Cordials

Cordials, sometimes referred to as “liqueurs” or “schnapps,” are made from distilled spirits flavored with fruits, herbs, spices, or other botanicals; they are sweetened with sugar, honey, or other agents and diluted with wine, water, or other liquids bearing less alcohol than spirits. Cordials are one of the earliest forms of distilled beverages and frequently were used as medicines, since it was believed that the curative properties of certain herbs could be preserved in spirits. Benedictine, for example, is an herbal cordial that was developed in 1510 by the Benedictine monk Dom Bernardo Vincelli. Chartreuse, another herbal liqueur, was first made in 1737 by Carthusian monks, who still make this cordial. Early cordials were used both as potable medicines and as liquid ointments for bathing wounds.