Historical Document · 1865

The Art and Mystery of Making British Wines, Cider, Perry Cordials and Liquors--Also, the Whole Art of Brewing

Author: Anon
Year: 1865
Type: Historical Document

distilling

SO Of THE ART AND MYSTERY 7: _—— BRITISH WINES, CIDER AND PERRY, CORDIALS AND LIQUEURS; WITH DIRECTIONS FOR THE Wanagement of Foreign CHines and Spirituous Liquors ; AND REOIPES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF AGREEABLE AND WHOLESOME BEVERAGES, MEDICINAL WINES, AND THE DISTILLATION OF SIMPLE WATERS. aLso, THE WHOLE ART OF BREWING, WITH REMARKS ON THE TREATMENT OF MALT LIQUORS, AND A LIST OF UTENSILS FOR THE BREWHOUSE, STILL-ROOM, AND CELLAR. Sd . ADAPTED AS WELL FOR THE WHOLESALE MANUFACTURER AS ALL HOUSEKEEPERS. BY THE AUTHOR OF ** CURING, PRESERVING, AND POTTING MEATS, GAME, FISH,” &c. "7 LONDON: CHAPMAN AND HALL, 198, PICCADILLY. \ 1865. a) Se EN weer r eee t Uk eed g7540n |. : LONDON: PRINTED BY C. WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE, STRAND. . CONTENTS. SECTION I. DOMESTIC WINES. Light or Dinner Wines . . . Lisbon Wine . . . Madeira . " . . Prime Blackberry . . Raspberry Wine . . . Mulberry Wine. . . Red Gooseberry Wine . . . White Currant Wine . . Vidonia Wine — . Calabrian Wine . . White Falernian . . A Family White Wine . . Carcavello . . . . Plum Wine - SECTION II. FULL-BODIED WINES. British Port Wine . » Madeira . . » Champagne . . . Cider Champagne . . . Cyprus Wine imitated . oe 17 18 20 22 ib. vl Saragossa Wine British Claret Palermo Wine imitated Claret imitated British Muscadel . » Frontignac » Mountain . » Sherry Austrian Wine British Malmsey Bordeaux Wine imitated Raisin Wine . Mead Red Mead American Mead Unripe Gooseberry Wine Gooseberry Wine . Pearl Gooseberry Wine . Currant Wine White Currant Wine Red Currant Wine Black Currant Wine Raspberry Wine Strawberry Wine Cowslip Wine Cowslip Mead Apricot Wine Birch Wine . Plum Wine Damson Wine Black Cherry Wine Red Cherry Wine Mulberry Wine Blackberry Wine Bilberry Wine. Clary Wine . Sage Wine Balm Wine . British Grapes Wine CONTENTS. PAGE ib. 24 ib. 25 ib. 27 28 ib. 29 ib. 30 82 35 ib. 36 40 41 ib. 42 43 44 45 46 47 49 ib. . 60 52 53 54 55 ib. 56 58 59 61 62 63 . CONTENTS. Vii PAGE Wine from Vine Leaves . . . - 66 Marigold Wine. - oe .. . : - 67 Parsnip Wine. . . . Looe - 68 An Excellent Family Wine . . . . 69 An Excellent Wine from Mixed Fruits | . : - ib. Quince Wine. . . . : - 70 Favourite Recipes for making it . Lo. . «ib. Orange Wine . . . . 73 Lemon Wine . oe oo. . . . 75 Elderberries Wine . Le oe . . - 76 Elder-Flower Wine . . . . - 79 Ginger Wine. : . . 2 ib The Fine Rich Tokay Wines of Hungary . . - 81 SECTION III. Crier AND Perry. . . . ° - 85 SECTION Iv. Corputs aND Liqueurs . . _ - 97 BRITISH CORDIALS AND LIQUEURS. Black Cherry Cordial—No. 1 . . . - +98 » Cherry Cordial—No,2. . oo oo - 99 Currant Liqueur . . . : . - 100 Pearl Gooseberry Liqueur - - . - 101 Dameon Liqueur . . oo oo - «102 Capillaire. . moo, so. so, : - 108 Ratafia . a oo. so mo : . ib. Red Ratafia . mo so. . - oo. - 104 Dry Ratafia . to . oo. . - ib, Usquebaugh . an oo ok oe + 105 Real Irish Usquebaugh . . . . - 106 Yellow Usquebaugh . . . . - 107 Peppermint Cordial - . . - . ib Caraway Cordial . . . . - 108 Aniseed Cordial . Loe . . - . 210 Citron Cordial : . . - +. 11 vil Cinnamon Cordial . Clove Cordial . . Coriander Cordial . Cherry Brandy . American Cherry-Bounce Lovage Cordial . Raspberry Brandy Blackberry Cordial . Caraway Whisky . Duc de Montebello’s (Marshal Lannes ’s) Liqueur Cedrat Cordial . Nutmeg Cordial . Curagoa Liqueur . Hippocras . Ginger Brandy . Ratafia de Cerises Chambertin . Sanspareil Liqueur . Rich Lemon Liqueur Maraschino . . Ne Plus Ultra . Créme de Noyeau de Martinique Pink Noyeau . French Noyeau . Imperial Nectar . Seville Orange Liqueur . Créme d’Orange A choice Cordial . A fine Citron Cordial West India Shrub . Shrub Cordial . Our Own Liqueur . Alum Finings . CONTENTS. . SECTION V. - . PAGE - 112 - 113 2114 - 115 . 116 - ib. - 117 - 118 - ib. . 119 - ib. - 120 . ib. - 121 - ib. - 122 - ib. - 123 . 124 - 125 . 126 - 127 - 128 . ib. - 129 - 130 . ib. -, 181 - 182 - 183 . ib. - 187 THe MANAGEMENT oF Forzian Spirrrvous Liquors AND Wires 188 Racking Foreign Wines . To manage and improve Red Port Wine, when poor and thin - 139 . 140 CONTENTS. 1X PAGE To recover pricked Port Wine .. . . . 141 Acidity in Wines, &c. &c. . . . - ib. To impart roughness to Port Wine . . . . 142 » fine a pipe of Port . . . . - ib. Colouring for Red French Wines : . - . 148 n for Brandies . . . . - 144 To manage White Port Wine : . . » ib. To improve a butt of Sherry . . . . 145 » fine a butt of Sherry . . . - ib. »» improve a pipe of Madeira . . . - 146 » fine a pipe of New Madeira . . . - 147 Lisbon Wine . . . . + ib. To fine a pipe of Lisbon Wine - . . . 148 » cause Wines to settle well . . . - ib. » improve White Wines . . . . . ib. Claret . . . . . . 149 For Claret that drinks foul . . . - «150 To fine a hogshead of Claret . . . - ib. SECTION VI. BREWING . . . . - . 