Posca- ancient Roman drink

Posca was the name of the mixture of vinegar and water which constituted the drink of the soldiers, the lower classes, and the slaves of ancient Rome. Posca was made by watering down the low-quality wine and by adding herbs and spices. It was drunk from the 300-200 BC and into the Byzantine period.

It originated in Greece as a medicinal mixture. The name may have derived from the Greek word epoxos, which means “very sharp.”

As early as the middle of the Roman Republic era (509-27 BC), the military rationed posca to troops along with grains and, very occasionally, meat and cheese. It was usually made by watering down low-quality wine and then adding spices to make it taste better. The Roman legions used to receive a lot of vinegar in rations. The soldiers used to add water to the vinegar to turn it into drinkable posca.

Posca was good enough to keep a Roman army marching - in his soldiering days, Cato the Elder drank posca to fend off raging thirst.

Posca was increasingly heavily used by the Roman army during the Republican period when it became a standard beverage for soldiers.

Aëtius of Amida and Paul of Aegina, both Byzantine Greek physicians of the sixth and seventh centuries, respectively, included recipes for a “palatable and laxative” posca that included cumin, fennel seed, celery seed, anise, thyme, and salt
Posca- ancient Roman drink