flipHippocras, Spiced Wine for the Meal's End
Hippocras, Spiced Wine for the Meal's End
Why this dish? Imported wine and costly spices were markers of Alice's wealth. Hippocras—wine sweetened with honey and spiced—crowned the meals of the powerful: the perfect drink to end a supper in a house as rich as hers, perhaps served in her very own Kyteler's Inn.
A red wine heated then filtered, sweetened with honey and perfumed with cinnamon, ginger, and clove. Sweet, warming, deeply spiced—the medieval ancestor of mulled wine, but drunk for its refinement.
Come, supper is ending: bring the hippocras, and fill the cups! This wine I strain through a cloth with honey, cinnamon, and ginger until it is clear and smooth as balm. Drink without fear, friend: this is no sorcery, whatever the tongues of Kilkenny may whisper—only the skill of a lady who knows how to entertain.
- •Red wine — a pitcher (base)
- •Honey — as much as needed (sweetener)
- •Cinnamon — one stick (signature spice)
- •Ginger — a pinch (spice)
- •Clove — a few (spice)
- •Grains of paradise or long pepper — a little (hot spice)
Hippocras, Spiced Wine for the Meal's End
A red wine heated then filtered, sweetened with honey and perfumed with cinnamon, ginger, and clove. Sweet, warming, deeply spiced—the medieval ancestor of mulled wine, but drunk for its refinement.
Why this dish? Imported wine and costly spices were markers of Alice's wealth. Hippocras—wine sweetened with honey and spiced—crowned the meals of the powerful: the perfect drink to end a supper in a house as rich as hers, perhaps served in her very own Kyteler's Inn.
Come, supper is ending: bring the hippocras, and fill the cups! This wine I strain through a cloth with honey, cinnamon, and ginger until it is clear and smooth as balm. Drink without fear, friend: this is no sorcery, whatever the tongues of Kilkenny may whisper—only the skill of a lady who knows how to entertain.
Ingredients (period version)
- Red wine — a pitcher (base)
- Honey — as much as needed (sweetener)
- Cinnamon — one stick (signature spice)
- Ginger — a pinch (spice)
- Clove — a few (spice)
- Grains of paradise or long pepper — a little (hot spice)
Ingredients
- Full-bodied red wine — 75 cl (base)
- Honey — 80 g (sweetener)
- Cinnamon stick — 1 (signature spice)
- Fresh ginger — 3 slices (spice)
- Cloves — 4 (spice)
- Peppercorns — 6 (hot spice)
Method
- Gently heat the wine without boiling.
- Dissolve honey in the wine, add cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and peppercorns.
- Infuse off the heat for 15-20 minutes, covered.
- Strain carefully through a fine cloth until clear.
- Serve warm in small cups.
How it was made : Hippocras is abundantly described in medieval collections (the Ménagier de Paris gives the recipe). The spiced wine was strained through a 'Hippocrates' sleeve', a conical cloth bag that gave it its name. It was the prestige drink at the end of meals among nobles and wealthy merchants.
The contemporary twist : Serve warm in small liqueur glasses with a cinnamon stick stirrer, as a medieval-inspired digestif.
Alice Kyteler · Charactorium
