a Cordial Thank You

[viking@groupz.net (Doug Munitz,Sven Olafssen;Maria Munitz)]

Poster: viking@groupz.net (Doug Munitz,Sven Olafssen;Maria Munitz)

Dear Tibor,
   First of all, I wish to thank you for responding to my query on the
Merryrose.  Getting good sources in this neck of the woods, especially on
alcoholic subjects, is pretty slim.  This is the heart of the Bible Belt
and Ultra-conservative to boot.  Luckily there is inter-library loan
available.  I will be using this service to obtain the sources you and
Tadahg cited.
    What I wanted to do was to document a cherry and rose cordial.  I know
that flowers and herbs were used in period, though I am looking for
specific references to the use of roses, hopefully in the Mediterranean
Basin.  I know that there is a rose cordial from Italy called Rosolio,
though I don't know if it is period or not.  What I'm worried about is the
cherry part.  I know that cherries were grown in Italy, but what worries me
is that you stated fruit cordials were introduced after period.  Would it
be impossible then to document a fruit cordial for an A&S competition then?

     I know that most cordial makers in the SCA prefer to make fruit
cordials; tastes have reversed since the Middle Ages, they prefered sweet
wines, modern tastes run more to dry, medievals had cordials such as
Chartreuse (not sweet), and we have our sweet, fruity stuff. But then again
wasn't Amaretto and Frangelico both developed in period?  I remember
reading that Amaretto, distilled from apricot pits (like cyanide and
laetril), was developed in the early 16th c.  And it is definitely sweet. 
Are there any other sources available other than English?
    Oh, don't worry, I have no delusions about documenting the coconut
cream cordial.  So I won't even try.  Again, thank you to both you and
Tadahg.
Lady G
     


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