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DRINKS ANCIENT AND MODERN 33
half an hour, then strain it out, and to every gallon
of this liquor—ugh—put three pounds of honey ;
boil it two hours, and scum it well, and when 'tis
cold pour it off and tun it into a vessel, or such
cask as is fit for it; keep it a year in the vessel, and
then bottle it. 'Tis a very good sack.
And the butler who would place this on my
table would get a good sack, too. Mustard-and-
water is cheaper and swifter.
Canary and Rhenish were also drunk freely
during the Elizabethan period — the English
Sack recipe belongs to the Charles I. period—
and long before that usquebaugh, or whisky in
all its original sin, was in demand, although the
Highlanders were no dabs at distillation until the
sixteenth century. Usquebaugh, by the way, is
derived from the old Gaelic Uisge-beatha^
" Water of Life," and under this name both Irish
and Scotch whisky were originally known.
But this simple water of life was not tasty
enough for some palates, therefore vile men
invented a special blend for the benefit of the
wealthy, and those who had not much work to
do next morning.
To 7Hake Usquebaugh.
To three gallons of brandy put four ounces of
aniseeds bruised; the next day distil it in a cold
still pasted up ; then scrape four ounces of licorice,
and pound it in a mortar, dry it in an iron pan,
do not burn it, put it in the bottle to your distill'd
water, and let it stand ten days. Then take out
the licorice, and to every six quarts of the_ spirits
D