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CORDIALS AND LIQUEURS
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white sugar-candy; draw it ofF till it begins to be
sowre, save a pint of the first running to mix with
other waters on an extraordinary occasion; mix the
rest together to drink by itself. Take five or six
spoonfuls at a time.
As Hamlet observes, on a memorable occasion :
" Oh, horrible, horrible, most horrible ! "
Curaft
oa
is not only the best known of all liqueurs, but
the most wholesome. It will blend equally well
with brandy and whisky.
The best, in fact
the original brand, is made in Amsterdam, with
the peel of a very rare orange which grows in
the island of Cura^oa, and falls from the tree
before it is ripe. The peel of this is dried, and
is known in the trade as the Curaq:oa of Holland,
to distinguish it from other Cura^oas which have
not the same property, although they are often
sold in place of it. The Dutch distillers naturally
keep their process a secret, but the French
imitators declare that the Dutch secret is merely
as follows : that five kilogrammes of dried peel
of the Cura^oa of Holland and the zests of eighty
fresh oranges are submitted to the action of sixty
litres of alcohol (85 degrees, French measure
ment), and that, save in the colour, there is
no real difference between white Cura9oas and
brown. At all events either is very useful in a
cocktail, or swizzle ; and there are many restora
tive compounds, or " tonics " as they are called,
into which the liqueur enters.