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Otto of Roses
Wine Vinegar.
Wine vinegar is frequently used as a vinous body flavor for domestic brandy, 1 pint is sufficient for 40 gals. (See "Recipe No. 3.") Oil of Bitter Almonds.
This oil is made from the ground cake of bitter almonds, from which the fixed oil has been expressed. It is very generally adulterated with cheaper oils, and in nearly every case with alcohol. When it is pure-mixed with oil of vitriol-it strikes a clear crimson red color without visible decomposition. Oil of bitter almonds is a splendid flavoring ingredient. Dissolve 1 drachm in alcohol 95°, and use for 50 gals. brandy. Be very careful not to increase the above proportion, as this oil is highly poisonous, and should be used with great caution. Otto of Roses.
This is the concentrated oil of roses, and is prepared on a large scale in Egypt, Persia, Cashmere, and India, by distilling the petals of the rose with water. Otto of roses is frequently adulterated with the oils of rhodium, sandal-wood, and geranium, and with camphor, and occasionally with spermaceti, to give the spurious compound the usual crystalline appearance.
The following are reliable tests: - Pure otto has a bland, sweet-taste; if it is bitter it contains oil of rhodium or sandal-wood; if it is pungent or "bites" the palate, it contains either oil geranium or camphor, and probably both; if it imparts a greasy sensation, it contains spermaceti. The odor of otto of roses is intensely penetrating, and one drop of the pure concentrated article will impart a flavor to 40 gals. of brandy.