*******
ALE
The north regions, like Torvaldsland, have a strong ale that is closer to a honey lager than an actual earth ale or beer and is a deep golden color. It is made from grains and hops brought to Gor during the acquisition voyages. 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.
CHILLED
stored: cold room
kept in: keg
vessel: tankard or horn
texture: deep gold, slightly bitter dry taste
misc: brewed from sa-tarna and wild grains
WARMED
stored: keg near the hearth
kept in: keg (warm by fire)
vessel: tankard or horn
texture: deep gold, slightly bitter dry taste
misc: brewed from sa-tarna and wild grains
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, 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, 194
*******
BAZI TEA
This is an herbal tea that comes in many different varieties. Consider all the varieties of tea on Earth and you can see the multitude of possibilities for Bazi tea. Bazi tea is a common Gorean drink, enjoyed by High and Low Castes. Bazi tea may be served informally in regular-sized cups, 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.
There is also a more formal, traditional service. 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.
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, 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, 139
I sipped my Bazi tea, and looked at him, over the rim of the bowl. He, too, looked at me, and sipped his tea.
-- Beasts of Gor, 304
*******
BLACKWINE
This is a coffee-like drink made from beans brought back to Gor during the early voyages of Acquisition. The beans are primarily grown on the well-guarded slopes of the mountain city of Thentis. It is very strong and bitter. It is traditionally served very hot, with yellow or white sugars and powdered bosk milk, in tiny cups. Other sugars, spices or cream may also be served with it. The cups may have small handles or not. In some ways, it is like expresso coffee. In the river cities and some northern cities, the phrase "second slave" indicates that you do not want any creams or sugars with your black wine. This comes from the custom in some areas for two kajirae to serve black wine. One kajira is responsible for putting down the cups, taking the orders and seeing that the drink is prepared according to the customer's preferences. The second kajira only pours the black wine. In some areas, there are more formal blackwine services, such as in the Tahari region. Thentis does not trade the beans to make this drink. In Thentis, it is commonly only served in High Caste homes. It is an expensive luxury outside the area of Thentis, affordable only by the wealthy. Most paga taverns would not serve blackwine due to its rarity and expense.
On the tray, too was the metal vessel which had contained the black wine, steaming and bitter, from far Thentis, famed for its tarn flocks, the small yellow-enameled cups from which we had drunk the black wine, its spoons and sugars, a tiny bowl of mint sticks and the softened, dampened cloths on which we had wiped our fingers.
-- Explorers of Gor, 10
"What is that I smell?" I asked.
"Black wine," said she, "from the Mountains of Thentis."
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.
-- Assassin of Gor, 106
"Actually," I said to Elizabeth, "this is very rare. Thentis does not trade the beans for black wine. I have heard of a cup of black wine in Ar, some years ago, selling for a silver eighty-piece. Even in Thentis black wine is commonly only in High Caste homes."
-- Assassin of Gor, 107
From one side a slave girl, barefoot, bangled, in sashed, diaphanous, trousered chalwar, gathered at the ankles, in tight, red-silk vest, with bare midriff, fled to him, with the tall, graceful, silvered pot-containing the black wine. She was veiled. She knelt, replenishing the drink. Beneath her veil I saw the metal of her collar. I had not thought to have such fortune. She did not look at me. She returned to her place with the pot of black wine. Ibn Saran lifted another finger. From the side there hastened to him another girl, a fair-skinned, red-haired girl. She, too, wore veil, vest, chalwar, bangles, collar. She carried a tray, on which were various spoons and sugars. She knelt, placing her tray on the table. With a tiny spoon, its tip no more than a tenth of a hort in diameter, she placed four measures of white sugar, and six of yellow, in the cup; with two stirring spoons, one for the white sugar, another for the yellow, she stirred the beverage after each measure. She then held the cup to the side of her cheek, testing its temperature; Ibn Saran glanced at her; she, looking at him, timidly kissed the side of the cup and placed it before him. Then, her head down, she withdrew.
