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DRINKS.
^.
The
soberest
head
doth
once
a
day
stand
needful
of
a
guideio
If
he
to
banquet
bid
his
friends,
he
will
not
shriiiic
On
them
at
dinner
to
bestow
a
dozen
kinds
of
driji]^,
Such
liquor
as
they
have,
and
as
the
couptry
g^ives;;
But
chiefly
two,
one
called
kwas,
whereby
the
Mousike
lives
Small
ware
and
waterlike,
but
somewhat
tart
in
trtste
The
rest
is
me^id,
of
honey
made,
wherewith
their
lips
they
baste,"
Stopes
is
of
opinion
thai
the
finest
cider
is
made,
n6t
in
the
west,
as
has
been
commonly
asserted,
but
in
the
east of
England.
This
authority
seems
particularly
to
favour
the
Ribston
pippins
of
Norfolk.
'*
Worcester,"
says
Macaulay,
in
his
History
of
England,
ch.
iii.,
''
is
the
queen
of
the
cider
land
;
but
Oevon
and
Somerset,
Gloucester
and
Norfolk,
might
dispute
the
title.
To
make
good
cider
the
apples
should
"be
quite
ripe,
as
the
amount
of
sugar
in
ripe
apples
is
iro;
in
unripe
apples,
4*9;
in
over-ripe
apples,
7*95.
The
fermentation
should
proceed
slowly.
Brande
says
that
the strongest
cider
contains,
in
100
volumes,
9*87 of
alcohol
of
92
per
cent
;
the
weakest,
5*21.
By
distillation,
cider
produces
a
good
spirit;
but
it
is
seldom
converted
to
that
purpose
in
consequence
of
its
acidity,
which,
however,
is
greatly
remedied
by
rectification.
Much
cider
is
distilled
in
Normandy,
and
sent
to
this
country
under
the
name
of
arrack^
or
some
other
foreign
spirit,
according
to
its
fiavour.
To
the
Nor-
mans
the
invention
of
this
liquor
has
been
attributed.
They
are
also
said
to
have
received
it
from
the
Moors,
Whitaker
{Hist.
Manchester,
i.
321)
says
this
drink
was
introduced
into
this
country
by
the
Romans
;
and
H