ON DIFFERENT LIQUEURS, RATAFIAS, AND ELIXIRS
TAKEN AFTER COFFEE.
The name of _liqueurs_ is given to preparations composed of spirits of
wine, brandy, sugar, and the extracts of certain substances more or
less aromatic. The desired result is obtained either by distillation
or by infusion. Infused _liqueurs_ are called _ratafias_. Elixirs are
certain wholesome or therapeutic liquors, taken only by spoonfuls.
_Ratafias_ are as old as the time of Louis XII., contemporary with
Henry VII.; and elixirs were known antecedent to the time of Charles
VII., contemporary with our Henry VI. The most renowned foreign
_liqueurs_ are the _alkermes_ of Florence, the _rossolis_ or _rosoglio_
of Bologna, the _barbados_ and the _tarlufolgio_ of Turin; the
_citronelle_ of Venice, the _cinamonium_ of Trieste, the _maraschino_
of Zara, the _krambambouli_ of Dalmatia, the _absinthe_ of Switzerland,
the _kirschen wasser_ of the Black Forest, the _persicot_ of Treves,
the _kumin_ Dantzic, the double _anisette_ and the white _curaçoa_
of Amsterdam, the _tafià_ of the Isle of France, the _blanc rack_
of Batavia, the old rum of Jamaica, the _noyau_ of Martinique, the
_white vanilla_ of St. Domingo, the _eau des créoles_ of Martinique,
and the _mirobolan_ of Madame Anfoux. The fine or distilled _liqueurs_
fabricated in France are, _les crêmes de thé_, _de menthe_, _de
canelle_, _d’orange_, and the _eau angelique_. Most of these are made
at Montpelier, but all of them can be obtained at Tanrades’, in Paris,
who is himself the proprietor and distiller of the _crême d’ananas_,
and the _petit lait d’Henry IV_. _Ratafias_ are, for the most part,
made in the provinces. Thus Verdun is famous for its _persicot_,
Phalsburg for its _noyau_, Lyons for its _absinthe_, Grenoble for its
wild cherry _ratafia_, Hieres for its five fruited _ratafia_, and
Orleans for its quince _ratafia_. Few of these, however, are known in
England, where the principal _liqueurs_ used are _noyau_, _curaçoa_,
cherry-brandy, and _cognac_. Of these I should say the three last
were the wholesomest and most stomachic. Nothing can exceed, indeed
can equal, _cognac_ for a _liqueur_, if it be old and genuine. A
_liqueriste_, or a _distillateur_, is a distinct trade in France from
a _limonadier_. These _distillateurs_ composed their beverages for the
most part from brandy or spirits of wine, aromatised by the infusion of
spices, flowers, honey, fruits, &c. Cubebs, cinnamon, cloves, grains
of paradise, liquorice, sweetened and flavoured with rose-water,
pomegranate juice, and sugar, were the component parts of the earliest
_liqueurs_ which appeared in Europe, with the exception of the _eau
d’or_, or _aqua aurea_, which Arnaud de Villeneuve describes as brandy,
in which was infused or macerated rosemary flowers, with spices and
colours to flavour it. When golden elixirs became rife, somewhat later,
the public desired that the _eau d’or_ should really contain gold; and
hence the custom of putting some goldbeater’s leaf, cut up into small
pieces, into the infusion. The _eau de vie de Dantzic_, of which a
considerable portion is consumed in Paris, is prepared in this fashion.
_Liqueurs_, though known a considerable time previously, were first
greatly sought for in France at the period when Catherine de Medicis,
in 1533, came to wed the dauphin son of Francis I. The Italians
whom she brought in her suite, and the creatures of that nation who
flocked in crowds to France when she became queen, greatly introduced
the use of _liqueurs_, which had been heretofore common in Italy.
