Essence of spruce

a thick, dark-colored, bitterish, and acidulous liquid made by evaporating a decoction of the young branches of spruce.

See also: Spruce

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, published 1913 by G. & C. Merriam Co.
References in periodicals archive ?
Pour four gallons of cold water into a nine- gallon barrel, then add four gallons more, quite boiling, and six pounds of molasses, with about eight or nine tablespoonfuls of the essence of spruce, and on its getting a little cooler, the same quantity of good ale yeast.