The way of making is thus. She boileth the honey with Spring-water, as I do, till it be cleer scumed; then to every Gallon of Honey, put in a pound or two of good Raisins of the Sun; boil them well, and till the Liquor bear an Egge. Then pour it into a Cowl or Tub to cool. In about 24 hours it will be cool enough to put the yest to it, being onely Lukewarm: which do thus: spread yest upon a large hot tost, and lay it upon the top of the Liquor, and cover the Tub well, first with a sheet, then with coverlets, that it may work well. When it is wrought up to it's height, before it begin to sink, put it into your barrel, letting it run through a loose open strainer, to sever the Raisins and dregs from it. Stop it up close, and after it hath been thus eight or ten days, draw it into bottles, and into every bottle put a cod of Cardamoms, having first a little bruised them as they lie in the cod; and opening the cod a little, that the Liquor may search into it. Stop your bottles close, and after three or four moneths you may drink, and it will be very pleasant and quick, and look like white wine.
ANOTHER METHEGLIN
In every three Gallons of water, boil Rosemary, Liverwort, Balm, ana, half a handful, and Cowslips two handfuls. When the water hath sufficiently drawn out the vertue of the herbs, pour all into a Tub, and let it stand all night. Then strain it. And to every three Gallons of the clear Liquor (or 2-1/2, if you will have your drink stronger) put one Gallon of honey, and boil it, till it bear an Egge, scuming it till no more scum will rise: which to make rise the better, put in now and then a Porrenger full of cold water. Then pour it into a Tub, and let it stand to cool, till it be blood warm, and then put by degrees a Pint of Ale-yest to it, to make it work. So let it stand three days very close covered. Then skim off the yest, and put it into a seasoned barrel; but stop it not up close, till it have done hissing. Then either stop it very close, if you will keep it in the barrel, or draw it into bottles. Put into this proportion, Ginger sliced, Nutmegs broken, ana, one ounce, Cinamon bruised half an ounce in a bag, which hang in the bung with a stone in it to make it sink. You may add, if you please, to this proportion of water, or one Gallon more, two handfuls of Sweet-bryar-leaves, and one of Betony.
MR. PIERCE'S EXCELLENT WHITE METHEGLIN
In a Copper, that holdeth conveniently three hogsheads, or near so much, boil the best water, (as full as is fitting). As soon as it boileth well and high, put to it four handfuls of Sweet-bryar-leaves, as much of Eye-bright: two handfuls of Rosemary, as much of Sweet-Marjoram, and one of Broad-thyme. Let them boil a quarter of an hour (He letteth them boil no longer, to preserve the colour of the Metheglin pale) then scum away the herbs, scuming also the water clear. Then lade out the water, (letting it run through a Ranch-Sieve) into a wide open vessel, or large Vat to cool, leaving the settlement and dregs. (He often leaves out the Eye-bright and Thyme, when he provideth chiefly for the pure tast; though the Eye-bright hurts it but little.) When it is blood-warm, put the honey to it, about one part, to four of water; but because this doth not determine the proportions exactly (for some honey will make it stronger then other) you must do that by bearing up an Egge. But first, lave and scoop your mixture exceedingly, (at least an hour) that the honey be not onely perfectly dissolved, but uniformly mixed throughout the water. Then take out some of it in a great Woodden bowl or pail, and put a good number, (ten or twelve) New-laid-eggs into it, and as round ones as may be; For long ones will deceive you in the swiming; and stale ones, being lighter then new, will emerge out of the Liquor, the breadth of a sixpence, when new ones will not a groats-breadth. Therefore you take many, that you make a medium of their several emergings; unless you be certain, that they which you use, are immediately then laid and very round. The rule is, that a Groats-breadth (or rather but a threepence) of the Egg-shel must Swim above the Liquor; which then put again into your Copper to boil. It will be some while, before it boil, (peradventure a goodquarter of an hour) but all that while scum will rise, which skim away still as it riseth; and it should be clear scummed by then it boileth: which as soon as it doth, turn up an hour Glass, and let it boil well a good hour. A good quarter before the hour is out, put to it a pound of White-Ginger beaten exceedingly small and searsed (which will sever all the skins and course parts from the fine) which having boiled a quarter of an hour, so to make up the whole hour of boiling, pour out the Liquor into wide open Vats to cool. When it is quite cold, put a pottle of