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THE FLOWING BOWL
from the Spanish seco^ and the French sec^ " dry."
Canary (a sort of white Madeira) was often the
wine meant; and in old churchwarden's accounts
the word sack frequently occurs, as used as a
communion wine, i.e. Madeira and port mixed.
That sack was imported from Spain is certain,
and it was first of all sold, in England, in
apothecaries' shops, as a cordial medicine. The
Excise authorities of the time, if there were any,
were in all probability not quite as busy as at the
present day.
The name Canary was formerly applied to
dry, white wines, which were frequently seasoned
with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, roasted apples,
and eggs.
Sack Posset
[Sir Walter Raleigh's Recipe.]
Boil together half a pint of sherry and half a pint
of ale, and add gradually a quart of boiling cream or
milk. Sweeten the mixture well, and flavour with
grated nutmeg. Put into a heated dish, cover, and
stand by the fire for two or three hours.
And if you can see the double ox-fences in
Northamptonshire next morning, there is not
much the matter with your liver.
Here is the method of manufacturing
English Sack.,
which must be a poor, ill-favoured sort of drink.
It was also known as Saragossa wine.
To every quart of water put a sprig of rue, and
to every gallon a handful of fennel-roots, boil these