Cider Cup

A Victorian summer "cup" — a jug drink built on cider, fortified, spiced and lengthened with soda at the last moment. It goes together in five minutes, and the only real skill is in the lemon peel and the timing of the soda.

• Cider means alcoholic ciderIn a British book of this date, cider is fermented — usually dry to medium, still or lightly sparkling, and typically a few per cent alcohol, though strengths varied. Modern unfermented apple juice sold as "cider" in North America will give a cloying result.
• What a "glass" holdsA wine glass in Victorian recipe usage is about 2 fl oz (60 ml), not a modern tumbler. So roughly 4 oz sherry, 2 oz brandy, 2 oz curaçao to two quarts of cider.
• CuraçoaThe older spelling of curaçao, a sweetened orange-peel liqueur. Any decent triple sec or orange curaçao stands in; it is contributing sweetness as well as flavour, so taste before adding much sugar.
• Pare the peel, do not zest it"Pared very thin" means broad strips of yellow peel with no white pith, taken off with a vegetable peeler. Pith left in can make the cup bitter as it steeps, which matters in a drink meant to sit in a jug.
• GingerAlmost certainly ground dried ginger here, added with the nutmeg as a dusting rather than a measured spoonful. Start with a small pinch of each in two quarts; both are assertive and cannot be taken back out.
• The soda goes in lastA Victorian bottle of soda-water was about 6-10 fl oz. Add it, and any ice, only when the jug is going to the table, or the cup will be flat by the time it is poured.
• BorageThe blue star-shaped flowers and young leaves of Borago officinalis, used because the leaf tastes faintly of cucumber. Cucumber peel is the usual modern substitute; mint is not the same thing but is more easily found.
• YieldTwo quarts of cider plus the additions makes roughly 2.5 quarts — twelve to sixteen small glasses. Chill everything beforehand rather than diluting the cup with a great deal of ice.