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by
Willow Ragan
© 2000
Cordials and Elixirs / Bibliography
 mong the ancient tribes of Europe, the Cup, the Cauldron, their contents and by association the Well and the Sea or Ocean, have a long history of being repositories of wisdom, knowledge, plenty, health, long-life and immortality.
Generally alcoholic in nature the contents of horn or cup were more often than not adulterated by the addition of herbs, nuts, berries, seeds, bark, and aromatic resinous gums. Whether these additions were for flavoring, medicinal, magical or a combination of purposes is difficult to determine. Though we have no written record of early practice , grave goods found on the continent and the islands indicate that it was fairly common among the Celtic and Norse people. When we think of ancient drink, what usually first comes to mind is mead. The mead we think of as honey wine is only one of a variety of honey based drinks found throughout Europe. It is documented that much like the word "corn" being used for a variety of grains, the word "mead" was used to refer to ale, beer as well as honey "wine". There are a variety of honey brews, each having different name depending on the additive. If it contains fruit, this is melomel, when made specifically with mulberries it is called morat, if it contains spices, herbs; metheglin, grapes; pyment, apple cider; cyser, malt; braggot, when mixed with Attar of Rose (rose water) it is called rhodomel. Then there is the more potent also "sack" mead made with more honey than the others. Adding medicinal herbs during the brewing process was wide spread. Shades of Mary Poppins "a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down" The early Greek and Roman physicians brewed mead with various herbs to produce medicinal drink, this branch of mead became known as Hippocrass. The Welsh added an ounce of each of 6-7 herbs per gallon and called this brew Metheglin a term derived from the Welsh word for medicine. In medicinal herbalism, alcohol is considered the best solvent for making liquid preparations. A solvent is any liquid used in preparation of medicines; alcohol, water, vinegar and glycerin and oil are the basic solvents. Alcohol is the most popular solvent because it dissolves nearly all the constituents of the herbs, and the final product has a long life span. A simple tincture can easily be made by steeping herbs in vodka for 2-4 weeks. If properly stored in a cool dry place in an opaque glass jar the tincture can have a shelf life of up to 10 years. Seeing as this articles deals with alcoholic beverages rather than purely medicinal tinctures, the "practical" section of this article is devoted to methods of adding plants to the basic brew. Because most people are not equipped to do home brewing we'll be approaching it from the "tincturing" method in which the herbs are steeped in the already brewed liquid. Elixirs and Cordials are methods of steeping herbs in alcohol, both of which can be applied to medicinal tonics as well as ritual drinks. |
Cordials and Elixirs / Bibliography
