The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-11-11
ORIGIN OF THE
MANY-HUED DRINKS


The smart net. contentedIy slipping its
post-prandial liqueur or admiring the
topaz or emerald tints that sparkle IN the
crystal glasses. but rarely gives thought
TO the manufacture OF the pleasing liquid
or to its origin. And yet there hardly
Is a single place in the world. from Chinal
to Peru. where some kind OF liqueur is
not made.
Tckay, perhaps the noblest and most
expensive OF wines. Is so scarce and is
kept for so long a period before it is put
upon the market that generally IL is
elassed with liqueurs. AT least fifty years
must pass before a certain vintage can
be opened. and some OF that wine when
drunk out of bottle. has been bottled a
hundred Years and longer Very little
real Tokay goes outside of the AusIro-
Hungarian boundaries still every Hunga-
rian nobleman considers 1t point of
honor 10 have a Tokay vineyard on his
karpathian estates, 10 make that price
less wine for his own consumption, When
in the eighteenth century Empress Maria
Theresa wished to give King Louis XIV
OF France handsome present. the most
costly gift she could think OF was some
few bottles OF that noble wine
Cognac. which gives its name TO a
number OF grape eaux-de-vie, is a small
town IN the French department of the
Charente. and cognac brandy, like Tokays
gains honor only with age It is distilled
from wine. but as it is well-known fact
that the youngest wine makes the very
best of brandy, the grapes are distilled
shortly after the vintage Is gathered. Ii
requires at least fifty years for a really
good cognae to arrive at It's proper state
for drinking. but II Is at its best when,
say. from IS TO 100 years old.
Maraschinoi A nectar fit for the gods.
One OF the most picturesque preliminaries
TO the making OF maraschino is the
cherry harvest in Dalmatia, on the south
ern slope of the Austrian Alps, famed
by the mild zephyrs of the Adristic.
| Pulped wild cherries are used to make
this delicious liqueur. but honey is added
as a sweetening medium.
-Sirschwasser is made from the wild
black bean OF the suavian "SchwarZ-
wald' (Black Forest. and it has taste
which forcibIy suggests the romantic re-
gion of It's birth. At least !, who have
drank II. was sure that / saw the hob
/ COLLINS and imps OF the ancient forest.
filled with its pagan Teutonic myths and
legends.
| Anaconda brandy chiefly is made from
oranges, its name being derived from the
yacht on which the recipe for the liqueur
originated, while Curacao derives its
piquant flavor from orange peel and its
radiant color from the various woods en-
ployed in its making.
In Eastern Europe Kirsch is a very
| favorite liqueur II is made of the wild
plums which so abundantly grow in the
plains OF Servia and the Herzegovina.
! Have you ever watched the countenance
OF a Hungarian when the word 'S!ivov-
it's is mentioned. His expression posi-
/ lively becomes radient "Du Goetter-
/ frank, Tochter Won Elysium-
/ Bosnia proper is the home OF "Slivov-
its, but its fame has spread all over the
Balkan lands, and. OF course, all over
little Hungary in New York City. This
delicately favored liqueur is made OF
ripe prunes, which grow so abundantly
IN the dehles through which flows the
Danube on its swift journey 10 the
| Euxine
Dozico. Turkish kuemmeI. and
mastic. another Turkish liqueur. are not
very palatable TO Western tastes.
Kuemmel. which originated III Western
Russia and the eastern provinces OF
Prussia. fast is becoming favorite
everywhere. Its ingredients are cumnlin-
seed, orange peel. coriander, alcohol. and
white sugar. Anisette. of which Russians
| consume enormous quantities, Is manu-
/ featured from aniseed. almonds. corian-
der powdered iris, alcohol, and sugar
]
in their TASKS. for the sugar is allowed
10 crystaliZe and little branch OF tbs
anise plant is put into each flagon OF
anisette so that the sugar crystals form
upon IL like snow
POlynnaia, another Russian liqueur. il
said TO be an excellent digestive. Othe
liqueurs made within the limits of the
Russian empire are vodki, which looks
like water. but tastes like fire; ksouka
with its delicate pink and rose coioring
creme de menthe. with its mysteriou
green tint. the latter merely a pepper
mint eolored with spinach. as a rule.
But your Russian epicure takes hi
liqueur before his meal. not after. the at
tractfve nip being believed 10 create al
appetite. Tiny sandwiches, scraps o
smoked fish or fowl, also are eaten mucl
in the same way as our own nor
d'oeuvre, but never without its glass o
liqueur.
The Chinese. who allege that the!
distilled alcohol as far back as the yea
200 before the Christian era, have
llqueur the making of which is a secret
and. moreover. which no Westerner eve
has tasted It's chief ingredient. it is said
consists of lambs flesh Samshu. anothe
famous Chinese liqueur, is distilled from
| rice and favored with orange peel. bu
the taste is not congenial 10 Europeans
Saki is the universal Japanese liqueur
a spirit also distilled from rice. but
has as many degrees of perfection a
European brandy; also it varies great,
in cost. Very old saki is almost price
less. and besides, the TASKS in which
is. marketed are veritable works of art
Noyeau. white and pink. gains its pc
culiar flavor from the kernels Of aprl
cots. Cherries. orange peel. as well a
the kernels of various fruit give their fla
= vor TO many lisaeurs drunk in restaurant
to-day. The guignolot Of Anglers. taste'
, after both orchard and wild cherries
i Sloe gin. of which the best is made a
Z Montreuil-sur- Mer, has a sleepy sugges
ton Of some barbaric favor The tan
gerina of Lisbon and the blushing rosoli'
of Turin are beautiful to look at AM
pleasing to the palate, and jenerodis Is
liqueur made from currant grapes, whicl
somehow seems to taste after sunshine.
Orange flowers rose leaves, violets, va
nilla, orris root. and innumerable aromati
. herbs are used in the manufacture o
these liqueurs Indeed, there scarcel
: grows a luscious berry or beautiful
flower which has not sent it's quota TO III
, fashioning of these draughts. so rich an
rare that are slipped b. fastidious lip
to-day.
There is something slightly mysteriou
; about these many-hued drinks, with thei