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KIRSCH (or KIRSCHENWASSER)

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Originally appearing in Volume V15, Page 834 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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KIRSCH (or KIRSCHENWASSER)

KIRSCH (or KIRSCHENWASSER) , a potable spirit distilled from cherries. Kirsch is manufactured chiefly in the See also:

Black See also:

FOREST

Forest in See also:

Germany, and in the See also:

Vosges and See also:

Jura districts in See also:

France. Generally the raw material consists of the See also:

WILD, JONATHAN (c. 1682-1725)

wild See also:

CHERRY

cherry known as Cerasus avium. The cherries are subjected to natural See also:

FERMENTATION

fermentation and subsequent See also:

DISTILLATION (from the Lat. distillare, more correctly destillare, to drop or trickle down)

distillation. Occasionally a certain quantity of See also:

SUGAR

sugar and See also:

WATER

water are added to the cherries after crushing, and the See also:

mass so obtained is filtered or pressed See also:

prior to fermentation. The spirit is usually " run " at a strength of about 50% of See also:

ABSOLUTE (Lat. absolvere, to loose, set free)

absolute See also:

ALCOHOL

alcohol. Compared with See also:

BRANDY

brandy or See also:

WHISKY, or WHISKEY

whisky the characteristic features of kirsch are (a) that it contains relatively large quantities of higher See also:

alcohols and See also:

compound See also:

ETHERS

ethers, and (b) the presence in this spirit of small quantities of hydrocyanic See also:

ACID (from the Lat. root ac-, sharp; acere, to be sour)

acid, partly as such and partly in See also:

COMBINATION (Lat. combinare, to combine)

combination as benzaldehydecyanhydrine, to which the distinctive flavour of kirsch is largely due. KIR-SHEHER, the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief See also:

TOWN

town of a sanjak of the same name in the See also:

ANGORA, or ENGURI

Angora vilayet of See also:

ASIA

Asia See also:

Minor, situated on a tributary of the Kizil Irmak (Halys), on the Angora-Kaisarieh road. It is on the See also:

LINE

line of the projected railway from Angora to Kaisarieh. The town gives its name to the excellent carpets made in the vicinity. On the outskirts there is a hot chalybeate See also:

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring. See also:

POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

Population about 9000 (700 Christians, mostly Armenians).

Kir-sheher represents the See also:

ancient Mocissus, a small town which became important in the See also:

BYZANTINE

Byzantine See also:

period: it was enlarged by the See also:

EMPEROR (Fr. empereur, from the Lat. imperator)

emperor Justinian, who re-named it Justinianopolis, and made it the See also:

capital of a large See also:

DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division of See also:

CAPPADOCIA

Cappadocia, a position it still retains.

End of Article: KIRSCH (or KIRSCHENWASSER)

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