The nascent taste for them grew gradually into a passion; and in
1604, Sully, in examining the objects of luxury which cost the
French most, particularises _festins_ and _liqueurs_. The _populo_
and the _rossolis_ were, about two centuries ago, the most popular
of _liqueurs_. The former was made with spirits of wine, water,
sugar, musk, amber, essence of aniseed, essence of cinnamon, &c. The
_rossolis_ took its name from the plant _ros solis_, which was one
of its ingredients. Among foreign _rossolis_, that of Turin was
the most celebrated. The liquor, writes Patin, in 1653, in one of
those letters, half French, half Latin, which he was in the habit of
inditing,--the liquor called _rossolis_ “nihil habet solare, sed igneum
quid potentissimum, lumborum renum, que doloribus adversissimum.” At
this period, all _liqueurs_ were considered unpardonable luxuries, if
not sinful. Madame Théanges, who had been a gay demirep in her day, at
length became devout. Madame de Sévigné, writing in 1674, says:--“Elle
(meaning Madame de Théanges) est souvent avec Madame de Longueville
et tout à fait dans le bel air de la dévotion; mais elle est toujours
de très bonne compagnie et n’est pas solitaire. J’étois l’autre jour
auprès d’elle à diner. Un laquais lui présenta un grand verre de vin
de liqueur; elle me dit, Madame, ce garçon ne sait pas que je suis
dévote.” And Madame de Sévigné archly adds, “Cela nous fit rire.”
Well, indeed, might the company laugh, though the proper rebuke would
have been to answer, in the words of Shakespeare, “Think’st thou,
because thou art virtuous, we shall have no more cakes and ale? Ay, by
St. Anne! and ginger shall be hot in the mouth, too.”
The first manufactory of _liqueurs_ in France which had a remarkable
success, was a fabric established at Montpelier.
In 1704, when Louis XIV. suppressed the community of _limonadiers_,
establishing in their stead 150 privileged persons, an _ordonnance_
pointed out what _liqueurs_ it was lawful to sell. These were _la
fenouillette_, _le Vatté_, _l’orange_, _Cette_, _Genièvre_, and
_millefleures_. The first fabric of _liqueurs_ which had any extensive
renown was that of Montpelier. It may be well imagined that a city
which had so long been celebrated as a school of medicine had eminent
chymists and _distillateurs_; but, when these acquired a renown as
liquorists, they reposed on their success, became careless, and in
the end were justly supplanted by others. Lorraine succeeded to the
renown of the _Mons Puellarum_, or Montpelier. This was chiefly owing
to the decoction of one Solmini, probably an Italian, who, about a
century ago, pretended to have invented a _liqueur_ which he called
_parfait amour_. This, however, was no new invention at all; it was
but _ratafias_ of fruits and nuts, the _eau de cédrat_ of the _Sieur
la Faveur_ of Montpelier, which this worthy had disguised by giving it
a red tinge by means of cochineal. The brothers Bosserrant succeeded
Solmini, producing a cheap and inferior article, which had for a season
a vogue. But the imposition was soon found out, and the reputation of
the brothers was lost as speedily as it was acquired. In the country
parts of France most of the grocers sold, and still sell, _ratafias_
fabricated by themselves; but they are, one and all, poor stuff. At
Beaumont and Neuilly, in the environs of Paris, were two _ratafia_
makers who had great success. The Neuilly man made a considerable
fortune and built a country house, in which he caused to be engraved
this inscription, “Ex liquido solidum.” This is almost as good as
the Irish distiller who made a large fortune by smuggling, and built
a magnificent house which he called “Sans souci.” A brother in the
trade, who had been less fortunate because more honest, built a small
modest box nearly opposite, which he called “Sans six sous.” To return,
however, to _ratafias_. These are certainly the _liqueurs_ which are
preferably adopted in all _ménages bourgeois_, because, being but
infusions of flowers or fruits, they are the cheapest and the most
easily made. The most popular _ratafia_ in France is the black currant,
a renown which it owes in a great measure to the praises bestowed on it
by Lémery,[25] who thus speaks of it:--
“C’est un élixir très excellent, et très propre à entretenir la
santé. Il est très bon pour les hydropiques dissout les pierres,
fait sortir le gravier, guérit toutes les fièvres tierces, quartres,
continues. Il presérve du vomissement sur la mer, et du scorbut de la
bouche. Il fait sortir la petite vérole, la rougeole, le pourpre, et
toutes les maladies contagieuses. Il prévient la goutte, et purifie
merveilleusement le sang; c’est un antidote contre tous les poisons
et piqûres de bêtes vénimeuses. Il est bon pour les coliques, les
dyssenteries, les maux et duretés de la rate. Il fortifie l’estomac,
chasse les vents, réjouit le cerveau, guérit les migraines et les
maux de tête. Il est bon pour toutes les maladies des femmes, même en
couche. Il facilitte l’accouchement. Quand on en use habituellement, on
n’a presque rien à craindre de l’apoplexie ni de la paralysie. Il n’y a
point de maladie qu’il ne soulage ni ne prévienne. Son effet dans les
plaies est plus prompt que celui du baume du Pérou. On en a donné à des
chevaux très malades, qui ont été guéris en très peu de temps,” &c.
