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THE GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION
CERTOSA ... No one who has ever been outside Florence to the lovely
little monastery with its old gardens and the one privileged Padre who
is allowed to speak that day, will ever forget Certosa.... We have half
a dozen of their brightly painted and glazed bottles, shaped like globes
in eagles claws, Della Robbia bambinos and Virgins in flat bottles. . . .
And within yellow and green liqueurs much like Chartreuse, only
Italian. Their strawberry Certosa is especially, and oddly delicious....
Never used for cocktails, just as liqueurs, and with coffee. Pronounced
Chair-toes'
-a.
CHARTREUSE . . . One of the cordial immortals of all time. Like
Benedictine and Certosa, Chartreuse is the product of monks-this time
of the Carthusian Order, and formerly only at their establishment
in
the French Alps called Grande Chartreuse. . . . Unfortunately this
order was banished from France to Spain just after the turn of the cen–
t'.ury and, at Tarragona, they again set up with their secret formula
compounded of elixirs from odd and rare herbs, water, sugar, and fine
spirits.... Naturally all of France sprouted imitations. Clever chemical
folk_pronounce it made up of the following essences: Sweet flag, orange
peel, peppermint oil, dried tops of hyssop, balm, leaves of balm, angelica
seeds and root, wormwood, tonka bean, cardamons, as well as well
known spices such as mace, cloves and cinnamon. Nice, simple little
formula, this!
Green is most pungent, expensive, and a bottle will run as high as
forty dollars alleged gold per quart, in the older supplies. . . . Yellow
is just as good, and more aromatic; and is not only invaluable as a
liqueur with coffee, in
pousses
cafes,
but is the final decoration for a Gin
Daisy, and other delicate drinks.... White is sweetest.
. CHERRY BRANDY ... Danish
Kirsehoer
is best, and may be one hun–
dred years of age!
In
more recent vintages it is widely used in many
cocktails, as well as a liqueur and
pousse
cafe.
C<?IN!REAU .. . Can't do without. Not only is it one of the six favour–
ite liqueurs of the world, but is indicated in several very important
cocktails like Between the Sheets.
CORDIAL_MEDOC . . . Not used often in cocktails, but with coffee, and
alone. It is one of the most delicate liqueurs extant, giving a rich after-
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