Cognac brandy is the most difficult to imitate ; the following recipe being one of the beat : Alcohol (well flavoured at 85°) 54 litres.
Rum (of good quality) .. .. 2 ,Syrup of raisins 3 e Infusion of hulls of green walnuts .. 2 bitter almonds .. .. 2 Powdered catechn 15 grm.
Balsam of Tolu (i Dissolve the catechu and balsam of tom together in a litre of the alcohol, and pour this solution into the remainder of the spirit ; mix all the liquids together, stir well, and colour with caramel.
The following recipe is used by one of the largest houses in the spirit trade in Paris : Alcohol (good flavoured, at 85°) 68 litres.
Rain water .. .. 30 Liquorice root .. .. 500 grm.
Roman chamomile .. 125 Vanilla .. 10 Brown sugar .. 1 kilo.
Bruise the liquorice root, and boil it in a portion of the water intended for the mixture, then make hot infusions of the chamomile and vanilla separately in a hermetically closed vessel. When cold, pass all these infusions through a cloth filter, add them to the spirit, and to the remainder of the water in which the sugar has been dissolved.
When it is required only to " age " or " improve " the genuine new brandies of Cognac, Armagnac, or Montpellier, it is customary to add to them 15 grm. of sugar-candy, or 3 centilitres of syrup of raisins, to a litre. Or the bouquet of the Armagnac brandy may he improved by the addition of a litre of the infusion of green walnut hulls, or a litre of the infusion of the hulls of bitter almonds, or, in the absence of these, of two litres of rum to each hectolitre of brandy.
The brandies of Cognac, Jean d'Ange]y, Saintonge, &c., may he "aged" by the addition of the following mixture to every hectolitre of the brandy : Old rum .. .. 2 litres.
Old kirsch .. 1.75 Infusion of green walnut hulls .. Syrup of raisins .. .. 2 In some districts it is customary to " age new brandies with low wines prepared for the purpose by adding 10 or 12 per cent. of brandy at 85° to clear rain-water, in order to preserve it. When the water has been kept for six or eight months in the casks, it is invaluable for imparting the soft ness and qualities of age to new brandies.
If kept in a cool, but not draughty, place, brandy is capable of being kept for an indefinitely long period. To hinder this evaporation to some extent, the casks should be filled up at least once a month, and twice as often during the heat of summer. or if the cellar he subject to currents of
air, which tend to bring about a rapid evaporation. The brandy used for filling up the casks should be as nearly as possible of the same quality as that already contained in them (see Alcohol from Wine).
Gin. (FR., Genieere; Gus., Wachholderbranntwein).Gin, or geneva, is common grain spirit, aromatized with juniper berries; it is, in fact, nothing more than plain British spirit flavoured with the juice of this berry. A spirit containing this juice was formerly sold by apothecaries, on account of its valuable medicinal virtues, under the name of Geneva. Tho better varieties are even now pre scribed by medical men for use as a diuretic, which property is due solely to the presence of the essential oil of juniper. The proportion employed is variable, depending upon the nature of the spirit and the requirements of the distiller ; usually one kilogramme of berries is enough to flavour one hectolitre of raw grain spirit. Before being used the berries are coarsely ground or crushed ; they are then either added in that state to the undistilled grain spirit, or, what is much better, interposed in some manner in the course traversed by the spirituous vapour before condensation. In some distilleries it is customary to suspend bags containing the berries in the still, when the condensed liquid is found to he strongly impregnated with the odour and taste of juniper. The berries should be chosen fresh and plump, full of pulp, and of a strong taste and smell ; they are usually imported from Germany, though we have a great many of the trees in England.
The finest gin is prepared in Holland, from which country considerable quantities are annually imported into England. In the town of Schiedam alone there are upwards of two hundred gin distilleries, the produce of which is commonly called " Schnaps." A rough kind of gin is made in Norway and S weden by digesting the berries for some days in spirits at 50° or 55°. The product, however, has a very disagreeable, sharp taste. It is much preferable to distil the berries after maceration with alcohol at 85° or 90°, and to reduce the product of the operation to 49°.