Rare Medieval Christmas Drink – The Taste Was Unexpected

#wine #winetasting

We're bringing back Hippocras, a historical drink that once represented power and wealth, just in time for Christmas. This spiced wine, featuring cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and rosemary, is a perfect addition to your warm drinks for winter collection. Join me as we walk through this medieval wine recipe, that's an ideal choice for your holiday drink recipes.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
1:06 Spiced Wine Origins
2:44 The rise of Hippocras
5:11 Ingredients List and Making Hippocras
9:26 Tasting
11:01 Final Thoughts

HISTORICAL HIPPOCRAS RECIPE (MARKHAM, 1615)
Yield: About 1.9 liters (serves a holiday table)

Ingredients
Red wine: 64 oz / 1.9 L
(Historically “claret” – a light Bordeaux-style red)
Cinnamon: 2 oz / 56 g
Ginger: ½ oz / 14 g
Whole cloves: 9 cloves
Black peppercorns: 6 (less is more!)
Whole nutmeg: 1 crushed
Rosemary flowers: small handful
(If unavailable, a very small rosemary sprig can substitute)
Sugar: 1 lb / 454 g

Method
Lightly bruise the whole spices to release aroma. Do not grind.
Combine wine, spices, and sugar in a large vessel.
Stir until the sugar begins to dissolve.
Cover and let infuse cold for at least 12 hours (overnight).
Strain through cloth or fine filter until clear.
Serve cool or at cellar temperature.


If you make this for Christmas, let me know:
What wine did you use?
Did you keep it cold or gently warm it?
Would you serve this instead of mulled wine?

Drop a comment, hit like, and subscribe if you want more historically accurate drinks you can actually serve.

Suite (Englesa, Ist uns ein Kindlein geboren, Chorea, Intrada, Saltarella, Chorea II., Ontermezzo, Curranta, Dimmi amore, Finale)
Nicolaus Schmall von Lebendorf