London in the 19th century was the kingdom of the gin palace.
The
legendary 'three-martini lunch' that seems so profligate to us
today would
barely have raised an eyebrow in the days of the great
Engllish gin mills. Gin
was generally sold by the 'Stevenload', the
weight (220 lbs) of well-known
London constable Steven Shea.
Enthusiasts would 'drink their Steven'
in a single sitting using a tin
pail the size of a paint can. Substantial fortunes
were made in the
vermouth market, and for a brief period in the 1770's olives
were
actually worth more by weight than emeralds, and pimentos regulalry
sold
for more than truffles.