-- Tribesmen of Gor, 88
I decided I might care to taste the steaming, black wine. I lifted my finger. The girl in whose charge was the silver vessel, filled with black wine, knelt beside a tiny brazier, on which it sat, retaining its warmth. Seeing my signal, she stiffened; she hesitated. She was white, dark-haired. She wore a high, tight vest of red silk, with four hooks; her midriff was bare; she wore the sashed chalwar, a sashed, diaphanous trousered garment, full but gathered in, closely, at the ankles; she was barefoot; her wrists and ankles were bangled; she was veiled; she was collared. She rose swiftly to her feet. She knelt, head down, before me. She poured, carefully, the hot, black beverage into the tiny red cup. I dismissed her. Beneath her veil I had not been able to read the lettering on her collar, which would tell who owned her. I supposed it was Suleiman, since she was serving in the palace. The other girl, the white-skinned, red-haired girl, also in vest, chalwar and veil, and bangles and collar, lifted her tray of spoons and sugars. But I turned away. She was not summoned. The girls, white-skinned, were a matched set of slaves, one for the black wine, one for its sugars.
-- Tribesmen of Gor, 105
I glanced casually back to look upon her, kneeling beside, the slender, silvered, long-spouted vessel of black wine, resting over its tiny brazier, she only one of a pair, a matched set, of slaves.
-- Tribesmen of Gor, 108
Soon I smelled the frying of vulo eggs in a large, flat pan, and the unmistakable odor of coffee, or as the Goreans express it, black wine. The beans grow largely on the slopes of the Thentis mountains. The original beans, I suppose, had been brought, like certain other Gorean products, from Earth; it is not impossible, of course, that the opposite is the case, that black wine is native to Gor and that the origin of Earth's coffee beans is Gorean; I regard this as unlikely, however, because black wine is far more common on Earth than on Gor, where it is, except for the city of Thentis, a city famed for her tarn flocks, and her surrounding villages, a somewhat rare and unusual luxury.
-- Slave Girl of Gor, 73
I grinned, and washed down the eggs with a swig of hot black wine, prepared from the beans grown upon the slopes of the Thentis mountains. This black wine is quite expensive. Men have been slain on Gor for attempting to smuggle the beans out of the Thentian territories.
-- Beasts of Gor, 21
The two slaves, their chains removed, now returned, and began to serve the black wine. The voluptuous slave of Aemilianus, whom he had not yet named, placed the tiny silver cups, on small stands, before us. The lovely little slave in bluish gauze, whom I had not yet named, holding the narrow-spouted, silver pouring vessel in a heavy cloth, to protect her hands, poured the scalding, steaming black fluid, in narrow, tiny streams, into the small cups. She poured into the cups only the amount that would be compatible with the assorted sugars and creams which the guest might desire, if any, these being added in, and stirred, if, and as, pertinent, by Aemilianus' slave, who directed the serving.
"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, 244
I lifted the tiny silver cup to my lips and took a drop of the black wine. Its strength and bitterness are such that it is normally drunk in such a manner, usually only a drop or a few drops at a time. Commonly, too, it is mollified with creams and sugars. I drank it without creams and sugars, perhaps, for I had been accustomed, on Earth, to drinking coffee in such a manner, and the black wine of Gor is clearly coffee, or closely akin to coffee. Considering its bitterness, however, if I had not been drinking such a tiny amount, and so slowly, scarcely wetting my lips, I, too, would surely have had recourse to the tasty, gentling additives with which it is almost invariably served.
-- Guardsman of Gor, 247
*******
BREEDING WINE
A beverage which conteracts slave wine, making a slave girl fertile also called second wine ... served in a chipped wooden cup.
-- Blood Brother of Gor, 319
*******
CHOCOLATE
"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, 61
*******
FALARIAN WINE
Among these petitioners came one fellow bringing with him the promise of a gift of wine, a wine supposedly secret, the rare Falarian, a wine only rumored among collectors to exist, a wine supposedly so rare and precious that its cost might purchase a city.
-- Mercenaries of Gor, 158
"There will be delicacies from as far away as Bazi and Anango," she said, "and we shall open vessels of Falarian from the private stores of the Ubar."
-- Magicians of Gor, 156
*******
FERMENTED MILK CURD
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, 28
*******
ICE
The High Initiate had risen to his feet and accepted a goblet from another Initiate, probably containing minced flavored ices, for the day was warm. Free women, here and there, were delicately putting tidbits beneath their veils. Some even lifted their veils somewhat to drink of the flavored ices. Some low-caste free women drank through their veils, and there were yellow and purple stains on the rep-cloth.