1517 Strong October Beer . . : . - 153 Cooling the Worts : . . . . 154 Fermentation oy . . . - 155 Casking . . . . . - 156 Fining . . . . . ’ - 158 Remarks . . : . . - ib. Mild Ale . . . . . - 159 Table Beer . . . . . =. 168 Remarks . . . eo. . 165 Cellarage . . . . . - 168 Porter . . . . . - 169 To brew five barrels of Porter . . » 171 Burton Ale . . . . . - 175 Windsor Ale . . . . . - 176 Reading Ale . . . . . 177 Nottingham Ale . . . . . » ib. Scotch Ale. . . : . - 179 Welsh Ale . . . . + « 180 x CONTENTS. Dorchester Butt . . . Barnstable Ale . . . : Ale from Oats . . . . Sugar Ale. . . . . SECTION VII. THE MANAGEMENT OF BRITISH WINES AND MALT LIQUORS. To restore pricked Wines. .. . »» prevent Wines turning sour . . . x sweeten Wines . . . n Stop decay in Home-made Wines . . yy Testore ropy Wines ° . . Finings for Malt Liquors . e To recover Flat Beer . . . Feeding matters for Beers . . . To fine a hogshead of Porter . . » bottle Ale, Beer, and Porter . . . Racking of Wines . . : : Finings . . . . . Method with Finings . . . Bottling of Malt Liquors . - . BITTERS. Gin Bitters . . . . Brandy Bitters . . oo Wine Bitters . . . . Superior French Bitters . . : HONEY AND YEAST. Honey . . . . . To clarify Honey . : . Yeasts . : . . . To preserve Yeasts . . . . SECTION VIII. AGREEABLE AND WHOLESOME BEVERAGES, Ginger Beer . . * . » 9 (a Paris recipe) . . . . . PAGE - 181 . 188 - 186 - 187 - ib. - 188 - ib. - ib. - 189 - 190 - 192 . 193 - 195 . ib. - 196 ib. - 198 . 199 . 200 - 201 - 202 « 208 - 205 CONTENTS. Spruce Beer . . . . Excellent portable Lemonade . . Sherbet of the Hotels . . . . Imperial . . . . Persian Sherbet . . . . , Oriental Nectar . . . . The Sultan’s . . . . Lemonade . ° . . Italian Lemonade . . . . SECTION IX. MEDICINAL WINES. Balm Wine . . Lisbon Diet Drink e . Rhubarb Wine. . . Webster’s Diet Drink . . Warner's Cordial . . . Anti-scorbutic Wine . . . . Stomachic Wine . . f . MEDICINAL BEVERAGES. Artificial Cheltenham Water—(Chalybeate spring) Cheltenham Saline Spring . . . Cheltenham Water . . . Chalybeate Water Artificial Buxton Water—(The warm sulpbur spring) Imitative Buxton Water . . Harrogate Water—(Chalybeate spring) . . » (Sulphur spring) . Artificial Chalybeate Water—(Brighton) . WHEYs. Wine Whey . ° . . Tamarind Whey . . . Mustard Whey . . . . Scorbutic Whey . . oo. Alum Whey . . . . VINEGARS. Baisin Vinegar . . . . PAGE - 207 . 208, + 209 - 210 . 211 - 218 - 214 + ib. « 215 . 216 ib. . ib. . 217 . ib. - 218 - ib. « 219 ib. - id. + 221 ib, - 223 xil CONTENTS. Gooseberry Vinegar . . Currant Vinegar . : . . Sugar Vinegar. . . Observations . : . Malt Vinegar . . . Wine Vinegar . . . . Chilli Vinegar. . . Vinegar from the refuse of Fruits . », from Beer : . SECTION X. FERMENTATION . . . Promoters of Fermentation . . . Retarders and Counteractors of Fermentation SECTION XI. THE DISTILLATION OF SIMPLE WATERS, &c. Description of the Diagram . Spirit of Rosemary . : . . Rosemary Water . . . . Hungary Water . Jasmine Water . . . Jamaica Pepper Water . : . Spirituous Jamaica Pepper Water . . Spirituous Cinnamon Water . Cinnamon Water . . . Pennyroyal Water . . . . Lavender Spirit . . . Spirit of Lavender . . . ° Bergamot Spirit . . . : Spirit of Orange Peel . . . . Essence of Peach Kernels . . . Concentrated Essence of Ginger . . Essence of Ratafia : . : Essence of Lemon . . . . Spirit of Pimento . . . Essence of Vanilla : . . . PAGE - 224 + ib. - 225 . 226 « 227 - ib. . 228 - ib. - 229 © - 235 . 236 « 238 - 241 » ib. . 242 . 243 . ib. . 244 - ib. « ib. . 245 « ib. + ib. - 246 « ib. - 247 - ib. - ib. CONTENTS. xq . PAGE Essence Royale . . . . . « 248 Spirit of Nutmegs . . . . . ib Spirit of Juniper ty . . . . 249 Tincture of Hops . . . » «ib. . Tincture of Coriander . . . . . ib. Aromatic Tincture . : . . 250 Tincture of the Balsam of Tol . . . - ib. Extract of Hops . . . . - . ib. Extract of Malt . . . . - 261 Stomachic Elixir . . - - 252 Dr. Stoughton’s celebrated Blixir . . . . ib. Eau d’Ange . . . . . . 258 » de Bouquet . . . . - 254 » 9) Marechale . . . . » ib, 1» ~9 Cologne . . . . . 255 » » Mille Fleurs . . . . . ib. Eau Divine . ° . . . - 256 » de Melisse des Carmes . . . . . ib. Syrup of Violets . . . : . 257 Raspberry Syrup . . : . - ib. ‘Mulberry Syrup . . . . » 268 Syrup of Cloves . . . . - ib. ” Lemons . . . . . 259 ” Cinnamon . . . . - ib. » Morello Cherries . . . - id. ” Ginger . . . . . . 260 » Orange Juice . . . . ib. Sirop d’Orgeat— (Syrup of Almonds) . . . 261 HUILES LIQUEUREUSES. De Vanille . . . . . 262 Huile des Fleurs Oranges . : . . ib, Créme d@’Orange . . . . . id, SECTION XII. A List or UrEnstis . . . . « 263 New Casks and Utensils . : . . 268 xiv CONTENTS. PAGE To sweeten Musty Casks and Tubs. . » 268 » fine Ale or other Malt Liquor when affected by Thunder . 269 Ropy Beer or Ale . . . - ib. Contents of Casks in general use in Private Families . . ib, GLOSSARY Or EnGLisH AND’ FrENcH TERMS MADE USE OF IN THIS WoRK . 