Medicine and moonshine

QUESTION What was in the health tonic Indian Brandee?

UNTIL the Seventies, most households had a bottle of Indian Brandee to treat stomach upsets. But it had disreputable beginnings in the mid-19th century.

After a rise in the alcohol duty on spirits, the poor turned to drinking industrial alcohol or methylated spirits. This was a dangerous pursuit as you could end up blind or dead.

From 1861, on payment of £2 and two shillings, anyone could get a licence to sell up to one gallon of methylated spirits, which is used as a paint remover and cleaner.

But if it was coloured, flavoured or mixed to be sold as a beverage, you would be fined £100.

The exception to this rule were pharmacists, who began selling alcoholic concoctions flavoured with peppermint or spices under thinly veiled names such as Indian Brandee, Whiskee and Gindee. In 1891, restrictions were placed on pharmacies, but Indian Brandee lived on as a mixture of capsicum tincture mixed with cardamom, coriander, ginger and rhubarb as a treatment for an upset stomach.

Michael Barron, Tiverton, Devon.

QUESTION What is the easiest way to sharpen scissors?

THE earlier answer described using aluminium foil and sandpaper. When I worked in the upholstery trade, where sharp scissors are essential, between professional sharpening, we’d use a bottle.

Hold the scissors as if cutting the neck off the bottle. Do this three or four times and the scissors will be well-honed.

Graham Brooks, Leicester.