Claret combinations — Not too much noyeau — A treat for schoolboys — The properties of borage — “Away with mel-an-choly” — Salmon’s Household Companion — Balm for vapours — Crimean cup — An elaborate and far-reaching compound — Orgeat — A race-day cup — “Should auld acquaintance be forgot?” — Sparkling Isabella — Rochester’s delight — Freemason’s relish — Porter cup — Dainty drink for a tennis-party.

It is probable that there are almost as many recipes for claret cup as there are letters in Holy Writ, or acres in Yorkshire. This is the late Mr.
Donald’s Cup.

    One bottle claret.
    1 wine-glass pale brandy.
    ? do. yellow chartreuse.
    ? do. cura?oa.
    ? do. maraschino.
    2 bottles Seltzer water.
    1 lemon cut in thin slices.
    A few sprigs of borage.
    Ice and sugar to taste. {92}

To my taste there is rather too much liqueur in the above. Here is a simple recipe for
Badminton.

    Peel half a small cucumber and put it into a silver cup together with four ounces of sifted sugar, the juice of one lemon, a little nutmeg, half a glass of cura?oa, and a bottle of claret; when the sugar is thoroughly dissolved, pour in a bottle of soda-water, add ice, and drink. The cucumber should not be left in too long, and a sprig or two of borage will improve the flavour.

Balaclava Cup.

    Throw into a large bowl the thinly pared rind of half a lemon, add two tablespoonfuls of sifted sugar, the juice of two lemons, and half a small cucumber, unpeeled, in slices. Mix well, and add two bottles of soda-water, two bottles of claret, and one of champagne; mix well, ice, and flavour with borage.

Another Claret Cup.

    Put into a large bowl three bottles of claret, a large wine-glass of cura?oa, a pint of dry sherry, half a pint of old brandy, a large wine-glass of raspberry syrup, three oranges and one lemon cut into slices. Add four bottles of a?rated water, sweeten to taste, ice and flavour with borage. This is a good cup for a garden-party, or a tent at Ascot; and remember always that the better the ingredients the better the cup. More especially let your brandy be of the right brand.

Yet Another.

    Pour into a large jug one bottle of claret, two wine-glasses of dry sherry, and a dash of maraschino. {93} Add a few sliced nectarines, or peaches, and sweeten to taste. Let it stand till the sugar is melted, and then add a sprig of borage. Just before using add one bottle of Seltzer water, and a large piece of ice.

    Soda-water, Stretton water, or any other natural spring-water may be substituted for Seltzer.

One More,

    and a very simple one. Put into a bowl the rind of one lemon pared very thin, add sugar to taste, and pour over it a wine-glass of sherry; then add a bottle of claret, more sugar, a sprig of verbena for flavour, one bottle of a?rated water, and a little grated nutmeg; strain and ice.

My Ideal Claret Cup.

    Two wine-glasses old brandy, one wine-glass cura?oa, and a little thin lemon-peel, sweeten to taste, and pour over the mixture two bottles of light claret. Just before using add a pint bottle of sparkling moselle, and two bottles of fizzing water. Flavour with borage, and put a large block of ice in the bowl.

Nobody who has not tried it can understand how much the addition of a little sparkling Moselle improves a claret cup.
“For’ard On” Cup.

    Put into a large bowl three bottles of claret, a large wine-glass of cura?oa, one pint of sherry, half a pint of old brandy, two wine-glasses of raspberry syrup, three oranges and one lemon cut into slices; add a few sprigs of borage, a little cucumber-rind, {94} two bottles of Seltzer water and three bottles of soda-water. Mix well, and sweeten to taste. Let the mixture stand for an hour, then strain, and put a large block of ice in it. Serve in small tumblers; and if champagne be substituted for claret, and noyeau for raspberry syrup, a most excellent champagne cup will be the result. Beware, however, of too free a hand with the noyeau. This liqueur contains hydrocyanic (otherwise Prussic) acid, and should only be used cautiously, unless evil be wished to your guests.

Cider Cup, or Cold Tankard.

    This is a favourite beverage for schoolboys and uni-ver-si-ty students. I cannot say that I have encountered it since the early sixties, but ’tis a refreshing drink for the river-side and the cricket-field.

    Extract the juice from the peel of one lemon by rubbing loaf-sugar on it; cut two lemons into thin slices; the rind of one lemon cut thin, a quarter of a pound of loaf-sugar, and half a pint of brandy (I don’t think they allowed as much brandy as this at my old school). Pour the whole into a large jug, mix it well together, and pour one quart of cold spring-water upon it. Grate a nutmeg into it, add one pint of white wine, and a bottle of cider, sweeten to taste with capillaire or sugar, put a handful of balm and the same quantity of borage in flower, stalk downwards. Then put the jug containing this liquor into a tub of ice, and when it has remained there one hour it will be fit for use. The balm and borage should be fresh gathered. And here a few words as to the virtues of these.

In Evelyn’s Acetaria it is written:—“The {95} sprigs of borage in wine are of known virtue, to revive the hypochondriac, and cheer the hard student.”

Salmon’s Household Companion, 1710, told us: “Borage is one of the four cordial flowers; it comforts the heart, cheers mel-an-choly, and revives the fainting spirits.”

“Borage,” wrote Sir John Hill, M.D., “has the credit of being a great cordial; throwing it into cold wine is better than all the medicinal preparations.”

“The leaves, flowers, and seeds of borage,” says the English Physician, “all or any of them, are good to expel pensiveness and mel-an-choly.”

“Balm is very good to help digestion and open obstructions of the brain, and hath so much purging quality in it, as to expel those mel-an-choly vapours from the spirits and blood which are in the heart and arteries, although it cannot do so in other parts of the body” (Ibid).

After all this information, let not the garden of the mel-an-choly vapourer be searched in vain for balm and borage.
Perry Cup

is made in the same manner as the above, with the natural substitution of perry for cider.
Crimean............