270 BRITISH WINES. —~——. SECTION I. DOMESTIC WINES. _ Tue theory and practice of domestic wine-making are not importantly different, but it is necessary to- the production of even tolerably good wines to draw the attention of the operator to the various means and methods by which he can attain perfection in the art. The conducting of the whole processes, from the very gathering of the fruit to the stowing away of the liquor in the cellar, is capable of so great improve- ment (and that, too, without any additional expense, loss of time, and labour), that it appears irrational to wonder at the frequent failures and disappointments which, for a series of years, have conspired to obtain for home-made wine so indifferent a character. I confess that I should not have a high regard for B 2 BRITISH WINES. the opinion of one of that class of wine-drinkers who, regardless of the beautiful productions of a well-cul- tivated garden, and in a propitious season, would affirm that the best of our native wines are but rubbish ; nay, many a well-informed man of business can negative such declamation, by assuring us that a majority of the so-called foreign wines, as the cham- pagnes, ports, sherries, &c., and possibly of which we might at that moment be partaking, and loading with the usual laudations of good society, have never been out of England. Aware of our fruits abounding in malic acid and being deficient of saccharine—sugar—the inevitable consequences of a climate not propitious to a quick ripening of our fruits, we add a judicious propor- tion of those requisites, and are thereby placed on an equal footing, in this respect, with our foreign friends. , We have, in abundance, the juices of active fruits, the apple, pear, crab, gooseberry, currant, the sap of the birch-tree, and rhubarb, for the production of lively “mousseux” wines, such as the variety of the champagnes. We have, for our more quiet liquors, lemons, oranges, damsons, and all plums, raisins, muscatel and malaga, peaches, elderberries, &c., quinces, and a score or two of other fruits and succu- lents, and for our bouquets and aromas, our cordials and liqueurs, all spices from the East and West and our colonies, our gardens simultaneously offering us BRITISH WINES. 3 the beautiful pine strawberry, the raspberry, and all the other odoriferous products. . There are thousands of gallons of wines, &c., lost, ruined for want of the use of the thermometer, and another equally useful instrument, the saccharometer. For want of a knowledge how the heat on the one hand stands, and the state of sweetness of the other, the attenuation is run down so low as to leave no food in the liquors to sustain them, and consequently we obtain vinegar instead of wine. All wines made from sugar and honey, and if only partially so, must be boiled at least half an hour, and skimmed and cleared as much as possible in that process. If only one-half the trouble, care, and attention was paid by us as is devoted to wine-making in France, our productions would soon take their “proper stand ” amongst the beverages of nations. Age, too, . is seldom allowed our wines, and other disadvantages there are that fall to the lot of British wines, which in other countries are studiously avoided. LIGHT OR DINNER WINES. Light wines are now taken, “in preference,” at every table where good taste rules. LISBON WINE. To each gallon of cold spring water add half a gallon.of the juice of red or white currants, or both, B2 4 BRITISH WINES. and to every gallon of the mixture 34 lb. of the best refined sugar. Dissolve the sugar totally in the water, then put it into a perfectly sweet cask, and cover the bung-hole lightly with the bung, so as to admit the air for the better security of working the wine successfully. When it has been fermenting fifteen days, put into the cask a small muslin bag containing— Brown mustard seed that has been previ- ously steeped in aquartof brandy . . 1 pint Coriander seeds, bruised . . . . . . 2402. Bitter almonds, split . . . . . . . loz Let the bag be suspended midway in the vessel; then add the used brandy, and stop up the cask effectually for eighteen months, if you can allow it, but certainly not less than twelve months. Then fine and bottle it. It will be a close imitation of the Portuguese article. Keep it in bottle three months. This is for 18 gailons of wine. MADEIRA. Into 44 gallons of boiling soft water, pour, by degrees, 4 bushels of ground pale malt. Mash for infusion; strain off the wort while warm. Take 24 gallons, and add— Sugar-candy, broken small. . . 14 Ib. Cream of tartar . . . . . . 30%. BRITISH WINES. 5 When perfectly dissolved, and at the temperature of 70 deg., add fresh ale yeast 2 lb. Ferment, skim- ming off the yeast, and when the ferment is nearly completed, add— Raisin wine . . . . 2¢ galls. Brandy. . . . . . 2 galls. Sherry wine . . . . 