Illustration — a stand-in until there's a photo of the real thing.
Source John French, The Art of Distillation, London, 1651 — original
Ingredients
a gallon of gascoigne wine
a dram each of ginger, galganal, cinnamon, nutmeg, grains, aniseed, fennel seeds, carroway seeds
a handful each of sage, red mints, red roses, thyme, pellitory, rosemary, wild thyme, chamomile, and lavender
Method
Take a gallon of gascoigne wine; a dram each of ginger, galganal, cinnamon, nutmeg, grains, aniseed, fennel seeds, carroway seeds; a handful each of sage, red mints, red roses, thyme, pellitory, rosemary, wild thyme, chamomile, and lavender.
Beat the spices small and bruise the herbs, letting them macerate 12 hours, stirring them now and then.
Distill them by an alembic or copper still with its refrigeratory.
Keep the first pint by itself, and the second by itself.
Note that the first pint will be hotter, but the second the stronger of the ingredients. This water is well known to comfort all the principal parts.
Notes
Notes the second draw carries more ingredient flavour than the first.
This recipe predates 1700 and is quoted from its original printed source. Spelling is left exactly as printed.
