1939 The Gentleman's Companion volume II Beeing an Exotic Drinking Book

THE GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION

flowers, fermented sugar cane refuse, rice mash. Some cocktails indicate it, and like tequila, if aged it has merit. . Only for large bars; and only decent brands are recommended. BENEDICTINE . . . One of the most important liqueurs, and made for centuries out of sugar, herbs, spirits, and divers secret elixirs by the French Benedictine monks at Fecamp.... French copyists among the laymen state that it is compounded by blending the essences of angelica root, arnica blooms, lemon peels, thyme, cardamons, peppermint, cassia, hyssop, and cloves, blended and aged with pure water, sweetening, and the finest cologne spirits.... Everyone knows the squatty bottle with the D.O.M. label, and the big seal of scarlet wax.... Not too good as a mixing agent, as it lacks character, and loses its delicate flavours. . . . Best for cordials with coffee or without. . . . Not often indicated for cocktails, in spite of unjustified activity along this line by the manu– facturers and importers, we've found it unremarkable except in pousse cafes. It is too sweet for most cocktails, and isn't vigorous enough in flavour to overcome the strong spirits and bitters. THE SIX MAIN BITTERS . . . Angostura and orange bitters must be on every-bar shelf, be it ever so humble. Next in importance are Calisaya -made on a quinine base and sometimes used in considerable quantity in cocktails--or quinine bitters; New Orleans Peychaud, Boker's and Amer Picon. . . . They are lots of fun to toy with, and in many things like gin, sherry, vermouth, make a simple cocktail of great service, which some people claim are the only really good ones anyway! BRANDY, COGNAC, and CHAMPAGNE FINE, sometimes CALLED "FINE" ... . Brandy is simply distilled grape wine, aged in wood casks. Cognac is brandy from the finest possible region for its excellent con– ~truction-the Cognac region of France. No brandy not from Cognac is permitted to use the word on labels.... Champagne fine is merely very o~d, very fine, and very excellent brandy. Fine is only used in one ~ocktail to our knowledge, being entirely too precious and delightful in itself to be outraged by admixture with less aristocratic spirits. · · · Napoleon brandy is probably the best-known Fine. It runs about thirty do~lars per fifth, and the finest is dated around 1832 or slightly later. Its pnce advances with age and rarity of vintage. Brandy was discovered through the keenness of a Dutch apothecary who, when seeing that the Cognac grape region, through a huge bumper crop, was producing

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