2 galls. Bung it close down in a sweet cask for eight months ; then tap it, bottle, cork, and seal safely, and in four months more you will have a beautiful wine, that will keep as long as you desire; even at a year’s end it has proved excellent. PRIME BLACKBERRY. Take blackberries fully ripe and picked clean from leaves, grubs, &c. &c., put them into a tub, or other vessel, having a tap in it fully three inches from the bottom, and pour on them as much boiling water as will just cover them. As soon as the heat will admit of it, bruise them well by hand, until none of the fruit remains unbroken. Let them so remain in macera- tion until the berries begin to rise towards the surface, which will occur in four days, if covered up. Then draw off the clear liquor into another vessel, and add to every 10 quarts of the mixture 4 lb. of - Muscovado sugar of best quality, and that is said to 6 BRITISH WINES. have “plenty of colour;” stir well, and let it stand to work rather more than a week; then filter through a flannel jelly-bag into a sweet cask. Now lay four ounces of American isinglass, and put it to macerate in a pint of blackberry juice for twelve hours; the next morning boil it on a slow fire for half an hour with 3 pints additional of the juice, and pour it into the cask ; when cool, stir it well about, and then leave it to settle a few days; then rack it off into a clean cask, and bung it closely down. In nine months it will be fine, rich wine, and the bottling having been successfully conducted, and with the best white long corks, carefully waxed, you will be astonished at the reception it will meet with from persons known to be competent to judge. I have drank of it in Staf- fordshire with great satisfaction. RASPBERRY WINE. To each gallon of raspberries (the colour is indif- ferently regarded) add the same quantity of prime cider of Herefordshire, in preference now to that of Devonshire, and leave them to steep forty-eight hours; then press the fruit, and to each gallon of the juice put 3 Ib. of real Muscovado sugar, coloured plentifully and clean; put them into your clean cask, and add to every 18 gallons of wine one gallon of brandy. In three months bottle it, cork well, and wax securely; at Christmas it will be a delicious BEITISH WINES. q wine. ‘If kept twelve months im bottle, the bouquet MULBERRY WINE. When ripe, gather your mulberries, not all in one day, but each day getting some as they attain perfect maturity. Let them lie on clean wheat. straw for a week, from the commencement of plucking. Now, for each gallon of berries allow a gallon of spring water, and let the fruit macerate thirty hours; then strain off the liquor with pressure, slowly and thoroughly, and to each gallon of the juice put 3 Ib. of the best refined Bristol lumps. When it is dissolved (and be particular in the ascertaining of that fact), put it into your cask, adding to it— Cloves bruised . . . . 2402. Nutmeg sliced . . . . 14 02. Cassia, just beaten . . Iz. all tied up in a bit of muslin, and suspended half way down the vessel. When the fermentation shall have ceased, bung the cask closely down, but not before that. Try it with a gimlet and spile at the end of four months; then, if it be fine, bottle it off into the cleanest well-corked bottles, and wax them safely. If otherwise, rack it off into another cask, in which let it abide eight months longer ; then operate, and fail not to keep it six months in the glass, 8 BRITISH WINES. Why ? because it will richly deserve it ; and sécondly, because, at a year’s end, it always is a flat wine, which is changed for briskness by long keeping. The qua- lity will be undeniable. RASPBERRY WINE. When ripe, gather your fruit for wine-making. Disengage their husks, picking out the grubs, leaves, and insects, and bruise them; then strain out their juice through a horsehair cloth into jars. Boil the juice, and to each gallon of it add 13 1b. of double refined sugar. Now apply the whites of eggs, letting the whole boil twenty minutes, and skimming thoroughly as the scum rises. When the liquor is cool, and has deposited its sediment, put it into a sweet cask, adding brisk yeast to ferment it. As soon as this is accomplished, add half a pint of good British spirit (perhaps none is better adapted here than Kinahan’s LL whisky, which can be procured in every large town) to each gallon in the cask, and suspend in it a bag containing— Cloves, bruised. . . . . . $02 Mace. ....... =. Lo. Green laurel leaves, crushed . 1 oz. Bung it up securely, covering the bung with a piece of oiled linen cloth, and dry sand upon that. Keep it for six months in a cool situation, and it will be BRITISH WINES. 