flipWine cut with honey and thyme — the general's cup
Wine cut with honey and thyme — the general's cup
Why this dish? Soldiers always drank wine cut with water, never pure—drinking it neat was considered barbaric. Sweetened with honey and scented with hill thyme, it quenched thirst without intoxicating and sanitized the often murky water of bivouacs. It was the drink of Hannibal's army, from foot soldier to general.
Wine diluted with water, sweetened with a spoonful of honey, and infused with thyme: a sweet-tart drink, safe to consume, that accompanied every meal in the Punic camp.
Never drink your wine neat, soldier—that is the way of barbarians, and a drunken man cannot hold the line. At my table as at the bivouac, we mix wine with water, melt in a drop of honey, and toss in the thyme of our hills. Thus the dubious water of foreign springs becomes drinkable, and a man stays sharp of mind. Raise your cup to Baal Hammon before battle, and may your hand not tremble tomorrow.
- •Wine — one measure (base)
- •Water — two to three measures (dilution)
- •Honey — one spoonful (sweetness)
- •Fresh thyme — a sprig (flavor)
Wine cut with honey and thyme — the general's cup
Wine diluted with water, sweetened with a spoonful of honey, and infused with thyme: a sweet-tart drink, safe to consume, that accompanied every meal in the Punic camp.
Why this dish? Soldiers always drank wine cut with water, never pure—drinking it neat was considered barbaric. Sweetened with honey and scented with hill thyme, it quenched thirst without intoxicating and sanitized the often murky water of bivouacs. It was the drink of Hannibal's army, from foot soldier to general.
Never drink your wine neat, soldier—that is the way of barbarians, and a drunken man cannot hold the line. At my table as at the bivouac, we mix wine with water, melt in a drop of honey, and toss in the thyme of our hills. Thus the dubious water of foreign springs becomes drinkable, and a man stays sharp of mind. Raise your cup to Baal Hammon before battle, and may your hand not tremble tomorrow.
Ingredients (period version)
- Wine — one measure (base)
- Water — two to three measures (dilution)
- Honey — one spoonful (sweetness)
- Fresh thyme — a sprig (flavor)
Ingredients
- Red wine (or grape juice for non-alcoholic version) — 20 cl (base)
- Water (cold or warm) — 40 to 50 cl (dilution)
- Honey — 1 to 2 tsp (sweetness)
- Fresh thyme — 2 sprigs (flavor)
Method
- Warm a little water and dissolve the honey in it.
- Add the thyme sprigs and let infuse for 5 minutes, then remove the thyme.
- Mix the wine and the honeyed water (about 1 part wine to 2 to 3 parts water).
- Serve cool in summer, slightly warm in winter, in a cup.
- For children or a family version, replace wine with grape juice.
How it was made : In the ancient Mediterranean, drinking wine neat (*merum*) was considered excessive, even barbaric: it was systematically cut with water, often 1 part wine to 2 or 3 of water. Sweetening with honey (wine *mulsum*) and flavoring with herbs was common. Beyond taste, diluting wine in drinking water sanitized it—a vital habit for armies on the march, exposed to water of uncertain quality.
The contemporary twist : Serve it over ice in summer as an "ancient spritz" with thyme, or in a non-alcoholic version with grape juice for the whole family at the table.
Sources : Athenaeus of Naucratis, The Deipnosophists (customs of diluted wine) · Pliny the Elder, Natural History, book XIV (wines and mulsum) · Andrew Dalby, Food in the Ancient World from A to Z (2003)
Hannibal Barca · Charactorium
