1892 The flowing bowl when and what to drink (1892, c1891)

Introduction to Ctquors cmb Batafias.

THE manufacture of these alcoholic beverages is done, firstly, by distillation, by which method the finest liquors are obtained ; secondly, by extraction, and thirdly, by simply mixing volatile extracts of plants to cognac spirits, etc. They all contain larger or smaller quantities of dissolved sugar, and various aromatic or spicy ingredients. Distillation is more complicated and troublesome than the two other methods, but it secures products of far higher fineness and value ; yet the requirement of the apparatus necessary for manufacturing them renders the application too difficult in a household ; furthermore, a profound knowledge of chemistry, great practice and dexterity are required ; therefore, this manufacturing is better left to large establishments. The best and most exquisite liquors of this kind are im- ported from Dantzic, Breslau, Berlin, Stettin, Ham- burg, Mannheim, Vienna, Trieste, Amsterdam, Italy, Bordeaux, Paris, and the West Indies. The recipes to manufacture the most famous among them are mostly kept secret ; moreover, the foreign ratafias may not easily be imitated because many of the herbs and fruits required for the purpose are not growing in this country. 183