Thursday, 14 April 2011

Red Biddy

17 across in today's Times Crossword:
"Extremely cheap booze embarrassed old woman (3,5)". Easy peasy - it's Red Biddy.

This set me thinking, what exactly is Red Biddy? I vaguely remember it being on sale in Yates's Wine Lodges, but I never drank any. Google was unusually totally useless, suggesting a mixture of red wine and methylated spirits, which I don't think Yates's would be allowed to sell!

Actually, it would appear to be an Australian fortified red wine, the red equivalent of the more well known Aussie White, which I have enjoyed in Yates's on occasion.

Does anyone know if the modern tarted up Yates's still sell either of these?
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6 comments:

  1. Anonymous25 April 2012 at 17:37

    Christy Moore referrs to it in one of his songs,Missing You, but I think he is referring to red wine and meths, not a trip to Yates wine lodge.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous11 November 2017 at 15:14

    In Yates Wine Lodge Red Biddy was red wine and grape brandy, it set your candle alight on a cold day I can tell you. Not sure they still sell it. Red Biddy the original is methylated/surgical spirit mixed with red wine, 'Tay gi'it a wee lift!' Mac

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Phil Wieland12 November 2017 at 09:47

      Thanks for that. So I was wrong about the Aussie wine.

      Delete
  3. Johnty DelMonte5 March 2022 at 09:38

    They used to sell it down Mo's on London road in the 90s, didn't mess about that's for sure.

    Here's what the bottle looked like-
    https://ibb.co/PN2xQ9m

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Phil Wieland5 March 2022 at 10:39

      Thanks for that. So I was right, it is Australian fortified red wine. In recent times I've seen Aussie White once or twice but not Red Biddy.

      Delete
  4. whs195420 October 2023 at 10:50

    Red Biddy could refer either to the cheap wine, or to the mixture of the cheap wine with meths.

    ReplyDelete

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