THE COMPLETE DISTILLER TEXT

three Pounds; of Malt Spirits eleven Gallons; Water three Gallons. Draw off with a gentle Fire, dulcify with ordinary Sugar, and make up the Goods, to the Strength you desire with clean Water. This is rarely called for unless by the poor Sort of People, who are induced to use it from its Cheapness; tho’ it is a better Cordial than many drawn from dearer Ingredients. It is an excellent Carminative, and is often sold for Aqua Mirabilis. CHAP. LV. _Of Geneva._ There was formerly kept in the Apothecaries Shops a distilled spirituous Water of Juniper; but the Vulgar being fond of it as a Dram, the Distillers supplanted the Apothecaries, and sold it under the Name of Geneva. The common Sort however is not made from Juniper-berries as it ought to be, but from Oil of Turpentine; the Method of which we shall give in the Sequel of this Chapter. Juniper-berries are a roundish Fruit, of the Size of a Pea. They wither and wrinkle in the drying, and we meet with them variously corrugated, and usually covered with a bluish resinous Dust when fresh. They should be chosen fresh, plump, full of Pulp, and of a strong Taste and Smell. They are usually imported from _Germany_, tho’ we have plenty of the Trees in _England_. It is but small with us, rarely rising to more than three or four Feet in Height, and scarce ever exceeding five or six. Some of the Juniper Shrubs are Males, some Females of the same Species; the Male Shrubs produce in _April_ or _May_ a small Kind of Juli with Apices on them very large, and full of Farina; the Females produce none of these Juli but only the Berries, which do not ripen till the second Year, and then do not immediately fall off, so that it is no uncommon thing to see three Sets of Berries, or the Berries of three different Years at once on the same Tree. If you make use of _English_ Berries, let them be fully ripe before they are gathered; and in order to preserve them, spread them very thin on a boarded Floor, leaving the Windows and Doors open, and turn them once a Day till they are dry; after which pack them up in Barrels, so that no Air may come to them, and they will keep good all the Year. Some, when they are dry, throw them altogether in a Heap in a Corner of the Room, where they continue till wanted for use; but the Berries will not keep so well by this Method as by being packed in Casks; they are subject to contract a Mouldiness, which will give a Taste to the Goods, greatly to their Disadvantage. Some Distillers as soon as their Berries are gathered, put them into Casks, and cover them with Spirits of Wine; by this Method the Berries are indeed well preserved, without any Danger of contracting an ill Smell, which they are very apt to do by the other Methods unless the greatest Care be taken; but then it must be remembered, that the Spirit will extract great Part of their essential Oil, in which their Virtues consist, and consequently the Berries themselves will be rendered of little Value. If, therefore, you preserve your Berries in this manner, you should put into each Cask or Jarr, only the Quantity you use for one Charge of your Still; and when you have occasion to use them, put both the Spirits and Berries into your Alembic. Thus your Berries will be finely preserved, without any Loss either of their essential Oil, or the Spirits made use of to preserve. _Recipe for making ten Gallons of Geneva._ Take of Juniper-berries three Pounds, Proof Spirit ten Gallons; Water four Gallons. Draw off by a gentle Fire till the Faints begin to rise, and make up your Goods to the Strength required with clean Water. The Distillers generally call those Goods which are made up Proof by the Name of Royal Geneva; for the common Sort is much below Proof, ten Gallons of Spirit being sufficient for fifteen Gallons of Geneva. Nay, what is generally sold at the common Alehouses is made in the following manner. Take of the ordinary Malt Spirits ten Gallons; Oil of Turpentine two Ounces, Bay Salt three Handfuls, Draw off by a gentle Fire till the Faints begin to rise, and make up your Goods to the Strength required with clean Water. In this manner is the common Geneva made, and it is suprizing that People should accustom themselves to drink it for pleasure. There is a Sort of this Liquor called _Holland_’s Geneva, from it being imported from _Holland_, which is greatly esteemed. The Ingredients used by the _Dutch_ are, however, the same as those given in the first Recipe of this Chapter, only instead of Malt Spirit they use _French_ Brandy. In the first Part of this Treatise we have sufficiently shewn the Nature of _French_ Brandy, and in what its Excellence consists; and, also, that by the Help of a clean Spirit, Cordial Waters may be made with the same