English wine cask units the mediæval French and Italian "botte") or pipe was half a tun, or 1008 pints. Tradition has it that George, Duke of Clarence, the brother of Edward IV of England, was drowned in a butt of malmsey on 18 February 1478. (However, Josephine Tey in "The Daughter of Time" suggests that "drowned in a butt of malmsey" means rather that George, Duke of Clarence, drank himself to death rather than literally drowning in a container of wine.) In Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado", the narrator claims he has received "a pipe of what passes for Amontillado".
Madeira wine be paired with any food, even citrus or balsamic. Also, although it is sweet, even the Malmsey has a dry finish, so it does not get killed by the sweetness of desserts and pudding. This makes it the most versatile of all dessert wines. Whereas most sweet wines are rendered dry by the sweetness of the dessert, this does not happen with Madeira. Madeira is also used as a flavor agent in cooking. Lower-quality Madeira wines may be flavored with salt and pepper to prevent their sale as Madeira wine, and then exported for cooking purposes. Madeira wine is commonly