Mikhail Bulgakov in “The Master and Margarita”, Anatoly Belyaev in numerous stories about the Russian nobility, Ilf and Petrov in the world-famous work “The Golden Calf” and many other Russian writers mentioned the word “Lafitniki” in their works. However, not everyone today will be able to say with confidence that this is a gunner.
But exactly with this word many decades ago an invitation began to taste the original Russian drink. It was the lauren who headed the tray with ice-cold vodka as pure as a tear. It was crystal cabinets next to a slice of black fragrant bread and a slice of salted lard or a crispy home-made cucumber.
History tour
Having made a journey through time, going back to the distant nineteenth century, we find out what it was like - a gunner, what kind of dishes it really is. Today in the world of wines there is a huge variety. Perhaps, there are as many different dishes for eating them. In the twenty-first century, alcoholic beverages are presented, as they say, for every taste and budget. But in the nineteenth century, poor people could not afford to drink the "lordly" red wines even on great holidays.
That very expensive red wine for great masters, and not for servants, was called Lafite. In some sources, the letter “and” is replaced by “e” - a gun carriage. And a glass with a poured sparkling drink the color of blood was for a poor person akin to a gift or approval.
Bewitching glass
But what is it - a gunner? Why is this word, and not the wine "gun carriage" left in the memory of posterity? Handymen and peasants, of course, recalled for a long time the wonderful taste of the "master's" drink, but this was not especially deep in their memory. They could not forget the brilliant, shimmering in the light with all its facets wonderful glass on a beautiful high leg.
Glasses, and especially so beautiful and expensive, were not in every house. As a rule, in wineglasses of those times, wine and vodka were served in ordinary cone-shaped glasses made of thick glass. They could not boast of such beauty, grace and sophisticated “figure”. What can we say about crystal! Simple people saw him only from afar.
It was from that time, not only having crashed into memory, but also wandering according to the stories of their ancestors, that showers for vodka appeared. It should be noted that the cadet did not indicate any specific measure of fluid. It could be a volume of 50, 75, 100, 125, 150 ml. It was only a functional definition for dishes, which served expensive wine, and later - vodka.
Times have changed;
Years passed, people became freer, they began to live with great comfort and prosperity, but they always chose a cabinets for the holiday table. What it was - a tribute to fashion or a centuries-old tradition - is unknown. A glass of the “tulip” shape on a long thin leg, and even with jewelry, was a real relic, which was handed down from generation to generation, stored like the apple of an eye.
Over time, of course, the greatness of this concept faded. Now the casket is a glass for vodka on a leg, a faceted glass, a thin vodka glass, etc. Later, any glass that had any decorations on its walls was called this word. And today what is it - a la-la-fronette? This is, perhaps, any glassware for vodka made of crystal or thin glass, having a thin leg and facets.
Currently, the word is considered Old Slavic atavism and is practically not used in everyday life.
What are they really like?
Now you know how the laborers appeared, what it is and why they served several centuries ago. Are they there now? How to recognize a real classic scaffold, if you suddenly wandered into a store selling crystal glassware?
First of all, a real lauren will always have a middle or high leg. Secondly, its obligatory feature is sides. Thirdly, a small capacity. The classic la-vita is rarely made with a volume of more than 75-100 grams.
Currently, in stores you can find products that are a glass of vodka with engraving, inlay, monograms, carvings or gilded cuts, etc. And all this will be a scaffold.
What and how to drink from the casket
According to the classics of the genre, the la-vita is a glass for the very drink that the great chemist Mendeleev invented. Such glasses are not presented to weak women who are losing their heads from strong alcohol, but to real strong men. Of course, we are talking about vodka.
Serving such a drink has several nuances:
- "Belenkaya" must certainly be cold. Vodka in a faceted glass on a high leg should be served necessarily “with a tear”, which would play beautifully and invitingly on the sides of the glass.
- Next to the laurels on the table should be not an spoiled bottle of vodka, but a beautiful decanter. It is with the help of these that a single ensemble is created.
- An important role is played by the snack. A piece of black bread, a herring, a green onion, a slice of smoked bacon will look great with old wafers. Perhaps, contemplating such a table, such an appetizer and beautiful dishes, none of the guests would refuse to sip “wheat” from the casket.