The miraculous draught of fishes - engraving in 'The Bible illustree'
by Gustave Dore (1832-83, romanticism, illustration)
seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from Austria
seen from France
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Canada

seen from Italy

seen from United States

seen from Malaysia
seen from South Africa

seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia

seen from China

seen from Malaysia
seen from Russia
seen from Brazil

seen from Germany
The miraculous draught of fishes - engraving in 'The Bible illustree'
by Gustave Dore (1832-83, romanticism, illustration)
Tennent’s 🏴
"What is ‘grog’ exactly?" 🍺🤔
There’s ⬇️this video⬇️ on it, but the drink made hardly has any visual resemblance to what we see in films and games.
An idea I see brought up often is that grog is made from fermented blood, but I’m not entirely convinced.
In reality, grog has historically been made from 50% water and 50% rum. Captains on ships would purposefully water down the alcohol in order to make it last on longer voyages. We could apply the same logic to grog being rationed in Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
Instead of rum though, which requires sugar cane, I imagine orcs would make moonshine with the grains harvested from Núrn (same grain that goes into making good ‘ol maggoty bread). Considering some moonshines can be something like 160-180 proof (80-90% alcohol), that would certainly explain its volatility. Even if poor Merry was given a watered-down version of this, it might explain his revulsion. However, there are other reasons that we may consider...
Sidenote: Moonshine was apparently also called 'rotgut', which I think suits orcish naming conventions incredibly well. The fact this has historically been an illicit brew made in the shadow of night further compliments the overall narrative.
Let us consider that moonshine and water in their pure forms would appear clear, yet the grog we see in many cases is dark brown. This could be multiple things: unfiltered water (or, knowing orcs, possibly urine), oxidation, tannins from the wooden grog barrels, stolen alcohol from human conquest being mixed in, and yes perhaps blood.
Also, blood can indeed be fermented:
Blood fermentation is a fascinating biological process that can begin within hours under the right conditions. Typically, when exposed to ai
"Scene from The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1927. Mr Hyde on his visit to Dr Lanyon eagerly mixes the chemicals Dr Jekyll has sent there and drinks down the mixture that will turn him back to Dr Jekyll. Jekyll had succeeded in separating out the duality in his nature, Hyde representing pure evil and Jekyll good, but eventually the antidote to the Hyde persona ceases to be effective. From The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. (London, 1927). First published 1886. Artist: Edmund Joseph Sullivan."
Crops, power plants, barge traffic, industry and fish populations devastated by parched waterways
Happy International Stout Day! 🤎