Although the French of the metropolis are now somewhat disenchanted of
their passion for black currant _ratafia_, yet it maintains its
popularity in the provinces.
The _liqueurs_ of the French West India Islands obtained a great renown
in the last century. These _liqueurs_ were strong and ardent, and
required to be kept a long time before they were generally used. One
of the most renowned makers of these _liqueurs_ was the widow Anfoux
of Martinique, who ultimately came to Paris. It was plain, however,
that it was “distance” that “lent enchantment” to her distilling; for
no sooner had she settled in the Rue Montmartre, than her decoctions,
infusions, and brewings, began to pall on the taste of the Parisians.
Before the first French Revolution, _liqueurs_ were divided into two
classes. The first might be called essences; they bore the name of
oily _liqueurs_, for they were, in fact, thick and oily: the second
class were, in opposition to those, called dry. The inventor of the
oily _liqueurs_ was a Doctor Sigogne, who, by the application of boiled
sugar and saffron, sought to render the _liqueurs_ which he produced
more soft, velvety, and unctuous. In this he perfectly succeeded, and
subsequently hit upon the happy name for his brewing of _l’huile de
Vénus_. This _liqueur_ had a prodigious success; some notions of which
may be formed from the fact that, after the death of the inventor,
small packages of it were sold at private sales at the rate of three
and four louis a pint. The first _distillateur liquoriste_ who acquired
a reputation in Paris was Le Lièvre, then La Serre, and afterwards a
Sieur Omfroi.
The most renowned _liqueur_ of our West India Islands was the _eau des
Barbades_. A very small bottle of this used to sell for a louis d’or;
but the price, as well as the fiery nature of the article, caused it to
sink in public favour.
The Dutch invented cinnamon water, _crême de girofle_, and _crême
de canelle_, when they were the exclusive possessors of the Spice
Islands, and also _curaςao_, which is now produced in great quantities
in Luxembourg (previously to the Belgian Revolution of 1830 a Dutch
town) and Amsterdam. The _crême de girofle_ is a delightful _liqueur_,
and is said by a writer in the “Magazine of Domestic Economy” to be
excellent for singers when suffering under relaxation of the throat.
It is made by adding forty drops of oil of cloves to a quart of spirits
of wine and a quart of syrup, with as much of red colouring matter as
will impart a good colour. _Crême de canelle_ is also an agreeable
_liqueur_, and beneficial to the dyspeptic by warming the stomach, and
giving increased action to that organ.
_Curaςoa_ is one of the very best of _liqueurs_. The finest is made
at Luxembourg and Amsterdam; but, if the frugal housekeeper cannot
afford the expense of the genuine article, he may resort to a receipt
contained in the second volume of the “Magazine of Domestic Economy.”
The tincture and pod of vanilla is much used in France in flavouring
as well as colouring _liqueurs_. The _crême de vanille_ is not an
unpleasant cordial, and is stomachic, and slightly stimulant.
Ireland invented that horrid burning beverage called _scubac_,
_shubach_, or _usquebaugh_. This _liqueur_, called _usquebaugh_, or
_schubagh_, had its birth in the sweet, clean, neat little town of
Drog-h[=e]-da; or, as it was called in the time of Cromwell, Tredagh.
