English Curaçoa
Ingredient: orange
What it is: FruitIngredient: whiskey
What it is: WhiskeyIngredient: simple syrup
Also Known As: sugar syrup What it is: SyrupIngredient: alum
Also Known As: alum powder What it is: AdditiveIngredient: potassium carbonate
What it is: AdditiveA white salt, soluble in water (insoluble in alcohol), which forms a strongly alkaline solution. It can be made as the product of potassium hydroxide's absorbent reaction with carbon dioxide. Potassium carbonate is sometimes used as a buffering agent in the production of mead or wine.
Place the orange peel in a bottle, which will hold a quart with the whiskey; cork tightly and let the contents remain for 10 to 12 days, shaking the bottle frequently. Then strain out the peel, add the syrup; shake well, and let it stand for 3 days. Take out a tea-cupful into a mortar, and beat up with the alum and potash; when well mixed, pour it back into the bottle, and let it remain for a week. The Curacoa will then be perfectly clear and equal in flavor to the best imported article.