Goodness as those drawn with _French_ Brandy. If therefore the Distiller be careful in distilling and rectifying his Malt Spirit, he may make Geneva equal to that of the _Dutch_, provided it be kept to a proper Age; for all spirituous Liquors contract a Softness and Mellowness by Age, impossible to be imitated by Art. CHAP. LVI. _Of Cherry Brandy._ This Liquor is greatly called for in the Country; and is made different ways. Some press out the Juice of the Cherries, and having dulcified it with Sugar, add as much Spirit to it as the Goods will bear, or the Price it is intended to be sold for. But the common Method is to put the Cherries clean picked into a Cask, with a proper Quantity of Proof Spirit, and after standing eighteen or twenty Days, the Goods are drawn off into another Cask for Sale, and about two thirds of the first Quantity of Spirits poured into the Cask upon the Cherries. This is suffered to stand about a Month to extract the whole Virtue from the Cherries, after which it is drawn off as before; and the Cherries pressed to take out the Spirit they had absorbed. The Proportion of Cherries and Spirit is not very nicely observed; the general Rule is to let the Cask be about half filled with Cherries, and then filled up with Proof Spirits. Some add to every twenty Gallons of Spirit half an Ounce of Cinnamon, an Ounce of Cloves, and about three Pounds of Sugar, by which the Flavour of the Goods is considerably increased. But in order to save Expences, not only the Spices and Sugar are generally omitted, but also great Part of the Cherries, and the Deficience supplied by the Juice of Elder-berries. Your own Reason therefore, and the Price you can sell your Goods for, must direct you in the Choice of your Ingredients. By the same Method you may make Rasberry Brandy; and if the Colour of the Goods be not deep enough, it may be improved by an Addition of Cherry Brandy. CHAP. LVII. _Of Honey Water._ This Water has its Name from the Honey in its Composition; tho’ that Ingredient is but of very little Service to the Water, if made according to the usual Method. _Recipe for making a Gallon of Honey Water._ Take of the best Honey and Coriander-seeds, of each one Pound; Cloves, one Ounce and a Half; Nutmegs and Gum Benjamin, of each an Ounce; Vanilloes Number four. The yellow Rind of three large Lemons: Bruise the Cloves, Nutmegs, Coriander-seed, and Benjamin; cut the Vanilloes in pieces, and put all into a Glass Alembic, with one Gallon of clean rectified Spirit, and after digesting forty eight Hours, draw off the Spirit in Balneum Mariæ. To a Gallon of the above Spirit, add of damask Rose Water and Orange-flower Water, of each a Pound and a Half; Musk and Ambergrise of each five Grains. Grind the Musk and Ambergrise with some of the Water in a Glass Mortar, and afterwards put all together into a digesting Vessel, shaking them well together, and let them circulate three Days and three Nights in a gentle Heat: Then let all cool; filter and keep the Water in Bottles well stopped for use. This Water was first made by that faithful Chemist Mr. _George Wilson_, for King _James_ II. It is an Antiparalitic, smooths the Skin, and gives one of the most agreeable Scents imaginable. Forty or sixty Drops put into a Pint of clean Water, are sufficient for washing the Hands and Face; and the same Proportion to Punch, or any Cordial Water, gives a very agreeable Flavour. CHAP. LVIII. _Of Unequalled Water, generally sold by the French Name_ l’Eau sans Pareille. There are two Sorts of this Water, one drawn considerably below Proof, and rendered fine by Filtration, and the other without the Faints, the Receiver being removed as soon as they begin to rise. The latter is much the best, tho’ dearer than the former. _Recipe for making a Gallon of the common_ Eau sans Pareille. Take the outer Peels of twelve Citrons, three Quarts of fine Proof Spirit, and a Quart of Water. Put all into a Glass Alembic, and distil to a Dryness in Balneum Mariæ; filtre the Water, and put it into Bottles well stopped. This is the common Sort, and what is generally sold here under the Name _Eau sans Pareille_. _Recipe for making a Gallon of the best Sort of_ Eau sans Pareille. Take of the Essence of Cedrat, Bergamot, Orange, and Lemon, of each two Drams; rectified Spirit a Gallon; Water two Quarts. Put all into a Glass Alembic, and distil in Balneum Mariæ till the Faints begin to rise, when the Receiver must be immediately removed. Some to save the Trouble and Expence of Distillation, mix the Essences with the Spirit of Wine, in the manner before mentioned in the Chapter for making Hungary Water; but this is greatly inferior to that made by Distillation. CHAP. LIX. _Of the Water of Bouquet._ This Water has its Name from its