flipMulsum: honeyed wine to open the banquet
Mulsum: honeyed wine to open the banquet
Why this dish? Augustus drank little and always cut his wine with water, but Roman custom required opening the meal with mulsum, wine sweetened with honey. Temperate by nature, the emperor nonetheless presided over these table rituals where mulsum launched the cena; he allowed himself a light cup, faithful to his famous moderation.
A white wine sweetened with honey and lightly perfumed, served chilled at the start of the meal to whet the appetite. Sweet, fragrant, light: the aperitif of ancient Rome, tempered with water in the manner of Augustus.
They say I drink less than any man of my rank, and they speak true: three cups suffice me, and I drown them with more water than is reasonable. But no one could open a cena worthy of the name without this mulsum, this wine made pleasant by honey, which the ancients already served to our fathers. Pour it cool, mix it with water from a pure spring, and drink slowly: the table is not a battlefield to be rushed. To your health, and to the peace of Rome.
- •White wine (like Raetian wine, favored by Augustus) — a pitcher (base)
- •Honey — a good portion (sweetness)
- •Spring water — as needed (to cut the wine)
Mulsum: honeyed wine to open the banquet
A white wine sweetened with honey and lightly perfumed, served chilled at the start of the meal to whet the appetite. Sweet, fragrant, light: the aperitif of ancient Rome, tempered with water in the manner of Augustus.
Why this dish? Augustus drank little and always cut his wine with water, but Roman custom required opening the meal with mulsum, wine sweetened with honey. Temperate by nature, the emperor nonetheless presided over these table rituals where mulsum launched the cena; he allowed himself a light cup, faithful to his famous moderation.
They say I drink less than any man of my rank, and they speak true: three cups suffice me, and I drown them with more water than is reasonable. But no one could open a cena worthy of the name without this mulsum, this wine made pleasant by honey, which the ancients already served to our fathers. Pour it cool, mix it with water from a pure spring, and drink slowly: the table is not a battlefield to be rushed. To your health, and to the peace of Rome.
Ingredients (period version)
- White wine (like Raetian wine, favored by Augustus) — a pitcher (base)
- Honey — a good portion (sweetness)
- Spring water — as needed (to cut the wine)
Ingredients
- Dry, fruity white wine — 75 cl (base)
- Mild liquid honey (acacia) — 100 to 120 g (sweetness)
- Cold water — to taste when serving (to cut the wine)
Method
- Slightly warm a glass of wine and dissolve all the honey in it, stirring until fully dissolved.
- Pour this honeyed wine back into the rest of the bottle and mix.
- Let it rest in a cool place for at least 2 hours so the flavors meld.
- Serve chilled, and cut each cup with a little cold water in the manner of Augustus.
How it was made : Mulsum (wine + honey) traditionally opened Roman meals and was distinct from conditum, which was more heavily spiced. Cato and the agronomists give proportions; it was prepared cold by beating quality honey into the wine. Romans almost always drank their wine cut with water, undiluted wine being considered barbaric.
The contemporary twist : Served in a small frosted glass with a splash of sparkling water, it becomes an 'ancient spritz' that can be made non-alcoholic by replacing part of the wine with white grape juice.
Sources : Cato the Elder, *De agricultura* (preparation of honeyed wines) · Suetonius, *Life of Augustus*, § 77 (sobriety in drink)
Augustus · Charactorium
