My new book, THE HIGHLANDER’S CHRISTMAS BRIDE, is full of adventure, interfering families, holiday parties—and romance, of course. My hero and heroine are involved in many exciting events before they reach their well-earned Happily Ever After.

Given as these exciting events take place over the holiday season, there are quite a few parties in THE HIGHLANDER’S CHRISTMAS BRIDE. And even though the Scots in 1819 didn’t celebrate Christmas with nearly as much vigor as the English, my characters do insist on some holiday celebrations. The favorite, of course, is Hogmanay, the Scottish New Year. If anyone knows how to ring in the New Year, it’s the Scots.

So, parties abound in my book, with dancing, feasting, and drinking. I thought it might be fun to look at the beverages that partygoers consumed during the Regency Era, especially for the holidays or other grand events.

One of the highlights of many a Christmas party was the arrival of the Wassail Bowl. Wassail usually featured a base of mulled apple cider, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Sometimes, and rather bizarrely to modern palates, Wassail was topped with toasted bread. Apples and oranges could be added to the mix, and the recipe was often finished off with brandy or sherry. As you can tell, there wasn’t really a standard list of ingredients. Some families had quite ancient recipes that were jealously guarded from one generation to the next. No sharing that family secret!

In Scotland, no Hogmanay party would be complete without whisky—or, “a cup o’ kindness” as Robbie Burns called it in his famous song, Auld Lang Syne. The government maintained tight controls on the production of this classic Highland drink, but more than one holiday party was sure to serve homebrewed—which was often of higher quality than the commercially produced brands.

What else might one drink during a festive Regency party? For a crowd, we might see mulled wine, sometimes referred to as Negus. In preparing Negus, one first makes sugar syrup with cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange and lemon peels; that concoction is strained and added to hot lemon juice and several bottles of red wine.

Another popular beverage, especially for the ladies, was ratafia. Here’s a recipe taken from Robert's Guide for Butlers & Other Household Staff, published in 1828:

Into one quart of brandy pour half a pint of cherry juice, as much currant juice, as much of raspberry juice, add a few cloves, and some white pepper in grains, two grains of green coriander, and a stick or two of cinnamon, then pound the stones of cherries, and put them in wood and all. Add about twenty-five or thirty kernels of apricots. Stop your demijohn close and let it infuse for one month in the shade, shaking it five or six times in that time at the end of which strain it through a flannel bag, then through a filtering paper, and then bottle it and cork close for use; you can make any quantity you chose, only by adding or increasing more brandy or other ingredients.

Yikes. I’ll stick with the Negus!

Of course, hostesses for parties and balls would also serve wine and champagne, along with port, Madeira wine, sherry, and—again, especially in Scotland—whiskey.

With that line-up of party drinks, the holidays could be very merry, indeed!

Giveaway: A signed, print copy of THE HIGHLANDER WHO PROTECTED ME (Clan Kendrick 1), along with some book swag. Just tell me what you prefer to drink at a party?

In bestselling author Vanessa Kelly’s irresistible Clan Kendrick series, Christmas in the Highlands means family, celebration—and for one brother, the beginning of a passionate adventure . . .

Being thrown over by the man she expected to marry was humiliating enough. Now that Donella Haddon, grandniece of the Earl of Riddick, has also proven a failure as a nun, she has no choice but to return to her family’s estate. The brawny Highlander sent to escort her is brash, handsome, and the only thing standing between Donella and a gang of would-be kidnappers. But the scandal in her past can’t be so easily outrun . . .

Wealthy widower Logan Kendrick was expecting to meet a plain, pious spinster—not a gorgeous, sharp-tongued lass who can hold her own in any ambush. Though she’s known as the Flower of Clan Graham, Donella is no shrinking violet. In fact, she might be the perfect woman to bring happiness back to his lonely little son’s life, just in time for Christmas. But first he must protect her from ugly gossip and a mysterious threat—and convince her that their wild, unexpected desire is heaven sent.

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Bio: Vanessa Kelly is the award winning, USA Today bestselling author of The Improper Princesses and The Renegade Royals Series. Named by Booklist as one of the "New Stars of Historical Romance," her books have been translated into nine languages. Vanessa specialized in the study of 18th century British fiction in graduate school, and is known for developing vibrant Regency settings, appealing characters, and witty storylines that captivate readers.

Website: www.vanessakellyauthor.com

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Twitter: @VanessaKellyAut