Gin is usually colorless and has some diuretic properties, owing to the juniper and other aro-matics in it, which also give it its peculiar flavor. Gin is distilled from almost any fermented grain, but the grains are not previously kiln-dried. Then, to get a neutral spirit, there is a second distillation, and to this the flavoring of the aromatics is added. Gin is a strong liquor. The English call it Hollands, and Old Tom gin, a favorite brand, is sweeter than ordinary gin. Individually, I do not cotton to gin, and I do not advise any one else to cotton to it. I have indulged in it on but three occasions, as I remember, - once at college, when it made me quite ill; the next time when I took a cocktail with the captain of a clipper ship just starting on a long voyage, and we were shipwrecked within a week; and the last time with a friend, on the birth of his long-wished-for son, and on my next visit the son was dead. These two last cocktails were taken before breakfast, that heathenish time to consume spirits, although it has been a custom of my lifelong environment. Thanks, I do not take gin, even though Lord Byron gave it renown in poetry as the poor man's substitute for riches; nor do I drink before breakfast, nor before noon, nor never did but twice in my life.

There are other spirits, but not in general use, and it is not worth while to take space to enumerate them. Cordials are somewhat used, generally after eating. Chartreuse, hot and peppery, is among the best. Maraschino is toothsome, but too sweet. Curacoa is of orange peel flavor and is one of the favorites.

There are many West India cordials, among the best of which is parfait l amour and the Vanilla cordial. As to cordials as a class, they are merely sweetened and artificially flavored spirits.