-- Assassin of Gor, 141
*******
JUICES
ramberry juice
larma juice
ta-grape juice
red fruit juice
tospit juice
mixed fruit juice
stored: cold room
kept in: pitchers
vessel: goblets
I purchased her some larma juice for a tarsk bit.
-- Mercenaries of Gor, 257
*******
KA-LA-NA
A dry, rich-bodied, incandescent red wine that is produced by many regions of the world and can be found in a wide range of qualities. The wine is carefully crafted from the fruit of the ka-la-na trees which are yellow-gold in color though the wine these trees produce are the famous reds. The wines are bottled and corked and sealed with wax often with the mark of the Master vintner or city region where the wine is produced. Two of the noted Master Winemakers are Boleto whose golden orchards lie outside of the city of Ar and Anesidemus.
This wine can be served chilled, at room temperature, or heated with mulling spices if desired. It is often served in a goblet though when warmed can be served in an enamel-trimmed clay bowl called a krater. The drink can be a symbol of romantic love. It is rumored the imbibing of this wine by women can have strange warming effects on them and that it can most any woman a slave if only for an hour.
There is also an unnamed white table wine and it is possible that like the varying types of grapes brought back from the voyages of Acquisition, the exclusion of the skins and stems of the ka-la-na fruit would yield a white wine. However, there is no reference for or against the possibility of white ka-la-na wine mentioned in the chronicles of Counter-Earth.
CHILLED:
stored: wine rack in the cold room
kept in: corked bottle with wax seal of the vintner
vessel: goblet
texture: a rich red wine in color
ROOM TEMPERATURE:
stored: wine rack in the servery
kept in: corked bottle with wax seal of the vintner
vessel: goblet
texture: a rich red wine in color
WARMED:
stored: hearth
kept in: kettle
vessel: clay bowl
texture: a bright, rich red in color
After the meal I tasted the drink, which might not inappropriately be described as an almost incandescent wine, bright, dry, and powerful. I learned later it was called ka-la-na.
-- Tarnsman of Gor, 26
..and drops of a red, wine-like drink made from the fruit of the ka-la-na tree.
-- Tarnsman of Gor, 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, page 168
"But that sort of thing is behind me now," she said to me, throwing back her head and quaffing deeply of the ruby-red ka-la-na in her cup.
-- Rogue of Gor, 20
The ka-la-na thicket was yellow in the distance.
-- Slave Girl of Gor, 250
"A small bottle," I said, "of the Slave Gardens of Anesidemus."
"I have heard that is a marvelous ka-la-na," said the free woman, her eyes alight.
"So, too, have I," I said.
"It is very expensive," said the woman.
"Are you familiar with it?" I asked.
"Oh," she said, lightly, "I have had it a few times."
"Do you like it?" I asked.
"Yes," she said. "Yes!"
-- Mercenaries of Gor, 344
"Oh, it is marvellous ka-la-na," she purred. I gathered that she had never before had such ka-la-na. True, it might run the buyer as much as three copper tarsks, a price for which some women can be purchased.
-- Mercenaries of Gor, 345
I turned the bottle so that she might read the label. It was a small bottle of Boleto's Nectar of the Public Slave Gardens. Boleto is a well-known winegrower from the vicinity of Ar. He is famous for the production of a large number of reasonably good, medium-grade ka-la-nas. This was one of the major wines, and perhaps the best, served in Ar's public slave gardens; indeed, it had originally been commissioned for that market, hence the name.
-- Mercenaries of Gor, 360
The guards had liked us, muchly, and had apparently expected that they would for, to our delight, they had purchased a small bottle of ka-la-na wine, in a wicker basket, which they had permitted us, swallow by swallow, to share. I had never tasted so rich and delicate a wine on Earth, and yet here, on this world, it cost only a copper tarn disk and was so cheap, and plentiful, that it might be given even to a female slave. I remembered each of the four swallows which I had had. I tasted them even still, with the meat and bread which I had eaten. It was the first Gorean fermented beverage which I had tasted. It is said that ka-la-na has an unusual effect on a female. I think it is true.
