Cocktail Saturday: Black Annis

Black Annis Cocktail Who’s to say the terrifying Black Annis with her red eyes and black heart doesn’t deserve her own cocktail? I thought of absinthe in connection with her, but then I remembered a dark colored drink we recently had when a friend of mine visited from North Carolina. When we tried different vodka… Continue reading Cocktail Saturday: Black Annis

Vintage Friday: Black Annis Brandy Balls

Brandy balls are the offspring of bourbon balls, which were created by Ruth Booe of the Rebecca Ruth Candy Company in Kentucky in the early 1900’s.The company was founded in 1919 by two schoolteachers, Rebecca Gooch and Ruth Booe. All during this past Christmas season, I had a hankering to make brandy balls. It wasn’t… Continue reading Vintage Friday: Black Annis Brandy Balls

Mythic Monday: Black Annis Will Get You

In days not so long ago, English parents frightened their children into good behavior by the threat of “Black Annis will get you.” The custom is equivalent to the threat in America that “the bogeyman will get you.” In older, darker times, Black Annis instilled terror into the hearts of country folk, particularly around her… Continue reading Mythic Monday: Black Annis Will Get You

Mythic Monday: St. Agnes Eve

On St Agnes Eve, January 20th, a young girl can experience a dream vision of her future husband, so the lore tells us, if she follows a carefully prescribed ritual: Fast all day, and bathe before preparing for bed. Sprinkle water onto a sprig of rosemary and a sprig of thyme, and place the herbs… Continue reading Mythic Monday: St. Agnes Eve