Hypocras with claret wine
A light red wine (claret) cold-infused with cinnamon, ginger, and sugar, then filtered until clear and fragrant. Sweet, warmly spiced, it was the noble digestif of the 16th century.
A light red wine (claret) cold-infused with cinnamon, ginger, and sugar, then filtered until clear and fragrant. Sweet, warmly spiced, it was the noble digestif of the 16th century.
Avant que vous ne preniez congé, Monsieur, buvons l'hypocras, ainsi qu'il sied entre gens d'honneur. Je prends de mon vin clairet, j'y jette cannelle, gingembre et bon sucre, et je laisse le tout s'embrasser une nuit durant. Au matin, je le coule par la chausse, plusieurs fois, jusqu'à ce qu'il soit clair comme rubis. On le boit debout, à la santé de la compagnie — et Dieu veuille qu'on le boive avec mesure, car le vin réjouit le cœur mais perd l'imprudent.
- •Claret wine (light red) — a pot (base)
- •Cinnamon stick — a good piece (master spice)
- •Ginger — a root in pieces (spice)
- •Sugar — as needed (sweetness)
- •Grains of paradise or cloves — a few (additional spice)
Hypocras with claret wine
A light red wine (claret) cold-infused with cinnamon, ginger, and sugar, then filtered until clear and fragrant. Sweet, warmly spiced, it was the noble digestif of the 16th century.
Why this dish? When the meal was over, guests stood up and drank hypocras standing, the *boute-hors* that dismissed them. For a man of regional wine like Mornay, it was the final show of largesse: the most expensive spices from the house were poured into it.
Avant que vous ne preniez congé, Monsieur, buvons l'hypocras, ainsi qu'il sied entre gens d'honneur. Je prends de mon vin clairet, j'y jette cannelle, gingembre et bon sucre, et je laisse le tout s'embrasser une nuit durant. Au matin, je le coule par la chausse, plusieurs fois, jusqu'à ce qu'il soit clair comme rubis. On le boit debout, à la santé de la compagnie — et Dieu veuille qu'on le boive avec mesure, car le vin réjouit le cœur mais perd l'imprudent.
Ingredients (period version)
- Claret wine (light red) — a pot (base)
- Cinnamon stick — a good piece (master spice)
- Ginger — a root in pieces (spice)
- Sugar — as needed (sweetness)
- Grains of paradise or cloves — a few (additional spice)
Ingredients
- Light red wine (gamay, pinot noir) — 75 cl (base)
- Cinnamon stick — 1 large stick (master spice)
- Fresh ginger — 20 g, sliced (spice)
- Sugar — 80–100 g (sweetness)
- Cloves — 2 (additional spice)
Method
- Pour the wine into a large container; add sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
- Stir to dissolve sugar, cover, and let infuse cold for at least 12 hours (overnight).
- Filter several times through a fine cloth (the *chausse d'hypocras*) until perfectly clear.
- Taste and adjust sugar; serve chilled or at room temperature, in small amounts.
How it was made : Hypocras (from the corrupted name of Hippocrates) is prepared by cold infusion then filtration through a *chausse*, a conical cloth bag. It closed feasts as a digestif and marked the end of the meal. Sugar, still expensive, and the abundance of spices made it a prestige drink reserved for wealthy tables.
The contemporary twist : Served chilled in small liqueur glasses, hypocras becomes an original spiced aperitif — the direct ancestor of mulled wine, but drunk cold and clear.
Charles de Mornay · Charactorium