_Schubagh_ is a decoction of barley, tinged with an infusion of
saffron, sweetened with sugar, to which is added spirits of wine to
give it strength. It is the strongest and most fiery of cordials,
and is only fit for a Gueber. _Schubagh_ was early counterfeited in
France, and the counterfeit may, by a species of contradiction, be said
to have surpassed the original. Many new ingredients were added, as
mace, cloves, cinnamon, jujubes, aniseed, juniper-leaves, &c.; but,
notwithstanding this addition and improvement, this beverage never
became a favourite in Paris, though it had subsequently some repute at
Copenhagen, Stockholm, Revel, and Riga.
To Ireland we are also indebted for raspberry and black currant
whiskey. A teaspoonful of either may be taken, but it should be kept
ten years in bottle.
The _eau cordiale_ of Colladon, a famous physician of Geneva, was
composed of the essential oil of lemons, extracted by expression,
rectified spirits of wine, sugar, and _eau de mélisse_. This _liqueur_
is reported to have been the most salubrious and agreeable of any in
the category; but the price of it was so excessive, even during the
life of the inventor, that it was but little consumed.
The _eau de vie d’Andaye_ is a pure and simple brandy; but the slight
taste of fennel which is communicated to it in distillation, places
it in the rank of _liqueurs_. It was in the month of September, 1837,
that having crossed over the Bidassoa in a fordable part, running the
risk of being mistaken by the Carlists for a Christino, that I sat
down under the shadow of the town of Irun, and within view of Andaye
itself, to eat of a Dutch cheese, a shallot, some cresses, and a crust
of the beautifully white bread of Spain. I washed down this homely
fare with a glass of the far-famed _eau de vie d’Andaye_, diluted with
the water of a rill which ran ripplingly over the pebbles beneath
my feet; and, whether from the exercise, the purity of the air, the
tranquil stillness of the place--rendered more fearfully still by the
reverberation of a stray shot in the distance--I thought the fare
delicious, and relished the brandy as the most vinous and cordial drop
I ever tasted. Mentioning this in the summer of the following year to a
West India gentleman, my late lamented friend, Mr. James MacMahon, in
the Quarry Walk of Shrewsbury, and who was a great _gourmet_, though
a point-blank realist and matter-of-fact man, he replied, “There’s no
delusion in it; and neither the air, the scenery, nor the exercise, had
anything to do with the matter. It is the pure quality and excellence
of the brandy alone that gave to the beverage so intense a relish, as I
shall prove to you. A week ago I dined with Earl Talbot at Ingestrie.
There was a large party; it was a _diner d’apparat_, with turtle,
venison, and all the delicacies of the season. Half-a-dozen _liqueurs_
were produced; but last of all some _eau de vie d’Andaye_, which the
host declared had been in the cellar since 1796, a period of forty-two
years. Now it was nine o’clock when this was produced, and my taste
was somewhat palled from the multitude of good things, both solids
and fluids, of which I had tasted; yet, whether from age or frequent
rectification, I never tasted anything so delicious, so that your
theory falls to the ground.”
In the island of Ré, it is said, brandy is prepared exactly by the same
process as at Andaye; but, though I have sailed by this island, it has
never been my fate to taste of the produce of its distillation.
The _eau de vie de Dantzic_ is simply brandy rectified, with the
addition of aniseed and goldbeater’s leaf. This _liqueur_ is not
much used here, but it is in great request in Paris. The receipt for
making it is as follows:--To one quart of spirits of wine, add twelve
drops of oil of aniseed, six of oil of cinnamon, three of oil of roses,
and eight of oil of citron; mix with it a quart of syrup, filter it,
and, when bottling, mix with goldbeater’s leaf cut into little bits.
