ORCHARD BRANDY. 65 



In the early part of last century an extraordinary Cider was 

 made, which received the name of " Royal Cider," and during the 

 wars with France it was extolled to the skies as eclipsing the finest 

 French wines. The whole secret consisted in distilling the Alcohol 

 from one hogshead of Cider and adding it to another ; thus 

 making it of double strength, " fortifying " it, as brandy is used to 

 fortify grape wines for exportation. 



Orchard Brandy. — A spirit may readily be obtained from 

 the refuse of Apples, or Pears, when it is thought desirable to do 

 so ; just as it is from that of grapes after wine making. The cakes 

 from the press are added to the lees in the first racking, with a 

 sufficiency of water, and refermented. As soon as the active 

 fermentation is over, and the lees settled to the bottom, the spirit 

 may at once be distilled from the liquor ; or it may, of course, be 

 distilled with better results from the Cider or Perry, after the first 

 fermentation of the must. In either case, the distillation should be 

 effected by means of the water bath, or the brandy will have a 

 burnt rancid taste. The brandy will vary in flavour and strength 

 according to the richness of the must, and the care with which it 

 has been made. 



In years of great abundance of fruit, when the barrels are all 

 filled with Cider, and tons upon tons of fruit are still left to rot 

 away in the Orchards, a great economy would be effected if the 

 fruit could be crushed, fermented, and the spirit at once distilled 

 from the liquor ; for with good fruit, and ordinary care, a Brandy of 

 good character would be obtained. The great obstacle consists in the 

 uncertainty of the crops. Marshall mentions that "in 1788 there 

 were men who would make 100 hogsheads, that in 1783 did not wet 

 the press ; " and it is in the recollection of everybody, that the 

 years 1856-7-8-9 proved a succession of bad seasons, when there was 

 not half a hogshead of Cider made in several of the famous fruit 

 farms in Herefordshire, whereas in 1867-8, after the barrels were all 

 filled, hundreds of bushels of fine fruit were lying in heaps in the 

 Orchards in March. The Apples could not be sold, and were left 

 to decay and be absorbed by mother earth. 



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