The Vintner's, Brewer's, Spirit Merchant's and Licensed Victualler's Guide

1826, the first edition of this instructive guide to wines, beers, spirits and ciders.

Author

Publisher

Printing Details

First edition. Hardback, bound in full leather, with contrasting title label and gilt decoration to spine. 18.5 × 10.5cm, xvi + 372pp.

Full title "The Vintner's, Brewer's, Spirit Merchant's and Licensed Victualler's Guide: containing the History, Theory, and Practice of Manufacturing Wines, Foreign and Domestic, Malt Liquors; Cider; Perry; Vinegar; Spirits; Liqueurs; Essences; Cordials, and Compounds. An Extensive Collection of the Most Approved Receipts, Applicable to the Various Subjects, Many of which were Never before Published. Numerous Important Hints on Cellaring, and the General Management of all Articles Enumerated; the Whole Carefully Corrected by Recent Experiments, and Collected from the Best Authorities. Also, a Description of the Saccharometer, and the Various Hydrometers, with their Uses. Tables, Shewing the Difference in Quantity and Value between the Old and the New Imperial Measures. Selection from, and Abstracts of, all the Acts of Parliament Relating to the Excise Laws, Licences, and the Laws Affecting Innkeepers, Publicans, &c. Together with Various Useful Tables, and Miscellaneous Matters, for Constant Reference."

This is the rare first edition of The Vintner's, Brewer's, Spirit Merchant's and Licensed Victualler's Guide, a late Georgian book on brewing and wine-making etc. The author's identity is unknown other than his pseudonym here of A Practical Man.

The first section of the book is "Of wines", including a history of wine-making, principles, management, fretting-in, clarifying etc, and on recipes for wines such as from immature gooseberries, or from the leaves of the vine, cherry, elder, cowslip, port and sherry, champagne. The second section is in beer and brewing (hopping, boiling, fermentation etc), with instructions for making "one Hogshead of London Ale", as well as Burton Ale, Strong Ale, Welsh Ale, Table Beer. Then on to spirits and how to make French Brandy from the Apples or Seed Pods of Potatoes, and segments on the oil of wines, sugar spirits, distillation of rum in the West Indies. Various recipes for gins, carraway cordial, clove cordial, lovage, Usquebaugh (whisky), Ratafia de Noyau (an almond-flavored crème liqueur). The next section is cider, perry, mead and vinegar, including making draught cider, inferior cider (from the macerated reduced pulp). Part five is on the cellaring and management, and includes how to recover pricked wines, and various recipes such as imitation of East India Arrack. Part six is on the hydrometer and the saccharometer. The final sections are excise laws, innkeepers, licences, and weights and measures. The book ends with tables and figures for wines and gauging etc.

Condition

This copy is in good plus condition for age. There is rubbing to the leather binding with a 4cm split to the rear joint from the top of the spine, and some loss to the leather of the front board's fore-edge. The frontispiece and title page are heavily foxed but the main body of text is in good clean condition, with only a few minor, isolated spots of foxing and some minor marginal marks in pen and pencil not affecting text. The inner binding remains secure.

Further images are available on request.

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