Inventor, and is greatly esteemed abroad for its Smell. It is indeed drawn from the most odoriferous Flowers, and therefore it is no wonder that it is held in great Esteem. _Recipe for making a Gallon of Bouquet’s Water._ Take of the Flowers of white Lillies, and _Spanish_ Jessamin, of each Half a Pound; Orange-flowers and those of the Jonquil and Pink of each four Ounces; damask Roses one Pound. Let those be fresh gathered, and immediately put into a Glass Alembic with a Gallon of clean Proof Spirit, and two Quarts of Water. Place the Alembic in Balneum Mariæ, draw off till the Faints begin to rise. You may use Spirit of Wine, instead of Proof Spirit; but it will be absolutely necessary that it be entirely inodorous; for otherwise your Water will fall short of the desired Perfection. CHAP. LX. _Of Cyprus Water._ This Water is only a dilute Tincture of Ambergrise; but as it is used by those who are fond of that Perfume, and known by the Name of Cyprus Water, or _Eau de Chypre_, I would not omit giving the Recipe here, intending to give a full Account of Ambergrise in a succeeding Chapter. _Recipe for making a Gallon of Cyprus Water._ Take of the Essence of Ambergrise Half an Ounce; put it into a Glass Alembic with a Gallon of Spirit of Wine and two Quarts of Water. Place the Alembic in Balneum Mariæ, and draw off till the Faints begin to rise. CHAP. LXI. _Of Vestal Water, or_ Eau de Vestale. This is a very agreeable Water, and has been long in use in several Parts of _Europe_. _Recipe for a Gallon of Vestal Water._ Take of the Seeds of Daucus Creticus or Candy Carrots, two Ounces; Spirit of Wine a Gallon; Water two Quarts. Distil in Balneum Mariæ till the Faints begin to rise. Then add to the Spirit drawn over an Ounce of the Essence of Lemons, and four Drops of the Essence of Ambergrise; redistil in Balneum Mariæ, and keep the Water in Bottles well stoped for use. CHAP. LXII. _Of Beauty Water, or_ Eau de Beauté. This Water has it Name from its use in washing the Face, and giving an agreeable Smell. It is drawn from Thyme and Marjoram, which gives it a very elegant Odour. _Recipe for making a Gallon of Beauty Water._ Take of the flowery Tops of Thyme and Marjoram, of each one Pound; Proof Spirits five Quarts; Water one Quart. Draw off in Balneum Mariæ, till the Faints begin to rise, and keep it close stopped for use. CHAP. LXIII. _Of Royal Water._ This Water has its Name from being considered as the most excellent of all scented Waters. It is compounded of the Cedrat, Nutmegs and Mace, from whence the most elegant Smell is produced; and no Water is at present thought equal to this. There are two Sorts of Royal Water, one produced by a single Distillation, and the other by a double Distillation, and thence called rectified, or double distilled Royal Water. _Recipe for a Gallon of Royal Water._ Take of Mace one Ounce; Nutmegs Half an Ounce; Essence of Cedrat, or Bergamot two Drams: Put these into a Glass Alembic (after bruising the Spices) with five Quarts of fine Proof Spirit, and draw off one Gallon in Balneum Mariæ. _Recipe for making a Gallon of double distilled Royal Water._ Take of Mace one Ounce; Nutmegs Half an Ounce; bruise them, and put them into an Alembic with six Quarts of fine Proof Spirit, and draw off five Quarts with a gentle Fire. Then take the Spirit drawn off and put it into a Glass Alembic, with two Drams of the Essence of Cedrat, or Bergamot, and draw off a Gallon in Balneum Mariæ. Either of these Recipes will produce an elegant Water; but the latter greatly exceeds the former. CHAP. LXIV. _Of the Tincture, or Essence of Ambergrise, Musk and Civet._ 1. Authors have been long divided with regard to the Origin of Ambergrise; some taking it for a vegetable Juice, which either dropped into the Water from the Trunks or Branches of some Trees growing on the Sea-coast, or exudated from their Roots which ran out of the Earth into the Sea; some for an animal Production, and formed either by a secret Process from Honey-combs, or the Dung of Birds; and others have very circumstantially recorded that it is produced in the Whale. These Opinions are however now looked upon as false; Ambergrise being universally allowed to be a Mineral Production, of the Number of Bitumens. It is a light and frothy Substance, which generally bubbles up out of the Earth in a fluid Form, principally under Water, where it is by Degrees hardened into the Masses we see it in. Ambergrise in its natural, or common Form is a lax and coarse Substance of an irregular Structure, friable, and so light as to swim upon Water. It is of a pale gray Colour, with a faint Tinge of brown in it; but Pieces perfectly and uniformly of this Colour are rare, what we usually meet with is composed of whitish, yellowish, and