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Compound Spirits, or Cordials

General Rules.

The perfection of this grand branch of distillery depends upon the observation of the following general rules, which are easy to be observed and practised: 1. The artist must always be careful to use a well-cleansed spirit, or one freed from its own essential oil; for as a compound cordial is nothing more than a spirit impregnated with the essential oil of the ingredients, it is necessary that the spirit should have deposited its own. 2. Let the time of previous digestion be proportioned to the tenacity of the ingredients, or the ponderosity of their oil. 3. Let the strength of the fire be proportioned to the ponderosity of the oil intended to be raised with the spirit. 4. Let a due proportion of the finest parts of the essential oil be united with the spirit; the grosser and less fragrant parts of the oil not giving the spirit so agreeable a flavor, and at the same time rendering it thick and unsightly. This may in a great measure be effected by leaving out the feints, and making up to proof with fine soft water in their stead.

A careful observation of these four rules will render this extensive part of distillation far more perfect than it is at present. Nor will there be any occasion for the use of burnt alum, white of eggs, isinglass, etc. to fine down the cordial waters, for they will presently be fine, sweet, and pleasant. To make Aniseed Cordial.

Take aniseed, bruised, 2 lbs; proof spirit, 12 galls.; water, 1 gall. Draw off 10 galls., with a moderate fire. This water should never be reduced below proof; because the large quantity of oil with which it is impregnated will render the goods milky and foul, when brought down below proof. But if there is a necessity for doing this, their transparency may be restored by filtration.

Strong Cinnamon Cordial.

Take 8 lbs. of fine cinnamon, bruised; 17 galls of clear rectified spirit, and 2 galls. of water. Put them into the still, and digest them 24 hours with a gentle heat; after which draw off 16 galls. by a pretty strong heat.

Caraway Cordial.

For 20 galls. Take 1½ oz. of oil of caraway, 20 drops of cassia-lignea oil, 5 drops of essence of orange peel, 5 drops of the essence of lemons, 13 galls. of spirits, 1 in 5, and 8 lbs. of loaf sugar. Make it up and fine it down.

Cedrat Cordial.

The cedrat is a species of citron, and very highly esteemed in Italy, where it grows naturally. The fruit is difficult to be procured in this country; but, as the essential oil is often imported from Italy, it may be made with it as follows: Take of the finest loaf-sugar, powdered, 1 lb. Put it into a glass mortar, with 120 drops of the essence of cedrat; rub them together with a glass pestle, and put them into a glass alembic, with a gallon of fine proof spirit and a quart of water. Place the alembic in a bath heat, and draw off 1 gall., or till the feints begin to rise; then dulcify with fine sugar.

This is considered the finest cordial yet known; it will therefore be necessary to be particularly careful that the spirit is perfectly clean, and, as much as possible, free from any flavor of its own.

Citron Cordial.

Take of dry yellow rinds of citrons, 3 lbs.; orange-peel, 2 lbs.; nutmegs, bruised, lb.; proof spirit, 101 galls.; water, 1 gall. Digest with a gentle heat, then draw off 10 galls. in a bath heat, and dulcify with fine sugar.

Clove Cordial.

Take of cloves, bruised, 4 lbs.; pimento, or allspice, lb.; proof spirit, 16 galls. Digest the mixture 12 hours in a gentle heat, and then draw off 15 galls. with a pretty brisk fire. The water may be colored red, either by a strong tincture of cochineal, alkanet, or corn poppy-flowers. It may be dulcified at pleasure with refined sugar.

Coriander Cordial.

For 3 galls. Take 7 qts. of spirits, 2 lbs. of coriander seed, 1 oz. of caraway seed, 6 drops of the oil of orange, and 2 lbs. of sugar. Fill up with water. The coriander seed must be bruised and steeped in the spirits for 10 or 12 days, and well stirred 2 or 3 times a day. Fine it the same as gin. Eau de Bigarade.

Take the outer or yellow part of the peels of 14 bigarades (a kind of orange), oz. of nutmegs, oz. of mace, 1 gall. of fine proof spirit, and 2 qts. of water. Digest all these together 2 days in a close vessel; after which draw off a gallon with a gentle fire, and dulcify with fine sugar.

Gold Cordial.

Take of the roots of angelica, sliced, 4 lbs.; raisins, stoned, 2 lbs.; coriander seeds, lb.; caraway seeds and cinnamon, each lb.; cloves, 2 oz.; figs and liquorice root, sliced, each 1 lb.; proof spirit, 11 galls.; water, 2 galls. Digest 2 days, and draw off by a gentle heat, till the feints begin to rise; hanging in a piece of linen, fastened to the mouth of the worm, 1 oz. of English saffron.

Then dissolve 8 lbs. of sugar in 3 qts. of rosewater, and add to it the distilled liquor. The above cordial derives its name from a quantity of leaf gold being formerly added to it; but this is now generally disused.

