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BITTER
DRINKS.
Irrespective
of
the use
of
hitter
extracts
specially-
resorted
to
for
medical
purposes,
beverages
are
made
in
which
the
bitter
principle
of
gentian,
dandelion,
hops,
wormwood,
quassia,
orange-peel,
calumba,
cascarilla,
and
a
few
others,
is
greatly
used.
The
custom
of
infusing
bitter
plants
in
vinous
drinks
is
very
ancient.
Bitter
drinks
invariably
present
the
bitter
principle
of
some
herb,
such
as
worm-
wood,
&c.,
which,
when
mixed
with
sundry
other
aromatics
and
spirits,
and
then
distilled,
makes
the
Absinthe
de
Suisse
so
popular
in
France
and
Switzerland
;
indeed,
the
Swiss
seem
particu-
larly
fond
of
bitters,
for
the
very
bitterest
of
bitters
is
one
of
their
favourite
liquors
—
viz.,
the
spirit
distilled
from
gentian
root.
The
Americans
have
a
few
bitter
liquors,
of
which
Boker’s
and
Angostura
are
decidedly the
best.
In
England,
the
bitters
of
a
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