-- Captive of Gor, 114
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, 331
*******
KAL-DA
This is an alcoholic drink that is served hot, almost scalding. It is made of diluted Ka-la-na wine mixed with citrus juices and stinging spices. It is cheap and popular with the lower castes. Paga taverns that catered to the Low Castes would serve this but higher class taverns would not. Most Warriors would not deign to drink kal-da.
stored: hearth
kept in: copper kettle or heavy pot
vessel: clay bowl for Masters, footed bowl for Mistresses
An almost scalding hot drink made from distilled ka-la-na mixed with fruit juices such as tospit and larma with hot spices and served in a bowl.
-- Tarnsman of Gor, 170
Kalda is a hot drink, almost scalding, made of diluted Kalana 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 whom 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, 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, 78
Even the proprietor slept, his head across his folded arms on the counter, behind which stood the great kal-da brewing pots, at last empty and cold.
-- Outlaw of Gor, 80
Other girls now appeared among the tables, clad only in a camisk and a silver collar, and suddenly, silently, began to serve the kal-da which Kron had ordered. Each carried a heavy pot of the foul, boiling brew and, cup by cup, replenished the cups of the men.
-- Outlaw of Gor, 226
*******
MEAD
In the north generally, mead, a dark amber drink made with fermented honey, and water, and often spices and such, tends to be favored over paga.
-- Vagabonds of Gor, 16
CHILLED
stored: cold room
kept in: keg or cask
vessel: horn or tankard
texture: fermented honey, water, and spice
WARMED
stored: servery near hearth
kept in: cask or keg
vessel: Horn or Tankard
texture: dark, amber colored, fermented honey, water, and spice
"Here Jarl," said Thyri, again handing me the horn. It was filled with the mead of Torvaldsland, brewed from fremented honey, think and sweet.
-- Marauders of Gor, 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, 78
*******
MILK
Milk from the verr, bosk, and kaiila are common and is enjoyed cold or hot. Kaiila milk is reddish and has a strong, salty taste as it has a lot of ferrous sulphate. There are milk vendors in Gorean cities like the milkmen of Earth.
stored: cold room
kept in: pitcher
vessel: goblet
misc: available in powdered form
... the suckling of the young in the sand kaiila is a valuable trait in the survival of the animal; kaiila milk, which is used , like verr milk, by the peoples of the Tahari, is reddish, and has a strong, salty taste; it contains much ferrous sulphate
-- Tribesman of Gor, 71
The Wagon Peoples grow no food, nor do they have manufacturing as we know it. They are herders and, it is said, killers. They eat nothing that has touched the dirt. They live on the meat and milk of the bosk. They are among the proudest peoples on Gor, regarding the dwellers of the cities of Gor as vermin in holes, cowards who must fly behind walls, wretches who fear to live beneath the broad sky, who dare not dispute them the open, windswept plains of their world.
-- Nomads of Gor, 5
When the meat was ready, Kamchak ate his fill, and drank down, too, a flagon of bosk milk
-- Nomads of Gor, 139
The smell of fruit and vegetables, and verr milk was very strong.
-- Savages of Gor, 60
[Verr milk is] ... like goat's milk of earth ... served in tiny brass cups.
-- Savages of Gor, 61
Twice we stopped at palisaded villages, those of simple bosk herders. I liked these stops, for there we would have fresh bosk milk, still hot, and would have a roof over our heads for a night, be it only of grass.
-- Captive of Gor, 70
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, 295
*******
NECTAR
I looked again upon the city in the distance. From here it looked very beautiful. Yet I knew that somewhere within it, perhaps within its crowded quarters, from which mobs might erupt like floods, or within its sheltered patios and gardens, where high ladies might exchange gossip, sip nectars and toy with dainty repasts, served to them by male silk slaves, or among its houses and towers, or on its streets or in the great baths, that somewhere there, somewhere behind those walls, was treason.
