A
cordial is any invigorating and stimulating preparation; as, a peppermint cordial. The term derives from obsolete
medical usage, as various beverages were concocted which were believed to beneficial to one's
health, especially for the heart (
cordialis, Latin).
Alcoholic cordials are also known as liqueurs.
In Australia, 'cordial' is an extremely sweet (usually entirely artificial) non-alcoholic drink concentrate that you mix with water to taste.
All Wikipedia text
is available under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License