New-ale-barm into a Pipe or Butt, standing endwise with his head out, and pour upon it a Pail-full of your cool Liquor out of one of the Vats; which falling from high upon it with force, will break and dissipate the barm into atoms, and mix it with the Liquor. Pour immediately another pail-ful to that, continuing to do so, till all the Liquor be in. Which by this time and this course will be uniformly mixed with the barm, and begin to work. Yet scoop and lade it well a while, to make the mixtion more perfect, and set the working well on foot. Then cover your But-head with a sheet onely in Summer, but blankets in Winter; and let your Liquor work about 24 hours or more. The measure of that is, till the barm (which is raised to a great head) beginneth a little to fall. Then presently scum of the thick head of the barm, but take not all away so scrupulously, but that there may remain a little white froth upon the face of the Liquor. Which scoop and lade strongly, mingling all to the bottom, that this little remaining barm may by this agitation be mixed a new with the whole. Then immediately Tun this Liquor into two hogsheads that have served for Spanish-wine (be sure to fill them quite full) and there let it work two or three days; that is to say, till you see that all the feculent substance is wrought out, and that what runneth out, beginneth to be clear, though a little whitish or frothy on the upperside of the stream that runs down along the outside of the hogshead. (If there should be a little more then to fill two hogsheads, put it in a Rundlet by it self.) Then take some very strong firm Paper, and wet it on one side with some of the barm that works out, and lay that side over the bung to cover it close. The barm will make it stick fast to the hogshead. This covering will serve for a moneth or two. Then stop it close with strong Cork fitted to the hole, with a linnen about it, to press it fast in: But let a little vent with a peg in it be made in hogshead, in some fit place above. This may be fit to broach in five or six moneths; but three weeks or a moneth before you do so, put into each hogshead half an ounce of Cinnamon; and two ounces of Cloves beaten into most subtile powder. (Sometimes he leaves out the Cloves) which will give it a most pleasant flavor; and they (as the Ginger did) sink down to the bottome and never trouble the Liquor. If they be put in long before (much more if they be boiled) they loose all their taste and Spirits entirely. This will last very well half a year drawing. But if you stay broaching it a year, and then draw it into bottles, it will keep admirable good three or four years, growing to be much better, then when broached at six months end. It will be purer, if you first boil the water by it self, then let it settle 24 hours; and pour the clear from the earthy sediment, which will be great, and dissolve your honey in that. You may Aromatise it with Ambergreece or Musk, or both (if you like them) by dissolving a very few Pastils in a Runlet of this Liquor, when you draw it into little vessels, (as He useth to do after five or six moneths) or with a few drops of the Extract of them. This Metheglin is a great Balsom and strengthener of the Viscera; is excellent in colds and coughs and consumptions. For which last they use to burn it (like wine) or rather onely heat it. Then dissolve the yolk of an Egge or two in a Pint of it, and some fresh Butter, and drink it warm in the morning fasting. As it comes from the Barrel or Bottle, it is used to be drunk a large draught (without any alteration or admixtion, with a toste early in the morning (eating the toste) when they intend to dine late. Consider of making Metheglin thus with purified rain water (of the Æquinoxe) or Dew.
The handfuls of Herbs, are natural large handfuls (as much as you can take up in your hand) not Apothecaries handfuls, which are much less. If a pottle of Barm do not make it work enough to your mind, you may put in a little more. Discretion and Experience must regulate that.
You may make small Meathe the same way, putting but half the proportion of honey or less. But then after three weeks or a months barrelling, you must bottle it.
AN EXCELLENT WAY TO MAKE METHEGLIN, CALLED THE LIQUOR OF LIFE, WITH THESE FOLLOWING INGREDIENTS
Take Bugloss, Borage, Hyssop, Organ, Sweet-marjoram, Rosemary, French-cowslip, Coltsfoot, Thyme, Burnet, Self-heal, Sanicle a little, Betony, Blew-buttons, Harts-tongue, Meadssweet, Liverwort, Coriander two ounces, Bistort, Saint John's wort, Liquorish, Two ounces of Carraways, Two ounces of Yellow-saunders, Balm, Bugle, Half a pound of Ginger, and one ounce of Cloves, Agrimony, Tormentil-roots, Cumfrey, Fennel-root's, Clowns-all-heal, Maiden-hair, Wall-rew, Spleen-wort, Sweet-oak, Pauls-betony, Mouse ear.