Montana Cordial?

[The Drinkist]

Thanks to Hurricane Gustav, I had a few days to catch up on my reading (and to get a bit ahead on my drinking -- trying to sleep in New Orleans with no air conditioning in early September definitely calls for a couple of extra helpings of gin).

In particular, I finally got to crack open the copy of C.F. Lawlor's The Mixicologist that I picked up at Tales this year (yay Mudpuddle Books!). In it, Lawlor gives a 3-page discussion of cordials. For the most part, it covers the heavy hitters I would expect to see: kirschwasser, Benedictine, Chartreuse, maraschino, curacao, anisette, and absinthe. There's one other item, though, right in the middle of the list, that caught me by suprise and set my head to spinning -- Montana. Okay, the head-spinning might have had something to do with the extra helpings of gin, but I was surprised; I don't recall encountering any references to this stuff anywhere else. That doesn't mean I haven't, of course (again, the gin), but I'm not hearing any ringing bells.

Here's what we are told on the subject of the Montana Cordial:

Montana is prepared from the juices of plants, flowers, roots, etc., growing on the highest mountains of America, principally the Rockies and Alleghanies. It is a powerful digestive, suitable for everybody, but principally for the aged and debilitated. It should generally be taken after dinner.

My initial, admittedly cursory, web-based search hasn't turned up anything more illuminating. (Curiously, Darcy O'Neil over at Art of Drink made a passing reference to it as a defunct ingredient the day before I was able to start poking about.) So, I'm curious. If Lawlor put it in a list with the aforementioned heavy-hitters, somebody must have been drinking it (at least in late 19th century Cincinnati). What do we know about it? Where was it manufactured and by whom? Any information on the ingredients and/or flavor profile? Any notion of use in cocktails? Inquiring minds want to know.

I'm sure others have blazed this territory and I'm hoping to benefit from their hard work without doing too much of it myself. Thanks!

[The Drinkist]

Just wanted to report that Darcy at Art of Drink has made a little headway on this topic. (Kudos to Darcy! I bow to your mighty research skills.) He has turned up some old advertising material that gives a bit more information. Based on the labeling in the ad, he puts forward an ingredient:

The label does give us some hints as to what may be in Montana Cordial. The one that would make sense is Lewisia Rediviva (Rock Rose, Spetlem, Oregon Bitterroot) which grows on the west coast from Arizona to British Columbia.

He also gives a reference to the use of Montana Cordial in a drink created by John Mahon who worked at the famous St. Charles Hotel right here in New Orleans. Apparently, the Montana helps produce a remarkable visual effect.

As always, a great post by Mr. O'Neil. I hearily recommend checking it out. Of course, now my curiousity is tantalized even more than before. Since nobody has commented on this so far, I'm assuming there's not a lot of information floating around out there. If you know anything, though (or have a few bottles stocked away somewhere...), I'd love to hear more. Could this be the next great ingredient?