_Maraschino_ is the produce of a wild cherry, common in the
territory of Zara in Dalmatia. For a long succession of years the
Dalmatians only made a species of cherry-wine of their fruit; but
they afterwards extracted a brandy from them, and ultimately a
_liqueur_, which was so perfect and popular, that before the first
French Revolution the senate of Venice kept the sale of the precious
beverage in its own hands. Some of the frontier French provinces of
Alsace, Lorraine, and Dauphiné, endeavoured to extract from the same
species of cherry a brandy called _kirchwasser_. With this they
essayed, but in vain, to imitate the _maraschino_ of Zara.
There are many _ratafias_, essences, waters, and syrups produced in
France as _liqueurs_, such as _ratafia d’angélique_, _de flore_, _de
fleurs d’orange_, _de grenade_, _eau divine_, _cordiale du chasseur
nuptiale_, &c.; but it would be unjust not to mention the _noyau_, the
_anisette de Bordeaux_, and the _absinthe_. The _noyau_ is one of the
most pleasing, but also one of the most pernicious _liqueurs_ when
taken to excess. It is chiefly made of the kernels of apricots and
peaches, which contain a vast quantity of prussic acid. Orange-flower
water and triturated _vanille_ are also ingredients. A very small
liqueur-glass of this cordial is a pleasing thing enough after fruit or
coffee; but the portion taken should be small, nay, of the _infiniment
petits_. There is a pink as well as a white _noyau_, but the latter is
to be preferred.
Bordeaux is famous for its _anisette_; and this _liqueur_ is not a
bad carminative for gouty old men. The name of Marie Brissart, as a
manufacturer of _anisette_, has attained a European reputation.
The _absinthe_ is an excellent tonic and stomachic. It is an infusion
of wormwood, and is an especially favourite _liqueur_ with critics and
reviewers, for its extreme bitterness is nearly akin to their own.
The English _liqueurs_ are few. The cherry bounce of Hoffman and Son,
of Bishopsgate Street Within, which used to sell at 8_s._ or 9_s._ the
pint, was excellent, but the firm have made a fortune and retired. This
beverage had an immense sale at Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta; but it
is, if possible, still more popular up the Mofussil.
Rum _ratafia_, rum shrub, pine-apple rum, and brandy shrub, are all
good things, but none of them are so excellent as Hoffman’s bounce.
It will be seen, from what I have stated, that all these _liqueurs_,
with whatever fine names they may be decorated, have for their
basis a mixture of brandy, sugar, and water, whose proportions vary
according to the kind of _liqueur_ which is to be prepared. Such
aromatic accessories are added as are deemed most proper to flatter
the taste and the smell; and the great talent of a _liquouriste_
consists in the choice and admixture of these aromatics, and in the
mingling together such fruits and flavours as fraternise most fully
and cordially. The finest aroma in fruit and flower will not always
suffice, however, to produce fine _liqueurs_. Some plants of exquisite
natural odours produce in distillation indifferent _liqueurs_; others
there are of not so odorous a smell, which form the happiest possible
combinations. There are many, for instance, who do not like the
aroma of the truffle, and the perfumer can make little of it, yet it
furnishes a most agreeable _ratafia_. It must in candour be admitted
that the French are our masters in the art of the _liquouriste_. They
divide _liqueurs_ into three classes,--_ordinaires_, _fines_, and
_surfines_. The fine and superfine _liqueurs_ are also known under
the designation of _crêmes_ and _huiles_. Oily _liqueurs_ should be
made thicker than creamy, and should pour out like olive oil. Such
_liqueurs_ as go under the names of _crêmes_ are white, while the oily
_liqueurs_ should be of the colour of olive-oil. Our lively neighbours
profit by every innocent artifice to give a greater vogue to their
productions, and christen their cordials with the most taking--why
should we not say with the most pocket-picking names? Thus we have the
_petit lait de Henri Quarte_, _l’eau des braves_, _l’huile de Vénus_,
_le parfait amour_, _l’eau nuptiale_, _l’eau virginale_, &c., the
_gouttes de Maltes_ of La Moine, and the liqueur impériale, and _de
Pomone_ of the same _fabricant_. Many of the _liqueurs_ drunk both in
England and France are exceedingly unwholesome; and should any one
