Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Jul 2

Boston Officials Tackle Heavy Drinking as 250th Events and 7 World Cup Matches Draw Crowds

Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Jul 2

Boston Officials Tackle Heavy Drinking as 250th Events and 7 World Cup Matches Draw Crowds

Q: How did a Boston tavern make 18th-century cocktails like Grog and Sangaree both legal and palatable for modern drinkers?

Bell in Hand made the drinks work by modernizing the old recipes without losing their colonial identity: it relied on historian Brooke Barbier’s research into 18th-century tavern drinking, then had bar manager Syd Williams re-balance the formulas for today’s palate and for current liquor rules. The legal issue was the biggest practical hurdle. Colonial drinks such as grog and sangaree were often stronger and less standardized than what bars can serve now. Williams adjusted the builds so they stayed within contemporary alcohol limits, effectively turning historically inspired recipes into versions that could be sold lawfully in a modern Boston bar. Palatability required a second translation. Barbier’s work shows that tavern drinks in the Revolutionary era were central to social life, but many original recipes would taste rough or overly boozy to modern customers. So the tavern softened and reworked them with more balanced proportions and familiar ingredients, preserving the core style of drinks like rum-based grog and wine-based sangaree while making them smoother and easier to drink. That approach fits the broader Boston 250 effort: using historically grounded interpretation to give visitors an authentic sense of the city’s past, but in a form people will actually order. In short, the tavern made the cocktails both legal and appealing by using historical research as a base, then carefully reducing strength and refining flavor for present-day service.

1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 2

Hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected in Boston this summer, and public safety officials say the city is already dealing with excessive drinking tied to America’s 250th anniversary events and nearby World Cup crowds.
Saturday’s Independence Day concert on the Esplanade, next week’s tall-ships parade through Boston Harbor and one remaining World Cup match are adding to a packed calendar that has fueled raucous bar and street scenes.
At Bell in Hand, a tavern that says it is the nation’s oldest continuously operating, staff recreating colonial drinks said their main concern was modern liquor-law compliance, not making grog and cherry bounce palatable.
The surge in revelry underscores a broader irony of the anniversary: Boston is celebrating the nation’s founding with drinking levels that local historians say may be closer to the 1770s than many critics would like.