9 then a truly delicious and valuable wine, and such as very mgany persons would be proud of placing before their guests. Let it remain in bottle a year for perfection. RED GOOSEBERRY WINE. From 10 gallons of ripe red gooseberries pick out all the unsound and decayed ones, put them into a sweet tub that has a tap-hole near the bottom fur- nished with a cock, and bruise the fruit thoroughly, then leave it thus for twenty-four hours, uncovered. The pulp may now be put, either all at once, or by successive operations, into a hair or canvas bag, and submitted to pressure. Return the matter contained in the bag into' the tub, and pour upon it about 5 gallons of hot water, and stir them intimately together for fifteen minutes. After remaining, well covered, in the tub for twelve hours, the matter is to be pressed through the bag, and what liquor is got must be added to the first juice. You may throw away the matter left in the bag as useless, for it would make but very indifferent vinegar. Next, dissolve in each 5 gallons of the liquor 12 Ib. of the best re- fined sugar, and mind that the mixture is thoroughly carried out by stirring. Leave the liquor alone, and in about twenty- four hours it will show signs of approaching fermen- tation, and if the weather be esteemed cold for that . time of year, place your containing vessel or vessels 10 BRITISH WINES. near the fire. The fermentation would have set in sooner, and got on more actively, if the bermes had “not attained to maturity, or would not have required so high a temperature to excite it and carry it out success- fully. Should the season be so warm as to cause too rapid a fermentation, and you fear your liquor may become sour, you may soon provide effeetually against it by racking off the wine from its lees, the head of yeast being first taken off. When the fermentation has totally ceased, the wine must be racked off as clear as it is possible to get it, and to every 5 gallons of it;add 2 quarts of French brandy, or good old malt spirits of Kinahan, or the best Scotch rectifiers’. Wishing to convey the largest amount of information on all subjects important to the success of British wine-making, I may, perhaps, be excused for seeming to favour the using of Messrs. Kinahans’ spirits, when I state that I have myself, for many years, made use of the LL, or Lord-Lieutenant’s, in making wines and cordials, and have never been (to the best of my knowledge) deceived in their qualities. It is im- portant in wine-making that the spirits added should be as free from phlegm as possible, and Kinahans are rectifiers on/y—not distillers. The wine, after the spirits are well mixed in with it, must now be left to settle for at least a month, then it must be gently drawn off into a sweet cask it will just fill, and set aside in a cool cellar for at least another year, when you may bottle it in cool dry BRITISH WINES. 11 weather, cork securely with the best white wood, and use wax plentifully. If stored in a cool, yet genial atmosphere, and left undisturbed for two years, we may expect a fine, rich, mellow wine, and run but a very little chance of being disappointed. WHITE CURRANT WINE. To fill a 6-gallon cask, and to be kept five years in wood. Take 3 gallons of ripe white currants, picked clean from the stalks, press out the juice thoroughly, and infuse the cake that remains in the bag in 14 gallons of cold spring water for twenty-four hours, frequently stirring it; press out this liquor, mixing it with the juice, and add 14 lb. of the best refined sugar, which must be thoroughly dissolved. Shift the liquor into a cask that the liquor does not entirely fill, and put in a bung with a gimlet-hole bored in the centre of it, and keep this in a temperature of 70 deg. for a month. VIDONIA WINE. Sub-acid apples, well bruised . 3 bushels Clarified hopwey. . . . . . 10/b. White tartar. . . . . . . 1002. 1 nutmeg, sliced Rum . oe ee « » 2quarts Cold soft water. . .°. . . 2galls. 12 BRITISH WINES. Boil the whole half an hour, making it up to 18 gallons. Strain it through a sieve, and put it to work with fresh ale yeast; when fermentation has distinctly ceased, fill your cask quite full, bung up close, and keep it cool for a year, then bottle it, waxing and wiring good corks. In six months more it will be very fine, pleasant wine. CALABRIAN WINE. For 18 gallons. Apples, well bruised. . . . 3 bushels Muscovado sugar . . . . 15/b. Red beetroot, thinly sliced. . 4 lb. Red tartar, in powder . . . 302 Jamaica ginger, powdered . . 3 oz. Rosemary leaves . . . . . 1 handful Lavender leaves . . . . . 1 handful Boil all these with 2 gallons of soft cold water for half an hour; then strain through a sieve, and set to ferment with prime ale yeast in the usual manner; when ready to be casked, add, in the tun, 2 quarts of good British spirits of wine, or 3} quarts of cognac brandy. Let it remain, well bunged up, a year, then bottle and keep a year longer. A choice red wine of high flavour, with bouquet. BRITISH WINES. 13 WHITE FALERNIAN, Clarified honey. . . . 40 Ib. River water. . . . . 60 galls. Worcestershire hops . . 5 |b. Coriander seeds, bruised. 