Cider once mattered as much as beer or wine — so how did it lose its place in British life?

In this episode of Intoxicating History, Henry Jeffreys and Tom Parker Bowles explore the overlooked history of apples, orchards and a drink that quietly fuelled the countryside for centuries.

We’re joined by James Crowden, whose deep knowledge of rural England helps us trace how cider shifted from everyday necessity to cultural afterthought. Along the way, we uncover how monks, farmers, class, labour and tax policy shaped cider’s fortunes, and why industrialisation changed the way Britain drank.

This isn’t nostalgia. It’s a story about land, work and identity, and why today’s cider revival is about reclaiming flavour, craft and connection rather than novelty.

Thoughtful, funny and gently persuasive, this episode makes the case for cider as one of Britain’s most important — and misunderstood — historic drinks.

As ever, we’re supported by Wylde Market have another wonderful box to unpack

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Winston Churchill is remembered as the man who drank the British through the Second World War. But how much of that is legend, how much is exaggeration, and how much is actually true? In this episode of Intoxicating History, we take a long, considered sip of Churchill’s drinking life. From his famously weak “mouthwash” whisky sodas to champagne by the pint, brandy at bedtime, and alcohol prescribed on doctor’s orders during Prohibition America. We explore how drink shaped his working rhythm, his diplomacy, his image and perhaps even his genius. Along the way, there are Soviet banquets with Stalin, loathed cocktails courtesy of FDR, champagne diplomacy at Yalta, and the curious truth about whether Churchill was ever actually drunk at all.

Was alcohol his weakness or his secret weapon? Smart, surprising and very funny, this episode cuts through the myths to reveal the man behind the glass.

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On this episode of Intoxicating History we trace American history through what presidents chose to pour. From George Washington’s Madeira-fuelled formality to Thomas Jefferson’s obsession with French wine, drink becomes a way of signalling power, taste, and intent. Along the way, we meet whiskey-loving generals, temperance-minded First Ladies, Prohibition presidents who quietly ignored their own laws, and eras shaped by glamour, chilli, or quiet restraint. Kennedy dazzles with French wine and style. Johnson tears up the rulebook with Texas hospitality. Nixon knows his claret but keeps it close. Reagan recognises the diplomatic value of American wine. Obama brews beer in the White House. Trump sticks to Diet Coke. Together, these choices tell a story of America through glasses raised, rules bent, and the politics of what ends up on the table.

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