There is no doubt but the making of Vinegar will be a considerable Article,
seeing that few of our fine Preparations for the Table can be made without
it. A Gentleman of great note has given me the following Receipt for it,
_viz._
To nine Gallons of Water, put eighteen Pounds of _Malaga_ Raisins, chopt a
little, Stalks and all; put this into a Cask, bound with Iron Hoops, and
place it in the warmest Exposure you can find in the open Air: then take a
_Florence_ Flask, divested of its Straw, and put the Neck of it into the
Bung-hole, fixing it as close as may be, with some Linnen-Cloth, and a
little Pitch and Rosin melted together. By this Means, if the Weather prove
fair and warm, your Vinegar will be fit for Use in three Weeks time. The
use of the Glass, is, that in the heat of the Day it will fill itself with
the Liquor, and when the cool of the Evening comes on, that Liquor will
again be return'd into the Cask; by which means the Liquor will become sour
much sooner than it will otherwise do. As soon as it is clear, draw it off.
To make _Irish Usquebaugh;_ from Lord _Capell's_ Receipt, when he was Lord
Lieutenant of _Ireland._
To every Gallon of _French_-Brandy, put one Ounce of Liquorice sliced, one
Ounce of sweet Fennel-Seeds, one Ounce of Anniseeds, one Pound of Raisins
of the Sun split and stoned, a quarter of a Pound of Figs split, two
Drachms of Coriander-Seeds, let these infuse about eight or nine Days, and
pour the Liquor clear off, then add half an Ounce of Saffron, in a Bag, for
a Day or two, and when that is out, put in a Drachm of Musk. If when this
Composition is made, it seems to be too high a Cordial for the Stomach, put
to it more Brandy, till you reduce it to the Temper you like. This is the
same Receipt King _William_ had when he was in _Ireland_.