4 oz. Boil the honey with the water for one hour, skimming well as long as necessary, then add the hops, and con- tinue the boiling fifteen minutes longer, then strain off clear, and when at 70 deg. add ale yeast 1 quart, if brisk and sound, if not, half a pint more. Let it ferment in the usual manner, and when about half completed add the seeds, stirring very gently five minutes. Have your cask ready to receive it, and it must be quite filled; put on the bung lightly, and when it has done hissing, and all is quite still, drive in the bung, cover it with oiled linen cloth, and after that with sand, and let it stand a year. Watch it well for the first month, by having a vent-hole near the bung, to prevent accident. This will be a rich, estimable wine of the mead kind, but the quantities so judiciously proportioned as to invigorate the system without fear of headache, if taken in excess. It will pass well for the foreign wine the name of which it bears. As a family wine it is highly recommended where much is drank. ; 14 BRITISH WINES. A FAMILY WHITE WINE. Fine brisk cider, or Sub-acid apple juice } 16 galls. Honey, well clarified . 16 Ib. White tartar . . . . 402 Cinnamon, broken . . 1 02. Cloves and mace, each . 1 oz. Boil the three first half an hour, skimming well, transfer the liquor to a cooler, and when the heat has fallen to 70 deg. ferment with good active ale yeast, and add, in a canvas bag, the spices, and when the fermentation has ceased pour in old rum 1 gallon. The cask must be full when bunged tightly up. Keep it a year in cask in a cool cellar, then bottle it, putting in each bottle one clove. Tried and proved excellent. It would be improved further by age. For 18 gallons, CARCAVELLO. Good sound sweet cider . . 19 galls. Malagaraisns . . . . . 20/b. Bitter almonds . . . . . 302. Nutmeg, bruised. . . . . 402. Laurel green leaves, bruised . 14 oz. For 18 gallons. Put the raisins, stalks and all, and laurel leaves into a sweet tub, and pour to them the cider, stir well for . BRITISH WINES. 15 half an hour, and let them ferment for three weeks. Draw off the clear liquor into a clean cask, put on the bung loosely, suspend the almonds and spice in the cask, and when all is hushed completely, bung down effectually. Keep it a year or more in the wood, then bottle it off, using the best white corks. If it can be allowed to remain its full time, viz. a year longer, in the bottles, you will have a choice light wine, possessing flavour, mildness, and a fine topaz colour. PLUM WINE. Take ripe Orleans and greengage plums, put them into a perfectly sweet tub, and by pressure of the hands get out the stones. Put the fruit into an oven in a stone jar, just cover them with sweet cider, tie brown paper over the jar, and let them stew gently until soft. Then replace them in the tub, adding for each pound of pulp half a gallon of soft water, and 23]b. of best moist sugar; stir them twice a day for three days; then put them into your copper with three times as many damsons, whole, as you had plums of both sorts, and adding water and sugar proportioned to the damsons as to the other plums. Boil them all together twenty minutes, then transfer them to your tub, and when cool enough press out the juice through your hair bag into a clean cask that will about hold it, keeping back as much of the liquor as will be required for filling up 16 BRITISH WINES. with. You must next put into the cask a toast covered with good sprightly ale yeast, clap on the bung lightly, and encourage the usual fermentation. When this process has advanced a week, suspend in the cask a muslin bag, containing— Coriander seeds, bruised. . . 3 oz. Sweet fennel roots, bruised. . 2 oz. Cloves and mace, bruised, each 1 oz. Bitter almonds. . . . . . 302. For 18 gallons. When fermentation has ceased, and the hissing no longer can be heard, stop up the cask safely, and keep the wine two years in the cask, after which, bottle it, using the best corks, and sealing them well. If kept in the glass a year, you will have a wine that will not less astonish than please you. 7 SECTION II. BRITISH PORT WINE. Take British grape wine, or good rough cider. . . . . . 4 galls. Recent juice of elderberries . 1 gall. Logwood, in fine chips . . . 4 oz. Rhatany root, bruised . . . 4 |b. French brandy. . . . . . 2 quarts Infuse the logwood and rhatany root in the brandy and 1 gallon of the grape wine or cider, for one week; then strain off the liquor, and mix it with the other ingredients. Keep it in a tightly bunged cask one month ; it will then be fit for bottling. 7 Second method. Put into a clean and perfectly sweet 60 gallon cask, which has been previously fumed with brim- . Cc 18 BRITISH WINES. stone, 8 gallons of sound port wine, add to that 40 gallons of good cider, and fill up the cask with French brandy. The juice of ripe elderberries and sloes will impart a proper degree of roughness, and you can communicate the colour you desire with cochineal. Third method. - Take Sound ciaer. . . . . . . 24 galls. Port wine . . - « 4 galls. Juice of ripe elderberries - . 6 galls. Brandy . ... . . . . 6 quarts Logwood. . . 1 Ib. American isinglass, dissolved i in a gallon of the cider . . . 