176 / 374
176
DRINKS.
should
say,
of
cherries,
strawberries,
gooseberries,
apricots,
peaches,
and
other
fruits.
He
it
was
who
first
proposed
the
pressure
of
the
fruits,
without
infus-
ing
them
entire.
Some
years
afterwards,
Breard,
one
of
the
chiefs
of
the
fruitery
of
Louis
XIV.,
gave
these
liqueurs
the
name
of
Hypoteques
to
distinguish
them.
The
products
both
of
Procope
and
Breard
were
of
the
highest
excellence.
*''!,'
says
du
Verger,
'
have
always
considered
Procope's
Ratafias
as
finer
and
more
delicate,
those
of
Breard
softer
and
more
flowing
but,'
he
adds,
*
as
tastes
differ,
both
their
Ratafias
have
their
approvers
and
their
critics.
It
is
difficult
to
equal
them
in
cold
countries,
either
in
taste
or
in
smell.'
"
They
are
called
Liqueurs
of
conversation^
because,
according
to
this
authority,
in
talking
after
meals,
you
may
drink
of
them
three
or
four
times
as
much
as of
other
liqueurs
without
fear
of
any
incon-
venience.
Nay,
they
nourish
and
fortify
the
stomach,
and
in
addition
to
being
pleasant
to
the
palate,
are
good
friends of
the
liver.
The
first
Ratafia
was
called
Eau
de
Cerises,
or
cherry
water.
The
kernels
should
be
added
to
the
juice
of
the
fruit
with
cinnamon
and
mace
in
small
quantities.
This
renders
the
composition
beneficent,
strengthens
the
brain,
and
banishes
the
vapours.
The
Eau
clairette
de
framboises
is
also
composed
of
cherries,
though
a
few
strawberries are
added
to
give
the
dominant
flavour.
It
should,
therefore,
says
the
Master
Distiller,
be
rather
called
Eau
clairette
frambois^e.
L'eau
clairette
de
groseilles
has
a
specific
virtue
agfainst
biliousness.