Name: Indian Brandy
Ingredients: 2 pounds golden syrup; 8 ounces boiling water; 8 ounces sweet spirit of nitre; 1 ounce tincture of cayenne; 4 ounces syrup of rhubarb

Why it works: Spirit and rhubarb work together. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 46 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓

Indian Brandy

Ingredients

Directions

Mix golden syrup with boiling water until combined.
Once cooled, add sweet spirit of nitre, tincture of cayenne, and syrup of rhubarb.
Mix well and shake the mixture.
Let it sit for one hour before using.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Spirit + rhubarbtop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together46 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Syrup + spirittop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together141 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Syrup + rhubarbtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together115 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Golden syrup: Provides the sweetness and body that give this brandy its base.
Sweet spirit of nitre: Adds a sharp, aromatic flavour that gives the mixture its characteristic bite.
Tincture of cayenne: Contributes heat and pungency to the finished flavour.
Syrup of rhubarb: Adds tartness and a bitter-sour note that balances the sweetness.