Seasonable: Gather the rhubarb and make this about the middle of May.
Ingredients
5 lbs. of rhubarb pulp
1 gallon of cold spring water
3 lbs. of loaf suga
1/2 oz. of isinglass
the rind of 1 lemon
Directions
Wipe the rhubarb with a wet cloth
With a mallet, bruise it in a large wooden tub or other convenient means
When reduced to a pulp, weigh it
To every 5 lbs. add 1 gallon of cold spring water
Let these remain for 3 days, stirring 3 or 4 times a day
On the fourth day, press the pulp through a hair sieve
Put the liquor into a tub
To every gallon put 3 lbs. of loaf sugar; stir in the sugar until it is quite dissolved
Add the lemon-rind
Let the liquor remain, and, in 4, 5, or 6 days, the fermentation will begin to subside, and a crust or head will be formed, which should be skimmed off, or the liquor drawn from it, when the crust begins to crack or separate
Put the wine into a cask, and if, after that, it ferments, rack it off into another cask
In a fortnight stop it down
If the wine should have lost any of its original sweetness, add a little more loaf sugar, taking care that the cask is full
Bottle it off in February or March, and in the summer it should be fit to drink
It will improve greatly by keeping; and, should a very brilliant colour be desired, add a little currant-juice. Source: The Book of Household Management by Isabella Beeton (1859)
Pleasant Drink
