The Institutes of Akbar 59.1.5

59.1.5

Sugarcane is also used for the preparation of intoxicating liquor, but brown sugar is better for this purpose. There are various kinds of preparing it. One way is as follows. They pound Babúl bark, mixing it at the rate of ten sérs to one man of sugarcane, and put three times as much water over it. Then they take large jars, fill them with the mixture, and put them into the ground, surrounding them with dry horse-dung. From seven to ten days are required to produce fermentation. It is a sign of perfection, when it has a sweet, but astringent taste. When the liquor is to be strong, they again put to the mixture some brown sugar, and sometimes even drugs and perfumes, as ambergris, camphor, &c. They let also meat dissolve in it. This beverage when strained, may be used, but it is mostly employed for the preparation of arrack.