Herbal

Spirit of wine tasting of what vegetable you please #2

Spirit of wine tasting of what vegetable you please — illustration
Illustration, a stand-in until there's a photo of the real thing.

Source Sir Hugh Plat, Delightes for Ladies (Humfrey Lownes, London 1609) · original

Ingredients

  • Rosemarie
  • Sage
  • sweet Fennel seeds
  • Marjerom
  • Lemmon or Orenge pils, &c.
  • spirits of wine

Method

  1. Macerate Rosemarie, Sage, sweet Fennel seeds, Marjerom, Lemmon or Orenge pils, &c. in spirits of wine a daie or two, and then distill it over againe,
  2. unless you had rather have it in his proper colour: for so you shall have it upon the first infusion without any farther distillation: and some young Alchymists doe hold these for the true spirits of vegetables.

Notes

  • Explicitly permits the undistilled infusion, which is the model for modern cordial redactions.

This recipe predates 1700 and is quoted from its original printed source. Spelling is left exactly as printed.