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THE BARTENDER'S FRIEND
strength of a spirit is designated is known as "Proof" ; that
is, a spirit which contains 50% of alcohol by volume is
said to be at proof, or 100 proof. A lesser or greater
volume would proportionately make it 95 proof, or no
proof, etc.
St. Croix Rum gets its name from the place of its origin, St.
Croix, an island of the Danish West Indies. (See Rum.)
Stout is nothing more than a strong Porter (which see), con
taining around 7% of alcohol and a larger amount of
solids. It is very dark in color due to the manner of manu
facture (as in Porter) and the increased amount of solids.
Sweet Gin (See Gin.)
Syrup (See Plain Syrup and Gum Syrup.)
Tom Gin is English gin and contains some cane sugar sweet
ening. There are various stories as to the origin of the
name. One is to the effect that an early manufacturer of
gin in England adopted a picture of a tom cat as a trade
mark; and another that a certain Thomas Chamberlain, a
famous gin distiller in England, was called Old Tom. (See
Gin.)
Vanilla Cordial is, as its name indicates, a liqueur or cordial
the basic flavoring of which is vanilla.
Vermouth, of which there are at least two well known kinds,
Italian and French (which see), is produced by fortifying
(adding alcohol to) white wines, flavoring them with
wormwood and aromatics, and then ageing them for a