The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-03-25
ANCIENT LIQUEURS

The sweet, perfumed alcoholic bever-
| ages called cordials, which are SO gen.
orally used, are almost entirely of con-
| tinenta1 origin. Some of them have a
history extending over centuries, and
yet the secret of their manufacture has
| been so we'll concealed that the monas-
| tic communities in which they were
| first produced still continue in abso-
| lutte possession of the recipe and en-
| joy the proceeds of their monopoly.
| The most ancient of liqueurs is Bene-
| dictine, which is said to date from 665
| A. D. But it was not till 1900 that Dom
| Bernardo Vincelli, a monk resident in
| the abbey of Fecamp, who had a pro-
| found knowledge of the plants and
| herbs used in the preparation of
medicinal cordials, succeeded in max
ing a cordial which preserves the name
and fame of the order. 1t is said that
| the monks, when weary from their
studies, restored their strength by
taking the simple cordial The new
distillery at Fecamp is a paIatial build
ing, which is a memorial of past sue
cess and present progress In the
laboratory there are gigantic tun- shap-
ed watts, containing 10000 gallons of
the hqueur and in underground cellars
is stored the produce of the distilla-
ton of the plants.
Chartreuse is named after the origi-
nal Carthusian monastery, founded in
the eleventh century in a Wild roman
tic valley forming portion of the
French Department of Isere. This
liqueur has a large sale, both the green
and yellow being popular. 1t is dis
titled from various herbs which are
supposed to possess peculiar stimulat-
ing and aromatic properties. It's
repute has been maintained by the
monks despite the enormous difficult
ties which they have encountered from
time to time. The order is supposed
to have been considerably enriched by
the revenue from this country. The
monastery which contains the distillery
has long been a famous resort for
visitors.
Perhaps the next in popularity is
Curacao, which received its name from
one of the West Indies (Dutch). where
are grown the oranges from the dried |
peel of which the liquor is made. Most |
of the liqueur is imported from Hol- |
land, the center of it's manufacture |
The orange peel, alter being carefully |
dried is macerated with water, and 1
afterward distilled with spirits and wa l
ter. When taken from the still it is
sWeetened with sugar, and to make it |
little more palatabe a little Jamaica
rum is added Those who have ex-
perimented say that a very good imi-
tation can be made with the fresh
peel of bitter oranges and whisky.
A highly favored liqueuri is mara
sehino made from bruised cherries.
both the wild and cultivated varieties
being used. Kirschwasser is rapidly
becoming popular as a choice liqueur,
1t is distilled from the bruised cherries,
and the stoned kernels taken from the
cherries are gathered when they are
quite ripe and, having been stemmed,
are then pounded in a wooden vessel
but so carefully that the stones are
not broken. In this condition they are
left to ferment. AS soon as fermenta-
ton begins they are stirred two or
three times day. Later the stones
are broken and the kernels thrown in
with the fruit. Kummel, another
sweetened spirit imported from Ger
many and Russia, gets its name from
the German word for the herb cumin,
with which it is favored, though cara
way seeds are used for the same pur-
pose.
Anise seed cordial, which is often {
taken as a ston1achic. is not a distilled /
spirit, but is made by f1avoring a weak !
spirit with anise seed. Coriander has /
an agreeable aromatic smell and {
sweetish aromatic taste. It is the es- {
'ential ingredient of the cordial, which 7
s sweetened with clarified syrup Of ]