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THE BARTENDER'S FRIEND
this wine is a rather intricate and costly process, due in no
small measure to the breakage of bottles. The wine is made
after the manner of all wines at first, but does not com
plete its fermentation and final clarification until it is
bottled with special corks and special bottles designed to
withstand great pressures caused by the gases of fermenta
tion. When that process is complete, or later, the special
corks are withdrawn after freezing, the sediment is elimi
nated, a small amount of liquor and sugar are added, the
bottle is recorked, and it reaches us, if all goes well, in the
sparkling form in which most of us know it. It is vari
ously described as Brut, Sec, Dry, Extra Dry, etc., accord
ing to its dryness, or sweetness, which is more or less regu
lated by the amount of sugar added at the last corking.
(See Wine.)
Chartreuse is a liqueur or cordial which comes green, yellow,
or white. The green is said to be the best quality. The
Carthusian Monks in France were the originators and in
troducers. A few years ago they removed the manufacture
to Spain. The methods and ingredients are probably a
secret, but there is reason to believe that there is in its man
ufacture a brandy distillation of various herbs, such as
peppermint, cloves, orange peel, cinnamon, etc. It has an
alcoholic content around 40.
Claret is undoubtedly the best known of all wines. It is a type
rather than a particular wine. It is always a red. The
Bordeaux region of France is the home of the best. The
so-called Medocs, such as "Chateau LaFite," "Chateau
La Tour," etc., are considered the finest of the Clarets.
It is a dry wine with an alcoholic content around 10%.
ci/;]