-- Mercenaries of Gor, 258
*******
PAGAR-SA-TARNA (PAGA)
This phrase translates to the "Pleasure of the Life-Daughter" and it is commonly called "paga" for short. Its full name is rarely used. It is a fermented amber brew made from golden sa-tarna grain. It sometimes symbolizes physical love. It is probably the most popular alcoholic drink on Gor. There are many varieties, usually named for their city of origin, such as Ar, Tyros, Ko-ro-ba, Helmutsport, Anango, and Tharna. The primary difference in these pagas is usually the spices or grains added. Paga is normally served at room temperature. Paga may also be served warm or hot, which is most popular in Cos and the lands of the north. Some claim that you feel the effects of paga sooner if it is heated. In taverns outside of Cos and Torvaldsland, you would need to specifically asked for your paga to be heated. Paga is a strong drink and is commonly cut with water in taverns. It may be bought from merchants in bottles or botas.
CHILLED PAGA
stored: hanging in chill room
kept in: dark verr skin bota or large bottles
vessel: footed bowl or goblet for Mistress
ROOM TEMPERATURE
stored: dark glass bottle on shelf in servery
kept in: dark glass bottle, vats, or bronze vessels
vessel: footed bowl, goblet for Mistress
The Older Tarl and I may have drunk too much of that fermented brew concocted with fiendish skill from the yellow grain, sa-tarna, and called Pagar Sa-Tarna, Pleasure of the Life-Daughter, but almost always 'paga' for short.
-- Tarnsman of Gor, 43
He leaned over and tossed me a skin bag of Paga
-- Tarnsman of Gor, 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 it so much the sooner that way.
---Raiders of Gor, p 100
... to the proprietor of the paga tavern, and took in return one of the huge bottles of paga, of the sort you put in a pouring sling...
-- Raiders of Gor, 111
Before we set out we broke open the great bottle of paga, and Thurnock, Clitus and I clashed goblets and emptied them of their swirling fires. Then we forced each of the girls, choking and sputtering, to themselves upturn a goblet, swilling down as best they could the fiery draught.
-- Raiders of Gor, 113
"Paga!" called the standing man. "Paga!" A blonde girl, nude, with a string of pearls wound about her steel collar, ran to the table and, from the bronze vessel, on its strap, about her shoulder, poured paga into the goblet before the seated man.
-- Rogue of Gor, 78
This is not unusual at an inn. The proportions, then, would be one part paga to five parts water. Commonly, at a paga tavern, the paga would be cut less, or not cut at all. When wine is drunk with Gorean meals, at home, incidentally, it is almost always diluted, mixed with water in a krater. At a party of convivial supper the host, or elected feast master, usually determines the proportions of water to wine. Unmixed wine, of course, may be drunk, for example, at the parties of young men, at which might appear dancers, flute slaves and such. Many Gorean wines, it might be mentioned, if only by way of explanation, are very strong, often having an alcohol content by volume of forty to fifty percent.
-- Renegades of Gor, 70
She knelt near the table... and put the paga, in a small kantharos
-- Renegades of Gor, 71
Many civilians, I believe, do not know why certain warriors, by habit, request their paga in metal goblets when dining in public houses.
---Renegades of Gor, p 77
I ordered another cup of paga. I played a game of kaissa with another guest of the tavern. The paga tasted a bit strange, but it was a local paga and there is variation in such pagas, generally a function of the brewer's choice of herbs and grains.
-- Explorers of Gor, 132
In most taverns no bottle is brought to the table but the paga is brought to the table, by the paga slave, a cup at a time, the cups normally being filled from a vat behind the counter.
-- Explorers of Gor, 158
I decided, if worse came to worst, that I could always go to a simple paga tavern where, if those of Tharna resembled those of Ko-ro-ba and Ar, one might , curled in a rug behind the low tables, unobtrusively spend the night for the price of a pot of paga, a strong, fermented drink brewed from the yellow grains of Gor?s staple crop, Sa-Tarna, or Life-Daughter. The expression is related to Sa-Thassna, the expression for meat, or food in general, which means Life-Mother. Paga is a corruption of Pagar-Sa-Tarna, which means Pleasure of the Life-Daughter.
-- Outlaw of Gor, 74
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, 16
*******
PALM WINE
Clear wine made from the palm leaf fruits and export of Schendi ... one of her most delicious exports ... served in a goblet
-- Explorers of Gor, 115
*******
RENCE BEER
This drink would most commonly be found in the marsh communities and very rarely in a tavern.
