[Image courtesy of Walt Disney, Alice in Wonderland (1951)]
"There seemed to be no use in waiting by the little door, so she went back to the table... this time she found a little bottle on it, 'which certainly was not here before' said Alice, and round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words 'DRINK ME' beautifully printed on it in large letters." (p42)

I have awarded this recipe a difficulty rating of: ★
Ingredients:

♥ 100g sugar 
♥ 5 lemons 
♥ 1L sparkling mineral water 
♥ Handful of ice

Recipe:

1) Squeeze four of the lemons, collecting the juice in a jug.
2) Stir in the sugar until dissolved.
3) Add ice, then top up with the sparkling water.
4) Slice the fifth lemon and add for garnish.

Note: Lemonade can be sweetened to suit personal taste, adding a teaspoon of sugar at a time. 

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 Following my success with the Queen of Heart's jam tarts, the next Sunday I decided I would attempt to recreate the magical drink which shrinks Alice to the size of a dormouse, allowing her to continue her exploration of Wonderland. 


 Adopting the kitsch trend for serving drinks in mason jars, I looked forward to trying this recipe in preparation for summer - although perhaps wishful thinking, after all this is England. The instructions seemed simple enough, vastly appealing to my inner laziness. 


  Having squeezed the lemons, I added the suggested amount of sugar and water, stirring until fully dissolved. By this point my mouth was literally watering at the sweet and sour aroma filling my kitchen; imagining myself on the beach, Long Island Ice Tea in one hand, book in the other.


Next it was time to garnish and serve, the perfect opportunity to make use of my experience as a cocktail mixologist. Filling the empty jar from last week's adventure in the kitchen with crushed ice, I poured in the lemonade - the delightful cracking of the ice and fizzing of the lemonade fighting to be heard. After garnishing with lemon and children's party straws, I tied a string label with the fitting words 'Drink Me' around the rim.

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In terms of it's narrative function in Alice in Wonderland, the physical act of drinking the mystery contents of the bottles, as previously mentioned, causes Alice to shrink to a minute size, allowing her entrance through the tiny curtained door. It could be suggested that her change in height is a reference to her return to an infant state, in which the fantasy of Wonderland can appear more plausible - a world in which logic and the constraints of society are no longer a concern.

 The drink also acts as a warning to reader's of the dangers of eating and drinking. Alice drinks the contents of the unidentified bottle with little regard for her own well being, her reckless behaviour a reminder of her childishness. Recent readings of the text suggest that drug use is a prominent theme, easily distinguished in this scene, a mystery liquid altering Alice's physical state. However, 'expects are sceptical, Carroll wasn't thought to have been a recreational user of opium... and the references may say more about the people making them than the author' (BBC). 

Works Cited:

BBC. “Is Alice in Wonderland Really About Drugs?” bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19254839, 20th August 2012. Web. Date Accessed: 22nd February 2015.

Carroll, Lewis. Alice in Wonderland. London: Wordsworth Editions, 2001.