A type of sour wine or vinegar, particularly a cheap vinegar used historically in medieval times.
From Old English and Germanic roots related to sour wine; cognate with German 'Essig.' The term appears in historical texts referring to the poor quality wine or vinegar served to lower classes.
Medieval soldiers and laborers drank eisell because it was cheap and helped preserve food without refrigeration—what we'd consider disgusting tastes were actually survival technology back then!
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