Brewed from the pith of the rence plant, it is a drink of the rence growers of the Delta of the Vosk. ...
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, 18
I had carried bowls of cut, fried fish, and wooden trays of roasted tarsk meat, and roasted gants threaded on sticks, and rence cakes and porridges, and goard flagons, many times replenished, of rence beer.
-- Raiders of Gor, 44
*******
SLAVE WINE
Brewed from bitter herbs used for slave conterceptive, taken once a month ... served in a chipped wooden bowls from a kettle by the fires.
-- Marauders of Gor
*******
SUL PAGA
This alcoholic drink is made from suls, a vegetable like a potato. It is most like strong vodka or moonshine. It is clear, almost tasteless, and very strong. It is generally served at room temperature. It is seldom available outside of a peasant village. It would be a rarity in a paga tavern to find sul paga available.
CHILLED
stored: hanging in cold room
kept in: white verr skin bota
vessel: footed bowl or goblet for Mistress
ROOM TEMPERATURE
stored: clear glass bottle on shelf in servery
kept in: clear glass bottle
vessel: footed bowl, goblet for Mistress
Sul paga is, when distilled, though the sul itself is yellow, as clear as water. The sul is a tuberous root of the sul plant; it is a Gorean staple. He could have been commenting only on the potentcy of the drink, for sul paga is almost tasteless. One does not guzzle sul paga.
-- Slave Girl of Gor, 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, 414
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TA WINE
A wine made from Ta grapes from the isle of Cos ... served at room temperature in a goblet
-- Fighting Slave of Gor, 306
CHILLED
stored: wine rack in cold room
kept in: corked bottle
vessel: goblet
ROOM TEMPERATURE
stored: wine rack in servery
kept in: corked bottle
vessel: goblet
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. 213
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TURIAN LIQUEURS/WINES
Turian wines are sweet, syrupy, flavored and sugared heavily. Their wines are made specifically so that you can add various spices and sugars to it. They are an acquired taste and regarded as the best on Gor.
The liqueurs of Turia are usually regarded as the best, but I think this is largely a matter of taste. Those of Cos and Ar, and of certain other cities, are surely very fine.
-- Kajira of Gor, 406
First from the kitchen, bearing her tray, came the voluptuous slave of Aemilianuus. Behind her, too with her tray, came the little dark-haired slave. In a moment both were deferentially serving. The collared softness of the dark-haired girl well set off the the metal of the tray, and the small multicolored glasses and bottles upon it.
-- Guardsman of Gor, 254
She picked up the small tray from the stand near the table. On it was the small vessel containing a thick, sweet liqueur from distant Turia, the Ar of the south, and the two tiny glasses from which we had sipped it.
-- Explorers of Gor, 10
I did not much care for the sweet, syrupy wines of Turia, flavored and sugared to the point where one could almost leave one's fingerprint on their surface.
-- Nomads of Gor, 83
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WATER
The availability of drinking water and the way it is obtained varies depending on the area, culture, available resources, and technology. We see wells in the Tahari desert, aqueducts in cities, buckets filled at the river shore in forest camps, and many other ways to obtain water.
stored: cold room
kept in: pitcher
vessel: goblet
Another useful source of water is the liana vine. One makes the first cut high, over one's head, to keep the water from being withdrawn by contraction and surface adhesion up the vine. The second cut, made a foot or so from the ground, gives a vine tube which, drained, yields in the neighborhood of a liter of water.
