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MIXED DRINKS.
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renowned throughout the old world—east of the Co-
lumnse Herculis as far as the wall of China. All along
the Mediterranean Sea most everycountry manufactured
liqueurs and medicinal compounds,the monks and nuns
taking the lead in this occult industry. Sicilian wines,
especially those from the neighborhood of Marsala,
were most favored as a basis on account of their great
alcoholic strength. These were combined and blended
with the distilled products of grains, nuts, fruits, ber
ries,rinds,flowers,barks,aromatic herbs, saps, etc., and
made into most delicious cordials to be sipped as post
prandial beverages or taken as medicines; and many of
them have been continuously in use up to this day,some
of them unimprovable even by the ingenious people of
this progressive age.
So it thus appears from the most authentic sources,
thatthe art of separating alcoholic spiritfrom fermented
liquors was known in the far East from the remotest
antiquity, and that it was encouraged and patronized
by the religious and medical fraternity of these ancient
times.
All along the line of experiment and practice it
has been a progressive industry,and while we can trace
back many of our present wines and liqueurs in tbeir