Apple Ginger Beer
1 gallon apple juice or cider
1 lemon - sliced
2 ounces ginger root - fresh and bruised
1/2 package active yeast
4 cups sugar
1 orange - sliced
1 1/2 ounce cream of tartar
Boil all the ingredients together, except the yeast. Allow to cool to lukewarm (74 degrees) and add yeast. Stir slowly to mix the yeast in mixture then cover pot with a thick towel and let it sit. It will begin to bubble in 3 hours. Strain off the orange and lemon the next day. Allow to sit for another 24hrs. Then get your supply of screw top bottles and start straining the beer into the bottles.
Egg Nog
8 egg yolks
4 cups milk
1/4 cup brandy (optional)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup rum (optional)
nutmeg to taste
In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks, adding sugar a little bit at a time. Slowly add warm milk. Return the entire mixture to a saucepan and continue to cook until it reaches 175 degrees on a candy thermometer. Pour into a bowl and chill. Whip the cream until it peaks. Fold this into the cool mixture, then put it into the freezer until it begins to harden. Finally add the brandy and rum, stirring well, then whip for another 30 seconds. Top with nutmeg.
Blackberry Wine
3 pounds of blackberries
3 pounds of sugar
1 gallon of boiling water
Wash berries, put in large bowl and pour over them the boiling water. Stir well, then cover the bowl and leave for ten days. Strain liquid through muslin, add the three pounds of sugar and stir well. Cover the bowl and leave for three days, but stir daily. Put into bottles and cork, loosely at first. The wine will be ready to drink in six months.
Fall Spice Liqueur
You will need:
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/4 cups apple juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup brandy
1/2 cup 100-proof vodka
To make:
Bring brown sugar, white sugar, and apple juice to a boil over medium-high heat. Add vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. Boil for 4 minutes; then remove from heat. Let stand until just warm. Use a fine-mesh strainer to strain out solids. Discard. Transfer liquid to a clean 1-quart container with a tight-fitting lid. Add brandy and vodka. Cover and let stand in a cool, dark place for 1 month.
Rack or filter liqueur into final container. Enjoy now or age for an additional month before serving.
Yield: Approximately 1 quart
Borage Wine Cup
½ cup brandy
2 tbsp castor sugar
750 ml bottle dry white wine
½ cup orange juice
1 cup crushed ice
750 ml bottle of pink champagne
300 ml can lemonade
300 ml can ginger ale
2 tbsp chopped fresh borage leaves
-Blend brandy, sugar, wine, juice and ice until combined then add champagne, lemonade, ginger ale and borage in a large bowl and serve.
The Australian Women’s Weekly Home Library- Cooking With Herbs
May Wine
For an easy and delightful drink, traditionally drunk on the first day of May in Germany (where it is known as mei wein), simply open a bottle of sweetish white wine and poke in some wilted sweet woodruff (Galium odorata). Re-cork the wine and leave it for a few days. On opening, the whole bottle will have taken on the warm sweet woodruff odor, and this makes a lovely drink when chilled. Some choose to add a little lemonade to give sparkle, and you can treat it as a fruit cup and float flowers and slices of fresh strawberries on top if you wish.
Midsummer Ritual Mead
From The Wicca Spellbook: A Witch's Collection of Wiccan Spells, Potions and Recipes by Gerina Dunwich
Midsummer Ritual Mead is an ideal drink to serve at Summer Solstice Sabbats, as well as during all Cakes and Ale Ceremonies and Esbats.
2-1/2 gallons Water (preferably fresh Rainwater blessed by a Priestess or Priest)
1 cup Meadowsweet Herb
1 cup Woodruff Sprigs
1 cup Heather Flowers
3 Cloves
1 cup Honey
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Barley Malt
1 oz. Brewer's Yeast
Pour the water into a large cauldron or kettle. Bring to a boil and add the meadowsweet herb, woodruff sprigs, heather flowers, and cloves. Boil for one hour and the add the honey, brown sugar, and barley malt. Stir thirteen times in a clockwise direction and then remove from heat. Strain through a cheesecloth and allow the mead to cool to room temperature. Stir in the brewer's yeast. Cover with a clean towel and let it stand for one day and one night. Strain again, bottle, and then store in a cool place until ready to serve.
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