Well, I had to brush quite a few cobwebs aside for this question!

Chloral hydrate is not used much anymore. As a matter of fact, it was off the market for a while. Then a small group of patients, convinced a generic house
to make it in liquid. Some people and children still use it before certain
medical procedures, etc.

I have never seen an adult take 4 teaspoonfuls of this.
The liquid can cause gastric upset, and it is advised to take with
fluid, and perhaps cranberry is too acidic for that.

People can have reactions to chloral hydrate..upset stomach etc. So it must
have a local irritating potential.

I do think your dose is weird... you should investigate THAT first, IMO.
This website has information, including "a caustic taste"...
http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic3/chloralhyd.htm

This product is often used in tube feeding/administration, but even then not frequently. It is so unpredictable, and often does not sedate completely.
It has not been used for sleeping in "eons"...!!!

Sorry to be late getting back to you... the cobwebs were DENSE!