Saratoga Brace Up

Many 19th century recipes specifically called for white sugar, which is more refined and preferred over browner sugars. But modern white sugar is probably too refined, making raw cane sugar the best, easily available choice.

Brand of proprietary, aromatic bitters no longer available. Appears mostly in 19th century cocktail books. Other barnds such as Angostura or Fee Brothers can be used as substitutes.

Common name for Citrus limon.

Anise-flavored liqueur that is sweeter than most anise-flavored liqueurs (such as pastis), and also has a lower alcohol content (typically 25% by volume, versus 40%). Like pastis, it was first created to replace absinthe. Marie Brizard is a well-known producer of French-style anisette. Anís del Mono is a Spanish brand. Sambucca Romana is one of Italy's versions.

Bird eggs are a common food and one of the most versatile ingredients used in cooking and have long been used in drinks. Usually used to add consistency and foam, egg whites and yolks are usually separated with "silver" indicating the white and "golden" the yolk. Modern chicken eggs are much larger, so use the smallest ones available.

Brandy (from brandywine, derived from Dutch brandewijn—"burnt wine") is a spirit produced by distilling wine, the wine having first been produced by fermenting grapes. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink. While some brandies are aged in wooden casks, most are colored with caramel coloring to imitate the effect of such aging.

The new general availability of ice in the mid 1800s revolutionized bar-tending and drinking. Ice was delivered in blocks that then had to to be broken, crushed, picked and shaved for increasingly popular individual drinks (as opposed to large punches).