Blanch and pound three quarters of a pound of sweet almonds, and thirty bitter almonds, in one tablespoonful of water. Stir in by degrees two pints of water and three pints of milk. Strain the mixture through a cloth. Dissolve half a pound of loaf-sugar in one pint of water. Boil and skim well, and then mix with the almond water. Add two tablespoonfuls of orange-flower water and half a pint of old brandy. Be careful to boil the eau sucré well, as this concoction must not be too watery. {97}
A Crimean Cup for a much smaller party can be made, without the addition of orgeat, as follows:—
Put the peel of half a lemon or orange into a bowl, add a tablespoonful of sifted sugar, one small glassful of maraschino, half that quantity of curaçoa, and a wine-glassful of old brandy. Mix well together, and add two bottles of aërated water, one bottle of champagne, and a block of ice.
Race-day Cup.
Dissolve a quarter of a pound of sugar in a quarter of a pint of water, add the juice of two lemons, one wine-glassful of brandy, half a wine-glassful of cherry brandy, a dash of maraschino, and a bottle of champagne. Add also a small piece of cucumber-peel, two sprigs of borage, two thin slices of lemon, four strawberries, four brandy-cherries, and two bottles of Seltzer water; stir well, and ice for an hour after covering up the bowl. Before serving put in a block of ice, and serve in tumblers.
Loving Cup.
Better a little flavoured brandy-and-water where love is than a Crimean Cup or a Halo Punch amidst bickerings and vexation of spirit.
Rub the rind of two oranges on loaf-sugar and put the sugar into a bowl; add half a pint of brandy, the juice of one lemon, one-third of a pint of orange juice, and one pint of water. Add more sugar if required, and ice well.
I don’t know if the above is the way the Loving Cup at the Mansion House is made; {98} but probably one recipe is as good as another, when all you have to do is to sip the liquid and pass it on.
The ancients knew not “cups”; simply because they knew not the virtues of Wenham Lake ice, or its imitations; whilst the “strong-waters” and alleged wines of the past did not blend particularly well, and there was no soda-water. Fearful and wonderful beverages were their compound drinks, however, many of which have already been analysed in these pages. But the recipe for