Hypocras of Lusignan
A wine perfumed with cinnamon, ginger, grains of paradise, and clove, sweetened with honey or sugar, filtered until clear. The ceremonial drink that sealed great tables.
A wine perfumed with cinnamon, ginger, grains of paradise, and clove, sweetened with honey or sugar, filtered until clear. The ceremonial drink that sealed great tables.
Before the curfew sounds and I slip away, take this cup of hypocras: it is the honor I do my guests. It has been passed many times through the cloth until clear as ruby; cinnamon, ginger, and grains of paradise dance in it, and the honey drives away the harshness. Sip it slowly with a dragée — it warms the belly and loosens tongues. But do not ask me why, come Saturday, I always decline to drink at your table.
- •Good wine — a full pint (base)
- •Honey or sugar — to taste (sweetness)
- •Cinnamon — one stick (master spice)
- •Ginger — a little (warmth)
- •Grains of paradise (melegueta pepper) — a pinch (aromatic heat)
- •Clove — a few (perfume)
Hypocras of Lusignan
A wine perfumed with cinnamon, ginger, grains of paradise, and clove, sweetened with honey or sugar, filtered until clear. The ceremonial drink that sealed great tables.
Why this dish? At the wedding of Mélusine and Raymondin, legend describes lavish banquets. The noble feast concluded with hypocras, a sweet spiced wine drunk with dragées to aid digestion and honor distinguished guests.
Before the curfew sounds and I slip away, take this cup of hypocras: it is the honor I do my guests. It has been passed many times through the cloth until clear as ruby; cinnamon, ginger, and grains of paradise dance in it, and the honey drives away the harshness. Sip it slowly with a dragée — it warms the belly and loosens tongues. But do not ask me why, come Saturday, I always decline to drink at your table.
Ingredients (period version)
- Good wine — a full pint (base)
- Honey or sugar — to taste (sweetness)
- Cinnamon — one stick (master spice)
- Ginger — a little (warmth)
- Grains of paradise (melegueta pepper) — a pinch (aromatic heat)
- Clove — a few (perfume)
Ingredients
- Full-bodied red wine (or sweet white) — 75 cl (base)
- Honey — 100 g (or sugar) (sweetness)
- Cinnamon stick — 1 (spice)
- Fresh ginger — 2 slices (warmth)
- Grains of paradise (or substitute pepper + cardamom) — 1/2 tsp (heat)
- Cloves — 3 (perfume)
Method
- Dissolve the honey in the wine slightly warmed (do not boil, to preserve alcohol and aromas).
- Add all crushed spices and infuse cold for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
- Filter several times through a fine cloth (the famous 'Hippocrates' sleeve') until clear.
- Serve chilled or slightly cold, in small quantities, at the end of the meal.
How it was made : Hypocras takes its name from Hippocrates, alluding to the cloth sleeve used for filtering. The *Ménagier de Paris* gives several recipes: wine, sugar or honey, cinnamon, ginger, grains of paradise. A prestige drink due to its costly spices, it closed banquets alongside chamber spices and dragées. It was never boiled.
The contemporary twist : Non-alcoholic version with grape juice and spice infusion, served in a pewter goblet; a strip of bitter orange zest for the medieval note.
Sources : Le Ménagier de Paris (v. 1393) · Le Viandier de Taillevent (XIVe s.)
Melusine · Charactorium