Brandy is Freedom Flowers' preservative of choice in our flower essences. If you order a custom combo,
you can request an alcohol free version made with apple cider vinegar
instead, but in an off-the-shelf product, it will be preserved with
brandy.
Why brandy?
It's natural,
tastes good in the minute doses and most importantly, gives a very long
shelf life. Flower essences, by design have so much life force within
them that a hefty preservative is needed as well as the colored glass to
inhibit light absorption. Brandy allows a properly stored flower
essence to last indefinitely. We have a ten year expiration date on the
bottles because the FDA requires one, and 10 years is the max they will
allow. If a flower essence goes bad, it's obvious. Slimy, funky,
growing algae? Inferior or insufficient preservative.
Taste
In a glass of
water with a standard 4 drop dosage, brandy wins. It makes water taste
like really good water. Vinegar has a slight vinegar taste that cats
and kids are not generally fans of. I doubt either preservative would
be perceptible in any flavored drink.
Safety
"Wait wait
wait! You're giving brandy to cats and kids?" Let's put this in
perspective. In a 1 oz flower essence bottle, half the volume will be
brandy. Brandy itself is 40% alcohol by volume. You need 2-4 drops for
a dosage and it will be diluted in a glass of water or other choice
beverage. How big a glass is up to you. I also doubt you're going to
down all that at once. You will get more alcohol in your bloodstream
through the natural process of digestion and fermentation of food.
Still,
alcohol is a concern for some people, even at that level. In that case,
you can still use a brandy-based essence externally by dotting on pulse
points, or evaporating the alcohol off by adding it to a hot beverage.
Specifics
I use
Christian Brothers brandy because it goes from copper to oak to glass.
I can buy it in quantity without the plastic jug. Yesssss! Don't buy
booze in plastic, I don't care how cheap it is. Alcohol is a great
solvent that will extract the chemicals in the plastic. I know you can
use the dosage argument I just gave you, applied to the BPA
parts-per-million, but I don't care! I don't have to like BPA's and you
don't have to like brandy. FYI, I don't buy vinegar in plastic either.
I hope that is a better clarification as to my choices, puts your mind at ease and gives you a work around solution.
Cheers,
Seneca
The sailors say "Brandy, you're a fine girl" (you're a fine girl)
"What a good wife you would be" (such a fine girl) "Yeah your eyes could steal a sailor from the sea". -Elliot Lurie
