Aniseed Cordial

A two-ingredient mixed cordial rather than anything distilled or infused, so the whole result rests on the quality of the syrup and the spirit.

• Plain sugar syrupMost likely a clarified sugar-and-water syrup, unflavoured; period recipes vary in density, some being much richer than a modern 1:1 simple syrup. A rich 2:1 syrup will make the finished cordial cloying.
• PintsCassell's is British, so a pint here is 20 fl oz rather than the US 16. Equal volumes of syrup and brandy is the point, so match whichever measure you use on both sides.
• Aniseed syrup, not oilThe recipe calls for a sweetened aniseed syrup of the kind sold by chemists and confectioners. Modern anise-flavoured bar syrups work; if you substitute essential oil of aniseed, thirty drops would be drastically overpowering and oil will not disperse in the mixture anyway.
• Thirty dropsAbout 1.5 ml, or a scant third of a teaspoon, from an ordinary dropper. In a full quart of liquid this is a background note, not a dominant flavour, which suits a cordial meant to be lengthened with water.
• The brandy"good brandy" implies a drinkable grape brandy; at a modern 40 percent, equal volumes of syrup roughly halve the strength, putting the finished cordial near 20 percent, comparable to a commercial liqueur.
• ShakingShaking is only to combine, since nothing here needs emulsifying. A bottle inverted a dozen times does the same job; let it settle before pouring if the syrup was warm.
• Yield and keepingRoughly a quart, or sixteen small cordial glasses. Sugar and spirit together are self-preserving, so a sealed bottle in a cool dark cupboard holds for months, though the anise note fades with time.
• ServingNeat in a small glass after a meal, or one part cordial to two or three parts still or sparkling water as a long drink. Heavy dilution may throw a faint milkiness as anethole comes out of solution, though with only thirty drops of syrup in a quart the effect will be slight.