12 oz. Blend these well together, by stirring, for one hour, and if you prefer a rough flavour, add alum, in powder, 5 oz. Bung it down closely, and in three months bottle it. In twelve months it will be ready for drinking. BRITISH MADEIRA. Put a bushel of good pale malt into a sweet tub, and pour upon it 11 gallons of river or soft water that has boiled but cooled down to 150 deg. Fahr., stir them well together for twenty minutes, cover the vessel close, and let them stand for infusion six hours. Next, strain off the liquor through a hair sieve, BRITISH WINES. 19 dissolve in it 4 Ib. of sugar-candy, and set it to fer- ment with good fresh ale yeast. The fermentation having continued three days, the yeast being skimmed off three times daily, pour the clear liquor into a per- fectly sweet and clean cask, and add the following, first well mixed : Cognac brandy . . . 2 quarts Good raisin wine . . 5 pints Genuine port wine. . 2 bottles Stir them well for twenty minutes, and bung up the cask effectually; keep it in a cool situation twelve months, it will then be quite fit for bottling. This will be in no way inferior to the best of Cape Ma- deira. Second method. Pale malt, ground coarsely . . 4 bushels Boiling riverwater. . . . . 44 galls. Stir well, and leave it for infusion as long as it is perceptibly warm, or at 90 deg. of Fahrenheit’s scale. Then strain off the liquor, and while yet warm, add to 24 gallons of it, sugar-candy 14 lb., and cream of tartar 3 oz.; dissolve the sugar quickly by stirring, and when at 70 deg. add fresh sound yeast 2 Ib. Skim off the yeast three times daily, and when the fermentation is nearly finished, add— c2 20 BRITISH WINES. Raisin wine. . . . 24 galls. French brandy . . . 2 galls. Sherry wine. . . . 2 galls. Old Jamaica rum . . 1 quart Suspend a muslin bag containing green laurel leaves, shredded, 1 0z., and cloves 40z., in the cask, from the bung. Stop the cask closely, and let it remain for twelve months; then if quite fine, bottle it, using the best white corks; if not, rack it off into a sweet cask ; having first fined it with dissolved isinglass, rinse out the cask well, and return the wine fined, into it. Bung the cask now securely, and bottle in two months, This wine, if properly managed, will deceive many who profess correct judgment in genuine West India Madeiras. BRITISH CHAMPAGNE. Take Whitest raw sugar. . . . . . 7Ib. Best refined sugar. . . . . . 8ib. Crystallised lemon or tartaric acid 1} oz. ° Softwater ...... . . 8 galls. White grape wine or cider . . . 2 quarts Perry .— 4 quarts Cognac brandy. . . . . . . 38 pints Boil the sugar with the water, skimming clear two hours. Pour it then into a tub, and dissolve in it the acid; when at 70 deg. heat add yeast, and ferment BRITISH WINES. 21 in the usual manner. Put it next into a clean, sweet cask, and add the other ingredients; bung down securely, and keep it in a cool place for three months. Then bottle it, keep it cool six weeks longer, and it will be fit for drinking. If it should not be fine and clear after having been casked ten or twelve weeks, fine it with isinglass before bottling it. A pink and rich champagne may be made by adding fresh or preserved strawberries 1Ib., and powdered cochineal 2 02. , Second method. Take Light coloured moist sugar 9 Ib. Soft water. . . . . . 3 galls. Boil these’ half an hour, skimming thoroughly, and pour the boiling liquor on to 1 gallon of ripe currants clear picked off the stalks, but so as not to be bruised, or the seeds crushed. When cooled to blood heat, add fresh ale yeast half a pint, and let it ferment forty-eight hours; then filter it through flannel into a clean cask, with a quarter of a pint of isinglass finings. When the fermentation has ceased, bung it close, and so let it remain for a month; you may then bottle it, putting a lump of double refined sugar into each bottle. For pink champagne, employ red cur- rants with a few red raspberries, otherwise the wine will be a white one. 22 BRITISH WINES. CIDER CHAMPAGNE. Take Fresh pale cider . . 1 hogshead Malt spirits. . . . 3 galls. Refined sugar or honey 20 lb. Mix these well by agitation, and let them remain fifteen days. Fine with skimmed milk, half a gallon. This will be a very pale wine, and so close an imita- tion of the genuine article as to have frequently — deceived many competent judges of foreign wines. It opens very lively, if well managed. CYPRUS WINE IMITATED. Put the juice of white elderberries 1 gallon to 4 gallons of soft water, and press them through a sieve without bursting the seeds; then add— Best refined sugar . . . 20 1b. Sliced ginger . . . . oz. Cloves, bruised . . . . $02. Boil the whole of these together half an hour, skim- ming quite clear. Pour it into a tub to cool, and ferment it with good active ale yeast, spread on both sides of a toast of bread, three days; transfer it then into a cask just capable of holding it, and add raisins, stoned, 1 lb. When fermentation has ceased, add French brandy, 5 pints, and bottle it four months BRITISH WINES. 