1900 Cocktail BOOTHBY'S American Bartender ( 2nd edition )

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These undisputed facts show that the American people are buying California wines under French labels every day, proving conclusively the truth of P. T. Bamum's old saying: The American people like to humbugged. The discoveryofchampagne is said to be due to a Benedictine monk named Perigon, who in 1668 was made cellarer. In pursuing the duties of his position he hit upon the idea of"marrying" the different wines produced in the vineyard; one he noted had fragrance, another imparted generosity and the blackest were found to produce a white wine that kept good instead of turning yellow, as that madefrom white grapes. The white or gray wines ofchampagne becamefamous, and the wine from his district, Hautviller, the most famous-of all. Perigon also discovered that the old stopper of flax dipped in oil could be replaced with cork. He finally evolved the effervescing wine that was far more pleasant than the old style still wine. The King gave the seal ofroyal approval to the new discovery. Le Marquis de Sille^ at a supper introduced tlie wine into the court circle. The flower wreathed bottles which, at a given signal, a dozen blooming damsels, draped in the guise of Bacchanals, placed upon the table, were hailed with rapture. Thenceforth sparkling wines were an indispensable adjunct to all the court suppers ofthe period. The Mint Julep got its name from a Southern gentlemen who was a great admirer ofShakespeare's works,and who uponan occasion of having tried *'grass in his likker^'' was so moved by the result that there came to his mind a vision of his favorite heroine, the daughter of Lady Capulet and the "sweet,sweeting" of ofRomeo;thereupon he enthusiastically named his beverage''Mint Juliet,'' aterm which later bibbers have corrupted into Mint Julip. Unfermented wine may be kept as long as desired by merely pouring a little olive oil in at the top of the bottle. This effectually excludes the air and none can work down into the wine to ferment it. At the same time any air that was in the juice finds its way up.through the oil. This same means may be employed to keep any kind of wine. In order to prevent the oil from flowing into the glass when the bottle is put in use is to sop up the oil with a little cotton when the bottle is uncorked. The cotton absorbs it little by little. Some of the best Italian wines are bottled in this manner andshipped all over the world with the bottles standing up.

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