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CUPS
AND
THEIR
CUSTOMS.
19
Hypocras,
however,
is
mentioned
as
early
as
the
]4th
century.
From
this
period
we
select
our
champion
of
compound
drinks
in
no
less
a
personage
than
the
noblest
courtier
of
Queen
Bess
;
for,
among
other
legacies
of
price,
Sir
Walter
Raleigh
has
handed
down
to
us
a
recipe
for
^^
Cordial
Water/^
which,
in
its
simplicity
and
good-
ness,
stands
alone
among
the
compounds
of
the
age.
"
Take,^^
says
he,
^^
a
gallon
of
strawberries
and
put
them
into
a
pint
of
aqua
vitse
;
let
them
stand
four
days,
then
strain
them
gently
off,
and
sweeten
the
liquor
as
it
pleaseth
thee.^^
This
beverage,
though
somewhat
too
potent
for
modern
palates,
may,
by
proper
dilution,
be
rendered
no
unworthy
cup
even
in
the
present
age.
From
the
same
noble
hand
we
get
a
recipe
for
"
Sack
Posset,^^
which
full
well
shows
us
propriety
of
taste
in
its
compounder.
"
Boil
a
quart
of
cream, with
quantum
sufficit
of
sugar,
mace,
and
nutmeg
;
take
half
a
pint
of
sack,
and
the
same
quantity
of
ale,
and
boil
them
well
together,
adding
sugar
;
these,
being
boiled
separately,
are
now
to
be
added.
Heat
a
pewter
dish
very
hot,
and
cover
your
basin
with
it,
and
let
it
stand
by
the
fire
for
two
or
three
hours
.^^
With
regard
to
wines,
we
find in
the
beginning
of
the
16th
century
the
demand
for
Malmsey
was
small
;
and
in
1531
we
hear
^^Sack^^
first
spoken
of,
that
being
the
name
applied
to
the
vintages
of
Candia,
Cyprus,
and
Spain.
Shakspeare
pronounced
Malmsey
to
be
^^
ful-
som,^^
and
bestowed
all
his
praises
on
^^
fertil
sherries
j^^
and
when
Shakspeare
makes
use
of
the
word
Sack,
he
evidently
means
by
it
a
superior
class
of
wine.
Thus,