Hippocras — Clarified Spiced Wine
A red wine gently heated with sugar and a bouquet of noble spices — cinnamon, ginger, cloves, grains of paradise — then filtered until clear and fragrant. Served warm or cool, it is the aromatic digestif of the banquet.
A red wine gently heated with sugar and a bouquet of noble spices — cinnamon, ginger, cloves, grains of paradise — then filtered until clear and fragrant. Served warm or cool, it is the aromatic digestif of the banquet.
When the marchpanes appear and the hall is lit with candles, have Us bring the hippocras, that wine which is wedded to spices as a kingdom is wedded to its alliances. Mix with good wine the sugar, cinnamon and ginger, let them embrace for an hour, then strain all through the sleeve until it is clear as ruby. We take it in small sips, lengthened with water when the blood heats, for a queen must keep a clear mind until the last curtsy. Drink to Our health, but with measure.
- •Good red wine — a pitcher (base)
- •Sugar — a generous hand (prestige sweetness)
- •Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, grains of paradise — to taste (noble spices)
Hippocras — Clarified Spiced Wine
A red wine gently heated with sugar and a bouquet of noble spices — cinnamon, ginger, cloves, grains of paradise — then filtered until clear and fragrant. Served warm or cool, it is the aromatic digestif of the banquet.
Why this dish? They say Elizabeth drank her wine cut with water; but at the end-of-service banquets, hippocras — sweet wine long spiced and filtered through the 'hippocras sleeve' — accompanied the marchpane and comfits. It was the ceremonial drink that sealed great Elizabethan tables.
When the marchpanes appear and the hall is lit with candles, have Us bring the hippocras, that wine which is wedded to spices as a kingdom is wedded to its alliances. Mix with good wine the sugar, cinnamon and ginger, let them embrace for an hour, then strain all through the sleeve until it is clear as ruby. We take it in small sips, lengthened with water when the blood heats, for a queen must keep a clear mind until the last curtsy. Drink to Our health, but with measure.
Ingredients (period version)
- Good red wine — a pitcher (base)
- Sugar — a generous hand (prestige sweetness)
- Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, grains of paradise — to taste (noble spices)
Ingredients
- Full-bodied red wine — 75 cl (1 bottle) (base)
- Sugar — 80 to 100 g (sweetness)
- Cinnamon stick — 1 (spice)
- Fresh ginger — 4 thin slices (spice)
- Cloves — 4 (spice)
- Grains of paradise (or cracked black pepper) — 1/2 tsp (hot spice)
- Grated nutmeg — 1 pinch (mild spice)
Method
- Pour the wine into a saucepan with the sugar and heat gently without boiling, until the sugar dissolves.
- Add all the spices, remove from heat, cover, and let infuse for 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on desired intensity.
- Strain carefully through a fine muslin (the 'sleeve') until the liquid is clear.
- Serve warm in small goblets, or let cool; add a little water for a lighter version.
How it was made : Hippocras takes its name from the 'sleeve of Hippocrates', the conical cloth bag used to filter it. Widespread from the late Middle Ages through the Tudor period, it was made either cold by maceration or hot, always heavily sweetened and spiced — a luxury made possible only by the spice trade.
The contemporary twist : Served chilled in small glasses with a spiced sugar rim, hippocras becomes an elegant winter aperitif with a 'queen's mulled wine' vibe.
Sources : The Good Huswifes Jewell, Thomas Dawson, 1585 · Le Ménagier de Paris, anonymous, circa 1393 (reference hypocras recipe)
Elizabeth I · Charactorium