SC - documenting cordials

[Mark Harris]

On Wed., June 25, kat asked:

>	I will be teaching a local-level A&S class on making cordials in the =
>near future; and I need to know a good place to start looking for =
>documentation.  A book title or two would suffice; though I see no need =
>to reinvent the wheel, I wouldn't ask y'all to do it for me either...

Take a look at this file in the BEVERAGES section of my SCA Rialto Files,
newly enlarged with messages from SCA-Cooks and SCA-Arts:

cordials-msg      (32K)  3/25/97    Period cordials and liqueurs. SCA
creations.

Err. Uh. It will be enlarged with this neat new stuff including period
referances when I do the next update. Kat, if you want a copy, I'll
update it and send a copy to you by email.

Otherwise, my files are at:
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/rialto/rialto.html

I have appended a few excerpts from this file below:

Stefan li Rous
markh at risc.sps.mot.com

=======================
From: boyko at skyfox
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: RE: Spices and Distillation (was Re: Surprise! Surprise!)
Date: 21 JUL 93 01:31:35 GMT

    greetings unto the rialto from laghamon vavasour
angharad makes reference to searchingfor documentation of distilled
spirits as medicinals.
    when writing an essay on 16th century science a couple years ago,
I ran across a citation from M. Boas _The Scientific Renaissance_. On
page 161, she makes reference to a certain Michael von Shrick who wrote
a book on distilling liquors in 1478 and suggested the use of such
liquors as brandy for medicinal purposes. It is a slender leg to stand on,
but it might be worth using as leverage
============================
From: DDFr at Best.com (David Friedman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: How to make Rum *VERY INTERESTING*
Date: Sat, 23 Nov 1996 10:09:38 -0800
Organization: School of Law, Santa Clara University

Anyone interested in a period answer to the question might want to look at
the description of how to make arrack in the (16th century, Moghul) _Ain i
Akbari_. Arrack, like rum, is a distilled liquor made from sugar cane. I
don't believe they are the same thing, but I expect the process is at least
similar.

David/(Cariadoc doesn't even approve of undistilled liquors, unless they
are made from dates and fermented no more than three days)
======================================
From: jtn at nutter.cs.vt.edu (Terry Nutter)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Spices and Distillation (was Re: Surprise! Surprise!)
Date: 20 Jul 93 04:51:53 GMT

Greetings, all, from Angharad ver' Rhuawn.

In the fifth collection in _Curye on Inglysch_, which Hieatt calls "Goud
Kokery", there is a 14th C recipe for distilling aqua vite from the lees of
strong wine, which seems to produce something that would appear to be a
heavily spiced (and probably rather weak, given the methods described)
brandy.  So some form of such distilling is unmistakably period.

What is unclear is whether anyone ever used the result as a beverage,
i.e. drank it straight, either to quench thirst, to enjoy the flavor,
or to get drunk.  The closest I have to an indication of such a use is 
that it is used sparingly as an ingredient in some recipes for making
spiced wines or ales (amazingly enough, these recipes tend to indicate
amounts).
======================<end>