Hippocras (Red-Wine Punch)
- 2 sticks cinnamon, crushed into pieces
- 24 cloves
- Skin of 2 limes, cut into about 20 strips
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 cup good-quality honey (I use chestnut tree honey)
- 1 bottle robust, fruity red wine (Beaujolais, Spanish Sangre de Toro, zinfandel or Cotes du Rhone)
- Small wedges of lime, for garnish
- Place the crushed cinnamon, cloves and lime-skin strips in a saucepan with the 3 cups of water.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and boil gently for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and set aside to steep for 10 minutes.
- Strain.
- (You should have about 2 1/2 cups.)
- While still hot, stir in the honey.
- Combine the lukewarm syrup with the red wine and transfer the mixture to wine bottles or large glass jars.
- Refrigerate and serve over ice with a small wedge of lime per serving.
cinnamon, cloves, water, honey, robust, wedges of lime
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/4664 (may not work)