author

A. (Ambrose) Cooper

An 18th-century distiller whose surviving reputation rests on a practical guide to making spirits, cordials, and compound waters. His work offers a vivid glimpse into how distillation was taught for both trade use and private households in the 1700s.

1 Audiobook

The Complete Distiller Containing, I. The method of performing the various processes of distillation, with descriptions of the several instruments: the whole doctrine of fermentation: the manner of drawing spirits from malt, raisins, molasses, sugar, &c. and of rectifying them: with instructions for imitating, to the greatest perfection, both the colour and flavour of French brandies. II. The manner of distilling all kinds of simple waters from plants, flowers, &c. III. The method of making all the compound waters and rich cordials so largely imported from France and Italy; as likewise all those now made in Great Britain. To which are added, accurate descriptions of the several drugs, plants, flowers, fruits, &c. used by distillers, and instructions for chusing the best of each kind...

The Complete Distiller Containing, I. The method of performing the various processes of distillation, with descriptions of the several instruments: the whole doctrine of fermentation: the manner of drawing spirits from malt, raisins, molasses, sugar, &c. and of rectifying them: with instructions for imitating, to the greatest perfection, both the colour and flavour of French brandies. II. The manner of distilling all kinds of simple waters from plants, flowers, &c. III. The method of making all the compound waters and rich cordials so largely imported from France and Italy; as likewise all those now made in Great Britain. To which are added, accurate descriptions of the several drugs, plants, flowers, fruits, &c. used by distillers, and instructions for chusing the best of each kind...

by A. (Ambrose) Cooper

About the author

Very little biographical information about this author could be confirmed from the sources available. He is identified as A. (Ambrose) Cooper in library and bookseller records, and is associated with The Complete Distiller, first published in 1757.

That book is a detailed manual on distillation, covering fermentation, the production and rectification of spirits, and the making of compound waters and rich cordials. Surviving catalog and digitized-book records present him as a distiller as well as an author, which fits the practical, instructional nature of the work.

Because reliable personal details such as birth, death, and broader life history were not readily documented in the sources found, he is best understood through his book: a clear example of eighteenth-century technical writing aimed at practitioners and households alike.