ADVANTAGES OF MY METHOD.
The first of all, is derived from the composition of a vinous liquor,
richer, and more proper to raise a vigorous fermentation, than that
which is obtained by the usual method. Now, as it is proved that the
quantity of spirit is in proportion to the richness of the fermenting
liquor, mine therefore yields a great deal more spirit than any other.
2dly. We have seen that a heat of 75° or 80° must be kept up in the
fermenting room: this being summer heat, proves that such a rich vinous
liquor runs no risk of passing to the acid state with as much rapidity
as that of the common distillers; and, consequently, that he who will
follow my method can work all the year round without fear of losing the
fruits of his labor, as it often happens--an advantage precious for him
who makes it his sole business. The only change he has to make, is to
suppress the heat of the stove, when the temperature of the atmosphere
is sufficient to keep up a good fermentation in the liquor.
As to my distilling apparatus, this is not a new idea. I present it to
the public under the sanction of experience. I had it executed in
Philadelphia eight years ago, after having obtained a patent. It was
made for a rum distillery, where they still continue to use it. It
presents the greatest advantages.
The first is, that with a single fire, and a single workman, I distil
and rectify the spirit three times, and bring it to the
degree of alcohol; that is, to the greatest purity, and almost to the
highest degree of concentration.
2dly. It lowers the cost of transportation, by two-thirds; because one
gallon at 35° represents three gallons at the usual degree. The
merchant, being arrived at the place of his destination, has only to add
2 gallons of water to 1 gallon of this alcohol, in order to have 3
gallons of whiskey; which is of a considerable advantage, either for
land or sea carriage.
3dly. As the price of spirits is, in trade, in proportion to their
degree of concentration, those made with my apparatus being at a very
high degree, need no more rectifying, either for the retailer, the
apothecary, or the painter; and the considerable expenses of that
operation turn entirely to the profit of the distiller, as they are
totally suppressed. Distillers may hereafter sell spirits of all degrees
of concentration.
Such are the advantages of my processes. I offer them the more willingly
to the public, as they are founded upon the most approved principles of
natural philosophy: by reflecting upon them, distillers will be easily
convinced of it.
* * * * *
However perfect the description of a new thing may be, our ideas of it
are always defective, until we have seen it put into practical use. Few
men have the means of establishing a distillery on a new plan, and even
the most enlightened may make notable errors. Few, besides, are bold
enough to undertake, at their own risks, the trial of a new fabrication:
they are afraid of losing, and of being blamed for having too lightly
yielded to the persuasion of new projectors. Hence it follows that a
useful discovery falls into oblivion, instead of doing any good.
But no discovery of general utility ought to experience that fate in a
republic. Government itself ought to promote the first undertaking, or a
certain number of citizens ought to join in order to give it a start. It
is the more easy in this case, as my apparatus requires very little
expense.
If a distillery according to my directions, was established in some of
the principal towns of the state, my method would then make rapid
progress, and thus prove the truth of the principle which I have
advanced; and the distillers, after having meditated upon my method in
this book, would come and satisfy themselves of its goodness, by seeing
it put into practice, and yielding the most perfect results, with all
the advantages for trade that may be expected: hence would naturally
ensue the rapid increase of distillation, and consequently that of
agriculture and commerce.
THE ART OF
MAKING GIN,
AFTER THE PROCESS OF THE
HOLLAND DISTILLERS.
Having indicated the most proper means of obtaining spirits, I will now
offer to the public the manner of making _Gin_, according to the methods
used by the distillers in Holland. It may be more properly joined to the
art of making whiskey, as it adds only to the price of the liquor, that
of the juniper berries, the product of which will amply repay its cost.
Many distillers in the United States have tried to imitate the excellent
liquor coming from Holland, under the name _gin_. They have imagined
different methods of proceeding, and have more or less attained their
end. I have myself tried it, and my method is consigned in a patent.
But those imitations are far from the degree of perfection of the
Holland gin: they want that unity of taste, which is the result of a
single creation; they are visibly compounds, more or less well combined,
and not the result of a spontaneous production.
To this capital defect, which makes those imitations so widely different
from their original, is joined their high price, which prevents its
general consumption. In fact, it is made at a considerable expense: the
whiskey must be purchased, rectified and distilled over again with the
berries. These expenses are increased by the waste of spirit occasioned
by those reiterated distillations. This brings the price of this false
gin to three times that of the whiskey: consequently the poorer sort of
people, whose number is always considerable, are deprived of the
benefits of a wholesome liquor, and restrained to whiskey, which is
commonly not so.
The methods used in Holland, have reduced gin to the lowest price; that
of the juniper berries being there very trifling, and increasing but
little the price of whiskey: still that small addition is almost reduced
to nothing, as will be seen hereafter.
