Hock & Seltzer

“The Arrest of Oscar Wilde at the Cadogan Hotel”, John Betjeman, 1937

2 parts Riesling

2 parts soda water

1 orange slice, for garnish

Fill a cocktail glass with ice and add the Riesling.

Top with the soda water and gently stir.

Garnish with the orange slice and enjoy.

He sipped at a weak hock and seltzer

As he gazed at the London skies

Through the Nottingham lace of the curtains

Or was it his bees-winged eyes?

Betjeman’s poem imagines the moments before Oscar Wilde was arrested in April 1895, and later charged with gross indecency. Wilde was known to be fond of absinthe and Champagne, but here, Betjeman has him casually sipping on Hock and Seltzer.

“Hock” is a British term for German white wine, often from the Rhein region, and often Riesling. So, this drink is simply a blend of this kind of wine with soda water to give it some sparkle. It was a popular drink in nineteenth-century Britain, so Wilde certainly would have known of it, and probably been fond of it. Here he also knows what fate awaits him, but he’s going out in style, as usual!