A red or white wine sweetened with sugar and infused with noble spices—cinnamon, ginger, cloves—then clarified through a felt bag, the "sleeve of Hippocrates" from which it takes its name.

Why this dish? Hippocras closed the banquet at court, served with wafers. Elizabeth drank her wine cut with water and greatly enjoyed the fashionable Eastern spices; this sweet, cinnamoned wine was the liquid emblem of Elizabethan refinement.

When the banquet draws to a close, hippocras is presented to Us, and no wine better befits a queen. Sugar is melted in it, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves from the Indies are thrown in, then it is poured many times through the cloth sleeve until it is clear as ruby. I take it light, lengthened with a little water, as befits one who would keep a sharp wit. Drink a cup with a wafer, and you shall know the taste of Our court.

How it was made : Hippocras was made by macerating sweetened, spiced wine, then repeatedly filtering it through a conical felt bag called the "sleeve of Hippocrates" (hence its name). It was traditionally served at the end of the meal with wafers.

The contemporary twist : Non-alcoholic version for families: replace wine with red grape juice and a splash of pomegranate juice, same spices.

Sources : The Good Huswifes Jewell, 1585 · Gervase Markham, The English Huswife, 1615

Elizabeth I of England · Charactorium