1903 The Flowing Bowl by Edward Spencer

32 THE FLOWING BOWL from the Spanish seco^ and the French sec^ " dry." Canary (a sort of white Madeira) was often the wine meant; and in old churchwarden's accounts the word sack frequently occurs, as used as a communion wine, i.e. Madeira and port mixed. That sack was imported from Spain is certain, and it was first of all sold, in England, in apothecaries' shops, as a cordial medicine. The Excise authorities of the time, if there were any, were in all probability not quite as busy as at the present day. The name Canary was formerly applied to dry, white wines, which were frequently seasoned with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, roasted apples, and eggs. Sack Posset [Sir Walter Raleigh's Recipe.] Boil together half a pint of sherry and half a pint of ale, and add gradually a quart of boiling cream or milk. Sweeten the mixture well, and flavour with grated nutmeg. Put into a heated dish, cover, and stand by the fire for two or three hours. And if you can see the double ox-fences in Northamptonshire next morning, there is not much the matter with your liver. Here is the method of manufacturing English Sack., which must be a poor, ill-favoured sort of drink. It was also known as Saragossa wine. To every quart of water put a sprig of rue, and to every gallon a handful of fennel-roots, boil these