These included aqua vitae (i.e. spirits of wine), quicksilver, sal ammoniac, alum, litharge, orpiment, saltpetre, silver, sugar, sulphur, tin, verdigris, vinegar and white lead.
Alchemists prepared this by combining mercury, tin, sal ammoniac, and sublimated sulfur (fleur de soufre), grinding, mixing, then setting them for three hours in a sand heat.