
    "a strong, fermented drink brewed from the yellow grains of Gor's staple crop, sa-Tarna"
    Outlaw of Gor, p 74
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "He leaned over and tossed me a skin bag of Paga"
    Tarnsman of Gor, p 78
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "`Your paga,' said the nude slave girl, who served me, her wrists chained. `It is warmed as you wished.' I took it from her, not even glancing upon her, and drained the goblet... I liked paga warm. One felt is so much the sooner that way."
    Raiders of Gor, p 100
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "The girls filled their vessels, which, like the hydria, or water vessel, are high-handled, for dipping, in a large kettle hung simmering over a fire near the entrance to the enclosure. Warm paga makes one drunk quicker, it is thought... Some Cosians tend to be fond of hot paga."
    Vagabonds of Gor, p 16

  • Rence beer
    A fermented drink found only on the rence islands. Not served in Ko ro ba.
    "At such times there is drinking of rence beer, steeped, boiled and fermented from the crushed seeds and the whitish pith of the plant."
    Raiders of Gor, p 18

  • Slave wine
    Given to slaves as a contraceptive. Administered by Masters or Mistress. A very bitter drink, not pleasant at all.
    "Slave wine is bitter, intentionally so. Its effects lasts for more than a Gorean month. I did not wish the females to conceive. A female slave is taken off slave wine only when it is her master's intention to breed her."
    Marauders of Gor, p 23
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "Slave wine makes sense in a slave-holding culture such as Gor. The breeding of slaves, like any sort of domestic animals, and particularly valuable ones, is carefully controlled. As a slave, of course, I could be bred, or crossed, when, and however, my master might see fit. It is the same as with other animals."
    Dancer of Gor, p 175
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


  • Sul-paga
    A distilled alcohol, made from suls. Similar to vodka, clear and strong.
    ~Stored in botas hanging near the fire, or in the cold storage
    ~Served in small bowls found on the shelves
    "Sul paga is, when distilled, though the sul itself is yellow, is as clear as water"
    Slave Girl of Gor, p 134
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "Sul paga, as anyone knew, is seldom available outside of a peasant village, where it is brewed. Sul paga would slow a thalarion. To stay on your feet after a mouthful of Sul paga it is said one must be of the peasants, and then for several generations. And even then, it is said, it is difficult to manage. There is a joke about the baby of a peasant father being born drunk nine months later."
    Slave Girl of Gor, p 414

  • Ta-wine
    A dry wine made from the Ta-grapes grown on Cos. Served room temperature in Ko ro ba.
    ~Stored in bottles on the rack near the fire
    ~Served in tankards or goblets found on the shelves
    "One girl held our head back, and others, from goblets, gave us of wines, Turian wine, sweet and thick, Ta wine, from the famed Ta grapes, from the terraces of Cos, wines even, Ka-la-nas, sweets and dry, from distant AR"
    Tribesmen of Gor, p 213

  • Turian Liquor
    A thick, sweet liquor served in small glasses. Not served in Ko ro ba.
    "She picked up the small tray from the stand near the table. On it was the small vessel containing a thick, sweet liquor from distant Turia, the Ar of the south, and the two tiny glasses from which we had sipped it."
    Explorers of Gor, p 10

  • Water
    Water is water. In Ko ro ba, water is from the fresh springs.
    ~Stored in a large barrel in cold storage, refilled by buckets the slaves carry from the Springs.
    ~Served in bowls found on the shelves.

  • White wine
    No real details are given, just that a "light white wine" was served. In Ko ro ba, it is served chilled in goblets.
    ~Stored in bottles in the rack in cold storage
    ~Served in goblets found on the shelves
    "In the hall was a open circle of small tables, at which a handful of guests, on cushions and mats, reclined. There were four men and two women at these tables, other than the Lady Florence, the hostess, and her guest of the past several days, the Lady Metpomene. The tables were covered with cloths of glistening white and a service of gold. Before each guest there were tiny slices of tospit and larma, small pastries, and in a tiny golden cup, with a small golden spoon, the clustered, black, tiny eggs of the white grunt. The first wine, a light white wine, was being deferentially served by Pamela and Bonnie."
    Fighting Slave of Gor, pp 275-276