1872 Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks (Mixellany)

Gin — Rum. 51 derives its name from the French word geniivre, or juniper. This spirit is very popular in many parts of Europe, especially amongst the Swiss, Dutch, and our own country. Dutch Gin (Hollands) is very different from the English Gin; it is a rich, mellow, soft spirit; its peculiar flavour is due to its being flavoured withjuniper: the best comes fromSchiedam and Rotterdam. English Gin varies considerably in point of flavour; Plymouth Gin closely resembles Hollands. Almost every distiller or rectifier has a mode of his own in making Gin, and in giving it his own characteristic flavour with the aid of oil of turpentine or other aromatics. Rum, a well-known spirit, chiefly made in the West Indies, is obtained from the distillation of the fermented skimmings of the sugar-boilers, with the strainings and washings of the sugar- works, adding some crude cane-juice, necessary to impart the flavour. Good Rum is of a clear light brown colour, and of mellow and soft taste; when obtained pure it can be depended on as a very wholesome spirit, but if impure, it is most inju- rious ; when rectified to a strength nearly equal to spirits of wine, it is called Double-distilled Rum. The best comes from Jamaica; that from the Leeward Islands is an inferior quality. The E 2