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 draw off as you would any other Charge as long as the Spirit extracted is of a sufficient Strength; after which the Receiver is to be removed, and the Faints saved by themselves as before.
The Spirits thus extracted from the Faints will serve in several Compositions as well as fresh; but they are generally used in Aniseed Water, because the predominant Taste of the Aniseeds will entirely cover that they had before acquired from other Ingredients.