23 afterwards. In colour and flavour, it will approach . very nearly to the rich wines of Cyprus. SARAGOSSA WINE. To every quart of water put a sprig of rue, and to every gallon a handful of fennel root; boil these half an hour, strain through a hair sieve, and to every gallon of the liquor add 3 1b. of clarified honey ; boil this two hours, skimming clear. When cold, pour it into a sweet cask, and keep it in the vessel a full year; you may then bottle it. BRITISH CLARET. Take Soft river water . . . 6 galls. Sound cider. . . . . 2 galls. Malaga raisins, cut . . 8 lb. Put them together into a sweet vessel, and let them stand, closely covered up, in a warm situation, for fifteen days, stirring well every day. Then strain the liquor into a sweet cask, and add to it— Ripe barberries . . . 1 quart Juice of raspberries. . 1 pint duice of black cherries 1 pint Mustard seed Work these well up together for an hour, cover the mess with a thin sheet of dough four days, and 24 BRITISH WINES. set the vessel by the fireside. Let it thus stand for a week; you may then bottle it off. When it has, by age, become bright and ripe, it closely resembles claret. PALERMO WINE IMITATED. For every quart of soft water allow 1 Ib. of Malaga raisins, press and cut the fruit small, put it to the water, and let it remain twelve days, stirring well twice a day, having previously boiled the water an hour before adding it to the raisins, and having cooled down to 75 deg. Next strain the liquor, and put to it a small quantity of fresh yeast; then pour it into your cask with a sprig of dried wormwood ; let it be bunged close down, and in four months bottle it. CLARET IMITATED. Soak 2 pecks of recently-gathered vine leaves and their tendrils in 11 gallons of river water for two days, then add— Red tartar. . . . . . 602 Sugar... .. . . 30]b. Dried mint . . . . . $02 Boil all together one hour, then cool it to 70 deg., and ferment it with brisk ale yeast for one week. Then BRITISH WINES. 25 strain it very clear, and add to it a gallon of cognac brandy, in which have been steeped for four days— 2 nutmegs in powder Cinnamon. . . . . . 202. 6 laurel leaves, shredded Let it stand in a warm place four days, then bung it up in a sweet cask, let it remain ten days, then bottle it. This will fill an 18-gallon cask. BRITISH MUSCADEL. Boil 45 1b. of good moist sugar in 15 gallons of river water, when cool add by degrees 1 pint of ale yeast and 3Ib. of the tops of clary. Strain until clear, and ferment in the usual manner; and when it "has quite ceased hissing, add a gallon of French brandy. Cask it and bung close. BRITISH FRONTIGNAC. To every gallon of soft water add 5b. of sun raisins ; let them steep in the tub for three weeks, or thereabouts; then put them into your hair or canvas bag, and press them well. Then put the liquor into your cask, and let it ferment. In the mean time pick two handfuls of clary flowers and the same quantity of elder flowers; steep these in a gallon of British spirit for a month, then add it to the wine, 26 BRITISH WINES. bung it down close, and let it remain for six months ; then rack it off to the lees into another well-seasoned cask, and in a month it may be bottled. Another method. Take Refined sugar . . . . 12\b. Raisins of the sun. . . 6b. Water . ... . . & galls. Cut the raisins small, and boil all together for one hour, then take the flowers of the elder-tree, when fully blown and falling from the branches, half a peck, and add them to the. liquor when it is nearly cold; next day, add 6 spoonfuls of syrup of lemons, and 4 spoon- fuls of ale yeast; in two or three days put it into your cask, bung close, and when it has stood three months,e bottle it. A very brisk and excellent wine. A third method. Raisins of the sun, cut small . 7 Ib. Refined sugar. . . . . . 12/b. Spring water. . . . . . 6 galls. Boil these all together for an hour and a half. When the liquor is cold, put into it half a peck of full-blown elder flowers, with a gill of lemon juice, strained, and half the quantity of brisk ale yeast. Cover your vessel close, and after it has stood four days strain it BRITISH WINES. 27 off into a perfectly sweet cask that will contain it easily. Add a quart of Rhenish wine to every gallon of your liquor, and put the bung on lightly for fourteen days; stop it down securely, and keep it m a cool situation for six moaths, when it will be settled and fine. You may then bottle it, wiring the corks, and keeping the cellar cool in the hot weather. This is a much stronger wine, and will bear age well. BRITISH MOUNTAIN. Pick from your fine Malaga raisins all the larger stalks, chop them very small, and allow 5 Ib. to every gallon of cold spring water. Let them mace- rate fourteen or fifteen days, then press out the liquor, and put it into a cask that has been well fumi- gated with a brimstone match. Let it remain, with ’ the bung loosely put on,