need a cordial or stimulant after dinner or with his coffee, I would
in preference recommend a small glass of pure Cognac brandy; but this
should be obtained from a trustworthy house, as the Cognac brandies
are adulterated with Spanish or Bordeaux brandy of very inferior
quality, with neutral-flavoured rum and rectified spirits. British
brandy-bitters are used to fill up the flavour, but comparatively
in small quantities, as it is exceedingly powerful. The adulterated
brandy is usually composed of rectified spirits, cassia, carraways,
chamomile-flowers, orange-peel, &c. Cherry-laurel water is also used to
answer the same purpose as British brandy-bitters, and is, indeed, more
frequently had recourse to, because the quantity of it applied does not
prevent a trial of the strength of the brandy by the hydrometer. The
qualities of laurel-water are poisonous and pernicious, and the extract
of almond-cake, prepared by keeping a quantity of the cake for a long
time in spirits of wine, is also a noxious ingredient. The almond-cake
is used to impart to the adulterated brandy a taste resembling the
kernel flavour which the genuine article possesses. The extract of
capsicums and extract of grains of paradise, known in the trade by the
name of the devil, are also frequently used. The extract of capsicums
is made by putting a quantity of the small East India chilies into a
bottle of spirits of wine, and keeping it closely stopped for a month.
The same process is followed in reference to grains of paradise, and
they are both used to impart an appearance of strength. They infuse
into the spirit, a hot, pungent, fiery flavour, which no one of good
taste--no one, indeed, whose organs of taste were not vitiated by a
long indulgence in ardent spirits--would at all relish. Colouring of
burnt sugar is also had recourse to, to deepen the colour of the brandy
rendered too pale by the preceding mixtures, and it is further employed
to answer the same end with rum. Saffron, mace, terra japonica, spirits
of sweet nitre, and prunes, are used to improve the flavour of brandy,
and new brandy is made to look like old by the addition of _aqua
ammoniæ_.
On the German _liqueurs_ I have not yet touched. The principal among
these are the _Pomeranzen_, _Wackholder_, and the _Kummel_. The
_Pomeranzen_ is made by adding to a quart of spirits of wine ninety
drops of oil of orange and a quart of the syrup.
The _Wackholder_ is made by putting thirty drops of oil of juniper to a
quart of spirits of wine, adding a quart of the syrup; and _Kummel_ is
prepared by adding to a quart of spirits of wine seventy drops of oil
of carraways. After it has been shaken well, it should be filtered, and
it will then be fit to bottle.
I have already intimated an opinion that the profuse, or indeed the
frequent and moderate use of _liqueurs_ is to be deprecated: but as an
agreeable termination to a repast, or as a gentle stimulus, inducing
the stomach to perform its functions more kindly, they may be used with
advantage. They should, however, be taken rarely and sparingly, for the
particular effect to be looked for is a gentle action of the stomach.
The _liqueur_, whatever its nature, should be taken as in all foreign
countries, as a _chasse café_, immediately after the small cup of
strong coffee, and it should be sipped slowly, and allowed to linger on
the palate.
Jean de Milon, a famous physician, who wrote in the seventeenth
century, and addressed his aphorisms to a king of England, proclaimed
in the following verses that nothing should be taken after coffee, so
excellent was it, and for this reason he condemns _liqueurs_:--
“Præludant offæ, præcludat prandia coffe.
Dulcitur invadit, sed duriter ilia rodit.
Spiritus ex vino quern fundit dcxtra popino.”
But with all respect to so eminent an authority, the occasional use
of a thimbleful of brandy bounce may be recommended after coffee
as rather beneficial than otherwise, for most will agree with old
Lémery[26] in thinking, “these liquors, being taken moderately, heat
and fortify the stomach, help digestion, expel wind, allay the cholic,
revive the spirits, promote the circulation of the blood, and recover
strength.”
I have only to say, in conclusion, that the most famous _liqueurs_
of France are fabricated at Blois, Grenoble, Langres, Montpelier,
Nismes, Verdun, and Paris.
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