blackish Granules; and in Proportion as there is more or less of this whitish Matter in these Masses, it is more or less scented and valuable. It is found in Pieces of perfectly irregular Figures, and from the Bigness of a Pea to those of ten, twenty, or more Pounds; nay there have been Masses found of more than two Hundred Weight. It should be chosen in clean and not over friable Pieces, of a pale grey Colour, and as uniform as possible in its Structure, with small black Specks within. There are two Sorts of Essences made from this Perfume; one without Addition of any other odoriferous Substance, and the other from Ambergrise compounded with Musk and Civet. _Recipe for making the Essence of Ambergrise._ Take of Ambergrise and white Sugar-candy, of each three Drams; grind them well together in a Glass Mortar, adding to them by slow Degrees, five Ounces of rectified Spirit of Wine, digest the whole in a Martrass (represented Fig. 8.) well stopped for four Days, and then separate the clear Tincture or Essence, which keep in a Bottle well stopt for use. _Recipe for making the compound Essence of Ambergrise._ Take of Ambergrise and white Sugar-candy of each two Drams; Musk twelve Grains; Civet two Grains; grind all these well together in a Glass Mortar, adding by Degrees four Ounces of rectified Spirit of Wine; digest and separate the clear Essence for use, as in the preceding Recipe. 2. Musk is a dry, light, and friable Substance; of a dark blackish Colour, with some Tinge of a purplish or blood Colour in it. It is soft, and somewhat smooth and unctuous to the Touch, and of a highly perfumed Smell. It is brought to us sewed up in a Kind of Bladders or Cases of Skin, covered with a brownish Hair, which are the real Bags in which the Musk is lodged while on the Animal. Musk should be chosen of a very strong Scent, and in dry sound Bladders; and must be kept close shut down in a Leaden Box, by which means it will retain its Smell, and not grow too dry. _Recipe for making the Essence of Musk._ Take of Musk and white Sugar-candy of each one Dram; rub them well together in a Marble Mortar, adding by Degrees during the rubbing five Ounces of rectified Spirit of Wine: Put the whole into a Matrass, digest three Days in a gentle Heat, and pour off the clear Essence, which keep in a Bottle well stopt for use. Some add a few Grains of Civet to their Essence of Musk, which considerably augments the Fineness of the perfume. 3. Civet is produced, like Musk, in Bags growing to the lower Part of the Belly of an Animal. It is of different Colours from a pure lively whitish, to a black; but the nearer it approaches to the white the better it is; of an extremely strong Smell, and a bitterish pungent Taste. The Essence of Civet is rarely used alone, but of great service in making Additions to other odoriferous Waters, and therefore I shall here give the Method of making it. _Recipe for making the Essence of Civet._ Take of Civet and double refined Sugar, of each two Drams; rub them well together in a Glass Mortar, adding by Degrees five Ounces of rectified Spirit of Wine: Put the whole into a Matrass, digest three Days in a gentle Heat, and pour off the clear Essence for use. Tho’ the Essences in this Chapter are, properly speaking, Chemical Preparations, and therefore foreign to the Business of the Distiller; yet as they are often added to perfumed Waters, and easily made, I thought the above Recipes would not be unacceptable to the Reader. CHAP. LXV. _Of Faints, and the Uses they may be applied to._ In many of the preceding Recipes I have ordered the Receiver to be removed as soon as the Faints begin to rise; because otherwise the Goods would contract a disagreeable Taste and Smell. It is not however to be understood that these Faints are to be thrown away, nor the Working of the Still immediately stopped; for they are far from being of no Value, notwithstanding they would be of great Disadvantage if suffered to run among the more spirituous Parts of the Goods before drawn off. As soon therefore as you find the clear Colour of the Goods begins to change of a bluish or whitish Colour, remove the Receiver, place another under the Nose of the Worm, and continue the Distillation as long as the Liquor running from the Worm is spirituous, which may be known by pouring a little of it on the Still Head, and applying a lighted Candle to it; for if it is spirituous it will burn, but otherwise not. When the Faints will no longer burn on the Still Head, put out the Fire, and pour the Faints in a Cask for that Purpose; and when, from repeated Distillations, you have procured a sufficient Quantity of these Faints, let the Still be charged with them almost to the Top. Then throw into the Still three or four Pounds of Salt, and