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of
activity,
their
effect
being
augmented
by
the
aromatics,
in-
cluding
the
alcohol.
The
French
have
long
recognized
the
value
of
the
bitter
element
in
their
celebrated
tonic
wines,
which
gen-
erally
contain
cinchona
or
other
barks
of
a
similar
nature.
Nux
vomica,
for
instance,
a
powerful
stomachic,
is
inten.sely
bitter.
It
is
true
that
an
appetizer
or
cocktail
may
al.so
be
taken
as
bracer
or
to
counteract
mental
depression
or
temporary
melancholia,
the
aromatics,
which
are
its
most
striking
constit-
uents,
producing
in
such
cases
a
similar
ef!ect
to
that
of
.spirits
of
ammonia.
So
true
is
this
assertion
that
many
connois.seurs,
in
order
to
obtain
a
maximum
bracing
effect,
prefer
to
use
a
highly
aromatic
bitters,
such
as
Ango.stura,
without
the
admix-
ture
of
any
liquor.
In
the.se
ca.ses
a
pony
glass
is
the
proper
quantity.
It
is
evident,
llifn,
that
the
u.se
of
bitters
gave
rise to
the
introduction
of
the
appetizer,
or
cocktail,
for,
without
the
bitter
ingredient,
these
drinks
would
not
serve
their
purpose
as
appe-
tizers.
It
is
also
apparent
that
in
order
to
produce
the
desired
effect
the
bitters
should
be
of
a
highly
aromatic
character,
al-
though
bitters
flavored
only
with
orange
peel,
which
are
com-
paratively
only
slightly
aromatic,
are
also
extensively
used,
but
mainly
in
conjunction
with such
highly
aromatic
bitters
as
those
of
Dr.
Siegert,
invented
at
the
town
of
Angostura
in
the
early
part
of
the
la.st
century.
Various
opinions
are
held
as
to
the
composition
of
the
original
cocktail,
although
it
is
gen-
erally
conceded
that
gin
and Angostura
preceded
sherry
and
Angostura
as
an
appetizer,
the
former
reaching
its
greatest
popularity
in
America,
and
the
latter
in
England.
The
so-called
old-fa.shioned
cocktail,
consisting
of
a
loaf
of
sugar
steeped
in
a
teaspoonful
of
bitters
added
to
rye
whisky,
was
undoubtedly
antedated,
at
least
in
this
country,
by
the
old-fashioned
appe-
tizer,
gin
and
bitters.
As
it
is
a
well-known
principle
that the
addition
of
sugar
to
alcoholic
drinks,
or
even
to
those
which
are
only
slightly
al-
coholic,
adds
materially
to
their
exhilarating
effect,
so
in
the
cocktail,
if
it
is
desired
to
heighten
the
subtlety
of
the
mixture,
the
bitter
taste
should
always
be
modified
by
the
addition
of
sweetening.
In
the
same
way
the
communication
of a
slightly
acid
characteristic,
as
by
a
couple
of
dashes
of
lemon
juice,
will
improve
certain,
although
by no
means
all,
appetizers.
It
is
by
the
nice
balancing
of
these
various
elements
that
the
true
artist
may
be
recognized.
There
is
a
demand
for
appetizers
that
are
only
slightly
aromatic
and
exclusively
bitter,
such
as
the
dry
Martini,
but
the
effect
in
these
cases
is
almost
entirely
one-sided,
the
bitter
char-