Take to twelve gallons of water, a handful of each
of these Herbs : Parsley, Eglantine, Rosemary,
Strawberry-leaves, Wild-thyme, Baulme, Liver-
wort, Betony, Scabious : when the water begins to
boil, cast in the herbs : let them boil a quarter of an
hour : then strain out the herbs; and when it is al-
most cold, then put in as much of the best honey,
you can get, as will bear an Egg to the breadth of
two pence ; that is, till you can see no more of the
Egge above the water, then a two pence will cover:
Lave it and stir it till you seeallthe honey be melted;
then boil it well half an hour, at the least: skim it
well, and put in the whites of six Eggs beaten, to clari-
fie it : Then strain it into some woodden vessels ;
and when it is almost cold, put some Ale-barm into
it. And when it worketh well. Tun it into some well
seasoned vessel, where neither Ale nor Beer hath
been, for marring the colour of it. When it hath
done working, if you like it. Take a quantity of
Cloves, Nutmegs, Mace, Cinnamon, Ginger, or any
of these that you like best, and bruise them, and put
them in a boulter bag, and hang it in the vessel. Put
not too much of the Spice, because many do notlike
the taste of much Spice. If you make it at Michael-
mas, you may tap it at Christmas : but if you keep
it longer, it will be the better. It will look pure, and
drink with as much spirit as can be, and very pleasant.
TO MAKE WHITE METHEGLIN
Take Sweet-marjoram, Sweet-bryar-buds, Violet-
leaves, Strawberry-leaves, of each one handful, and
THE CLOSET OPEUjED 91
a good handful of Violet flowers (the dubble ones
are the best) broad Thyme, Borrage, Agrimony, of
each half a handful, and two or three branches of
Rosemary, The seeds of Carvi, Coriander, and Fen-
nel, of each two spoonfuls, and three or four blades
of large-mace. Boil all these ineight Gallons of run-
ning-water, three quarters of an hour. Then strain
it, and when it is but blood-warm, put in as much of
the best honey, as will make the Liquor bear an Egg
the breadth of six pence above the water. Then boil
it again as long as any scum will rise. Then set it
abroad a cooling ; and when it is almost cold, put in
half a pint of good Ale-barm ; and when it hath
wrought, till you perceive the barm to fall, then Tun
it, and let it work in the barrel, till the barm leaveth
rising, filling it up every day with some of the same
Liquor. When you stop it up, put in a bag with one
Nutmeg sliced, a little whole Cloves and Mace, a
stick of Cinnamon broken in pieces, and a grain of
good Musk. You may make this a little before
Michaelmas, and it will be fit to drink at Lent.
This is Sir Edward Bainton's Receipt, Which my
Lord of Portland (who gave it me) saith, was the
best he ever drunk.
TO MAKE A SMALL METHEGLIN
Take four Gallons of water, and set it over the fire.
Put into it,when it is warm, eight poundsof honey;
as the scum riseth,takeit clean off. When it is clear,
put into it three Nutmegs quartered ; three or four
Races of Ginger sliced ; Then let it boil a whole
hour. Then take it off the fire, and put to it two
handfuls of ground Malt ; stir it about with a round
92 SIR KENELME DIGBIS ✪ Small Metheglin
Page 66 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1910. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Take to twelve gallons of water, a handful of each of these Herbs : Parsley, Eglantine, Rosemary, Strawberry-leaves, Wild-thyme, Baulme, Liverwort, Betony, Scabious : when the water begins to boil, cast in the herbs : let them boil a quarter of an hour : then strain out the herbs; and when it is almost cold, then put in as much of the best honey, you can get, as will bear an Egg to the breadth of two pence ; that is, till you can see no more of the Egge above the water, then a two pence will cover: Lave it and stir it till you see all the honey be melted; then boil it well half an hour, at the least: skim it well, and put in the whites of six Eggs beaten, to clarifie it : Then strain it into some woodden vessels ; and when it is almost cold, put some Ale-barm into it. And when it worketh well. Tun it into some well seasoned vessel, where neither Ale nor Beer hath been, for marring the colour of it. When it hath done working, if you like it. Take a quantity of Cloves, Nutmegs, Mace, Cinnamon, Ginger, or any of these that you like best, and bruise them, and put them in a boulter bag, and hang it in the vessel. Put not too much of the Spice, because many do notlike the taste of much Spice. If you make it at Michaelmas, you may tap it at Christmas : but if you keep it longer, it will be the better. It will look pure, and drink with as much spirit as can be, and very pleasant. Take Sweet-marjoram, Sweet-bryar-buds, Violet leaves, Strawberry-leaves, of each one handful, and
a good handful of Violet flowers (the dubble ones are the best) broad Thyme, Borrage, Agrimony, of each half a handful, and two or three branches of Rosemary, The seeds of Carvi, Coriander, and Fennel, of each two spoonfuls, and three or four blades of large-mace. Boil all these in eight Gallons of running-water, three quarters of an hour. Then strain it, and when it is but blood-warm, put in as much of the best honey, as will make the Liquor bear an Egg the breadth of six pence above the water. Then boil it again as long as any scum will rise. Then set it abroad a cooling ; and when it is almost cold, put in half a pint of good Ale-barm ; and when it hath wrought, till you perceive the barm to fall, then Tun it, and let it work in the barrel, till the barm leaveth rising, filling it up every day with some of the same Liquor. When you stop it up, put in a bag with one Nutmeg sliced, a little whole Cloves and Mace, a stick of Cinnamon broken in pieces, and a grain of good Musk. You may make this a little before Michaelmas, and it will be fit to drink at Lent.
This is Sir Edward Bainton's Receipt, Which my Lord of Portland (who gave it me) saith, was the best he ever drunk.
TO MAKE A SMALL METHEGLIN Take four Gallons of water, and set it over the fire. Put into it,when it is warm, eight pounds of honey; as the scum riseth,take it clean off. When it is clear, put into it three Nutmegs quartered ; three or four Races of Ginger sliced ; Then let it boil a whole hour. Then take it off the fire, and put to it two handfuls of ground Malt ; stir it about with a round
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Small Metheglin