Lovage Cordial.

For 20 galls. Take of the fresh roots of lovage, valerian, celery, and sweet fennel, each 4 oz.; essential oil of caraway and savin, each 1 oz.; spirit of wine, 1 pt.; proof spirit, 12 galls.; loaf sugar, 12 lbs. Steep the roots and seeds in the spirits for 14 days; then dissolve the oils in the spirit of wine, and add them to the undulcified cordial drawn off from the other ingredients; dissolve the sugar in the water for making up, and fine, if necessary, with alum.

Lemon Cordial.

Take of dried lemon-peel 4 lbs., proof spirit, 10 galls., water 1 gall. Draw off 10 galls. by a gentle fire, and dulcify with fine sugar.

Nectar.

For 20 galls. Take 15 galls. of red ratafia, oz. of cassia-oil, and an equal quantity of the oil of caraway seeds. Dissolve in half a pint of spirit of wine, and make up with orange wine, so as to fill up the cask. Sweeten, if wanted, by adding a small lump of sugar in the glass.

Noyeau.

Take 14 galls. of French brandy, 1 in 5, 6 oz. of the best French prunes, 2 oz. of celery, 3 oz. of the kernels of apricots, nectarines, and peaches, and 1 oz. of bitter almonds, all gently bruised, essence of orange-peel and essence of lemon-peel, of each 2 dwts., lb. of loaf-sugar. Let the whole stand ten days or a fortnight; then draw off, and add to the clear noyeau as much rose-water as will make it up to 2 galls.

Orange Cordial. lbs., proof spirit, 10½ galls., water, 2 galls. Draw off 10 galls. with a gentle fire.

Peppermint Cordial.

For 20 galls. Take 13 galls. of rectified spirits, 1 in 5 under hydrometer proof, 12 lbs. of loafsugar, 1 pint of spirit of wine that will fire gunpowder, 15 dwts. (troy) of oil of peppermint, water, as much as will fill up the cask, which should be set up on end after the whole has been well roused, and a cock for drawing off placed in it.

Ratafia.

This a liquor prepared from different kinds of fruits, and is of different colors, according to the fruits made use of. These fruits should be gathered when in their greatest perfection, and the largest and most beautiful of them chosen for the purpose. The following is the method of making red ratafia, fine and soft: Take of the black-heart cherries, 24 lbs., black cherries, 4 lbs., raspberries and strawberries, each, 3 lbs. Pick the fruit from their stalks and bruise them, in which state let them continue 12 hours; then press out the juice, and to every pint of it add lb. of sugar. When the sugar is dissolved, run the whole through the filtering-bag and add to it 3 quarts of proof spirit. Then take of cinnamon, 4 oz., mace, 4 oz., and cloves, 2 drs. Bruise these spices, put them into an alembic with a gallon of proof spirit and 2 quarts of water, and draw off a gallon with a brisk fire. Add as much of this spicy spirit to the ratafia as will render it agreeable; about is the usual proportion.

Dry or Sharp Ratafia.

Take of cherries and gooseberries, each 30 lbs., mulberries, 7 lbs., raspberries, 10 lbs. Pick all these fruits clean from their stalks, etc., bruise them and let them stand 12 hours, but do not suffer them to ferment. Press out the juice, and to every pint add 3 oz. of sugar. When the sugar is dissolved, run it through the filtering-bag, and to every 5 pints of liquor add 4 pints of proof drawn from spices. spirit, together with the same proportion of spirit Common Ratafia.

Take of nutmegs, 8 oz., bitter almonds, 10 lbs., Lisbon sugar, 8 lbs., ambergris, 10 grs. Infuse these ingredients three days in 10 galls. of proof spirit and filter it through a flannel bag for use.

The nutmegs and bitter almonds must be bruised, and the ambergris rubbed with the Lisbon sugar in a marble mortar, before they are infused in the spirit.

Cherry-Brandy.

One of the best and most common ways of making cherry-brandy, is to put the cherries (being first clean-picked from the stalks) into a vessel till it be about half full; then fill up with rectified molasses-brandy, which is generally used for this compound; and when they have been infused 16 or 18 days draw off the liquor by degrees, as wanted; when drawn off, fill the vessel a second time nearly to the top, let it stand about a month, and then draw it off as there is occasion. The same cherries may be used a third time by covering them with over-proof brandy and letting it infuse for 6 or 7 weeks; when drawn off for use, as much water must be added as the brandy was over-proof, and the cherries must be afterwards pressed as long as any liquor remains in them, before being cast away.

When drawn off the second time the liquor will be somewhat inferior to the first, when more sugar, with oz. of cinnamon and cloves beaten, may be added to 20 galls. of it; but there should only be half the quantity of cinnamon and cloves in each Take of the yellow part of fresh orange-peel, 5| 20 galls. of the first infusion. Another Method.