The United States are, in some parts, almost covered with the tree
called here _cedar_; which tree is no other than the juniper, and grows
almost every where, and bears yearly a berry, which is in reality the
juniper berry. Some Hollanders knew it at Boston, collected considerable
quantities of it in Massachusetts, and shipping it to some of the
eastern harbors, sold it as coming from Holland. I have seen some at
Philadelphia ten years ago, at the house of a Hollander, who received it
from Massachusetts in hogsheads of about ten hundred weight, and sold as
the produce of his own country, what was really that of the United
States.
I collected myself a great quantity of those berries, at Norfolk, Va. by
means of negroes, to whom I paid one dollar per bushel of 40 lbs. being
2-1/2 cts. per pound. Two years ago, it sold for 6 cents in
Philadelphia, and bore the same price at Pittsburgh.
There is a great deal of cedar in Kentucky, and consequently of berries.
I have seen them at Blue Licks, and they abound near the Kentucky
river.
Although an incredible number of those trees is cut down daily, there is
still a greater number standing, in the United States; and millions of
bushels of berries are lost every year, while only skilful hands are
wanted, to make them useful to mankind. The juniper berry has many
medical properties: it is a delightful aromatic, and contains an oil
essential, and a sweet extract, which by the fermentation yields a
vinous liquor, made into a sort of wine in some countries; that is
called wine for the poor: it strengthens the stomach, when debilitated
by bad food or too hard labor.
The Hollanders, who have long had the art of trading upon every thing,
have constantly turned even their poverty to account. They have immense
fabrications of gin, and scarcely any juniper trees. They only collect
the berry in those countries where it is neglected as useless, as in
France and Tyrol, which produce a great deal of it. The United States
need have no recourse to Europe, in order to get the juniper berries:
they have in abundance at home, what the Hollanders can only procure
with trouble and money. They can therefore rival them with great
advantage; but they must follow the same methods employed in the Holland
distilleries.
The juniper berry contains the sweet mucous extract, in a great
proportion: it has therefore the principle necessary to the spirituous
fermentation; and, indeed, it ferments spontaneously. When fresh, and
heaped up, it acquires a degree of heat, but not enough to burn, as I
have ascertained: it is therefore safely transported in hogsheads. From
that facility of fermenting, it must be considered as a good ferment,
and as increasing the quantity of spirit, when joined to a fermentable
liquor.
A distiller may at pleasure convert his whiskey into gin. He needs only
to perfume the wort which he puts in fermentation, by adding a certain
quantity of the berries, slightly broken: the fermentation is then
common to both; their sweet mucosity enriches that of the wort, and
increases the spirit, while at the same time the soapy extract, which is
the proximate principle of vegetation, yields the essential oil, which
perfumes the liquor.[C]
The fermentation being common to both substances, unites them
intimately; and when, by the distillation, the spirit is separated from
the water, there remains an homogenous liquor, resulting from a single
creation, and having that unity of taste, and all the properties of
Holland gin, because obtained by the same means.
One single and same distillation can therefore yield to the distiller
either gin or whiskey, as it requires no more labor, and its conversion
into gin costs only the price of the berries, which repays him amply,
either by the spirit it yields, or by its essential oil, which, floating
on the surface, may be easily collected. This oil bears a great price,
and the Hollanders sell much of it.
We have seen, in the 10th chapter of this work, that my hogsheads for
the fermentation, contain about 120 gallons of wort, being the
production of the saccharine extract of 12 bushels of grain. The
intelligent distiller will himself determine the quantity of berries
necessary for each hogshead to have a good aromatic perfume. He may
begin with 10 lbs. per hogshead; and will, upon trial, judge whether or
not this quantity is sufficient, or must be increased. At any rate,
economy should not be consulted in the use of the berries, since their
price does not increase that of the whiskey. This low price must
naturally become the principle of an immense fabrication of gin; and
henceforth it will be an important article of exportation for the United
States, as well as a considerable and wholesome object of home
consumption.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] Some rum distillers make a stronger vinous liquor, but it is still
very far from Lavoisier's proportions. Others add successively new
molasses to their vinous liquor, and thus prolong their fermentation,
without making their liquor stronger, and consequently without obtaining
more spirit. This is absolutely contrary to the true principles of
distillation.
[B] See his beautified operation on the decomposition of water.
[C] I must here observe, that the juniper berry, as well as several
other fruits, contains two kinds of essential oil: one is the proximate
principle of vegetation, and the other is the superabundant oil: the
first is combined with the soapy extract, and dissolves in water; while
the second does not unite with it, and floats on the surface.
END
End of Project Gutenberg's The Art of Making Whiskey, by Anthony Boucherie