Drinks

The highest heaven is a fountain of kindness, a fountain of justice; beneath it flow four streams brimming with wisdom, the stream of milk, of eternal honey, of wine, and of water that flows away, the Tigris.

Rumi

The Persians invented wine and vodka. The same creativity clearly came into play after the advent of Islam. To replace the wine so beloved of Khayam and Hafez, a huge range of sharbats (sherbet or syrup) was evolved – fruits boiled and strained and bottled when in season, and then drunk with water or milk over ice. The Persians have a very good range of hot-weather drinks with all sorts of medicinal benefits.