-- Explorers of Gor, 311
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WHITE WINE
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 Melpomene. 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, 275-276
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NOTES ON SERVING VESSELS
Kantharos (referred to through most of John Norman's writings simply as a 'footed bowl' and much used for the drinking of paga and wine) : Also spelled Cantharos, drinking cup in Attic Greek pottery from the period of the red-figure and black-figure styles. The kantharos is in the form of a deep cup, with loop-shaped handles arising from the bottom of the body and extending high above the brim. Designed for the drinking of wine, this shape was extremely popular in Etruria and was exported to areas around the Mediterranean in the late 7th and 6th centuries B.C. Usually made of clay or a more expensive metal. Etruscan graves have yielded hundreds of kantheroi, along with many other ceramic vessels intended for eating and drinking, as part of funeral feasts or as tomb offerings. [from Encyclopaedia Britannica]
A kylix (or cylix, plural kylixes or kylikes) is a type of wine-drinking cup with a broad relatively shallow body raised on a stem from a foot and usually with two handles disposed symmetrically. The almost flat interior circle on the interior base of the cup, called the tondo, was the primary surface for painted decoration in the Black-figure or Red-figure styles of the 6th and 5th century B.C. As the representations would be covered with wine, the scenes would only be revealed in stages as the wine was drained. They were often designed with this in mind, with scenes created so that they would surprise or tittilate the drinker as they were revealed. [from wiki]
A krater was a vessel used to mix wine and water. At a Greek symposium, kraters were placed in the center of the room. They were quite large, so they were not easily portable when filled. Thus, the wine-water mixture would be withdrawn from the krater with other vessels. In fact, Book Nine of Homer's Odyssey describes a sommelier drawing wine from a krater at a banquet and then running to and fro pouring the wine into guests' drinking cups. Kraters were glazed on the interior to make the surface of the clay more suitable for holding water, and possibly for aesthetic reasons, since the interior could easily be seen into. [from wiki]
(images from wiki pages)
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON DRINKS
Many Gorean wines are very strong, 80 to 100 proof. Most Earth wines in comparison are only about 12 proof. Thus, wine may commonly be cut with water. This occurs often when wine is drunk at homes at meals, at certain parties and in some taverns. A wine krater, a mixing bowl, is used to mix the wine and water. "Krater" is an ancient Greek term that means "mixing bowl." If the wine is not cut, it might also be served in very small amounts. At more raucous parties or taverns, the wine is rarely cut or only in a slight amount.
There are a number of common drinking vessels in the taverns of Gor. There are generally no restrictions over what cup or bowl you use to serve a certain drink. Paga and wine can be served in nearly any drinking vessel. Most taverns will have ordinary vessels of cheap metal or pottery. They will not have vessels of gold or silver. Only the most expensive of taverns might have such expensive items.
Goblets, of various materials, are the most common vessel in taverns. Some goblets have rings, maybe four or five, around the cup area and a patron may ask for his cup to be filled to a certain ring. Sometimes bowl-like vessels are also used. Some peoples use drinking horns. The Wagon Peoples and Torvaldslanders both use such horns. A bota is a leather flask commonly used for paga and wine. Most botas are made of verrskin. A bota is squeezed to release a stream of liquid. Botas are commonly carried by travelers, as they are portable and not subject to breakage. A bota would not be used to store drinks in a paga tavern. Wine and paga may also be sold in bottles of various sizes. A hydria, another Greek term, is a high-handled, water vessel. It is a curious aside that the drinking vessels on Gor almost all derive from Greek sources.
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What a search through the writings of Norman teach the reader is that although botas are commonly used to store drinking supplies in times of travel, so are gourds and flagons. In everyday use thought, most brews come in kegs, other beverages come in bottles, and are stored in these bottles until ready to serve or warm, if appropriate, in brewing pots for mixing (such as for Kal-da) or simply large kettles for heating (as for Paga or Mead). Wine it would seem, is heated in single servings, at the time of the request for it. The serving of heated wine is explicitly in the "serving" page.
Serving of brewed or heated drinks, is done by either filling the vessel from the brewing pot or kettle directly, by sinking the serving vessel to the pot or ladling... or carried to masters in a serving tankard.
Serving of wine or other unheated drinks, would also be done by filling single vessels or bringing the bottle itself, in a sling type carrier, to the tables.
The vessels used for the different drinks are not quite as specific as some would like to think. Norman shows Ale served in tankards, Mead in horns, wine in goblets... and Paga served in about any possible vessel available, from drinking it directly from the bota to the use of stone encrusted goblets. There seems to be consistency in the fact that hot drinks are served in bowls however, with the exception of course, of blackwine, tea and hot chocolate... for those, cups are mentioned.
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My house, incidentally, like most Gorean houses, had no ice chest. There is little cold storage on Gor. Generally food is preserved by being dried or salted. Some cold storage, of course, does exist. Ice is cut from ponds in the winter, and then stored in ice houses, under sawdust.
-- Guardsman of Gor, 295
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