British and Foreign Spirits

British and Foreign Spirits

PRITISH & FOREIGN SPIRITS: THEIR HISTORY, MANUFACTURE. PROPERTIES, ETC. CHARLES TOVEY, Author of “ Wine and Wine Countries;” “Alcohol versus Teetvtalism,” etc., etc. LONDON: WHITTAKER & CO., AVE MARIA LANE. 1864. a Soe 4707.8 ou Y HARVARD COLLEGE LICRARY FROM THE HEIRS OF GEORGE C, DEWPSEY BHS Gift of The Heirs of ’ George C. Dempsey INTRODUCTORY. Tue kind reception which was given to my first essay, “Wine and Wine Countries,” induced me, in compliance with the suggestions of very many friends, to compile a companion book upon “British and Foreign Spirits.” And I may, perhaps, claim to be more familiar with my present than with my former subject, as Spirits being a manufacture dis- tilled from fermented materials, partake less of a natural character than Wine. From a very early age I became acquainted with the process of distillation, and when a boy, I spent many an hour in illicit manufacture, over a very rude still, which, with the aid of a plumber's apprentice, I constructed; the body of the still being part of a tin saucepan, and holding about an imperial quart, whilst the head and the worm were of lead.* * An early adventure in connection with this still is worth narrating. Hearing my mothercomplain of a difficulty she found in obtaining what was termed White Wine Vinegar, but which was, in fact, simply Brown Vinegar distilled, I undertook to pro- cure her some, at the same time keeping the secret of its being my own manufacture. I accordingly obtained some common a vi INTRODUCTORY. My introduction to business was in the manu- facturing department of one of the largest rectify- ing distilleries, and my occupation was entirely connected with working the stills, with Gin manufacture, Cordial making, keeping stock, and with attending to the sent out. And in these times of early closing and short days of labour, I will just mention that I lived in a dwelling- house adjoining the rectifying house, and it was my duty to be in attendance with the excise officers every morning at about 5 o’clock to un- lock the stills for charging, &c., and it was not an unfrequent occurrence for me to be actively en- gaged in this rectifying house from 5 o’clock in the morning until midnight. "When the old stills were in operation the hours of attendance were not so many, but the introduction of St. Marc’s stills, and other improvements, made it a long time before the new system became understood, and the working vinegar, which I ran through my still, in fact double distilled it; but a few days subsequently I found the inside of my still-head covered with a white powder, and the worm eaten into holes, The action of the acid upon the lead had coated it with sugar of lead, and the vinegar which I had made had much more of a sweet than a sour taste. I had indeed narrowly escaped intro- ducing a poison that might have resulted in dangerous conse- quences, This little escapade of my boyhood’s days may be useful to a juvenile distiller, and prevent his using lead in any operation where an acid forms the basis of his manufacture. INTRODUCTORY. vii off was restricted to earlier hours. But the vexa- tion which was the most trying, and entailed the greatest labour and anxiety, was that of the excise regulations and constant surveillance, with inces- sant notices to lock and unlock, to rack, to mix, to make up Cordials, in fact, you could do nothing without notice; not a cask could be received in and racked without notice being given to the officer, who had to inspect it and see that in quantity and strength it agreed with the permit. All this had to be done before you could draw off the Spirits, even were the cask leaking you dared not “break bulk” until the officer had given permission. Then, the system of drawing require notes for permits involved much inconvenience,trouble, and delay. The permit office was situated about a mile from the rectifying house, and it was necessary to draw out a require note for any and every quantity of Spirit sent out, and despatch it to this office, where a messenger would be probably detained for a considerable time before he could get his permit. Stock taking was another fearful impediment to business. Besides the regular six weeks’ stock taking, the supervisor had the power of doubling at uncertain intervals, coming upon you unawares, and thus giving you a half night’s employment in ullaging and working out your stock ; for, as a precaution- ary check upon the officers, it was incumbent that viii INTRODUCTORY. you should likewise take the stock and compare your result with theirs. Of these treats the pre- sent generation know nothing, and, indeed, such practices are “more honoured in the breach than in the observance.” There could not have been invented a more harassing system of annoyance to _ traders, than that which was occasioned by the excise surveillance between thirty and forty years ago. Those who now complain of excise inter- ference cannot form a conception of the system which was pursued at the time of which I have been speaking. It was, however, no bad school in which to be initiated in the practical part of my business, and the caution thus necessarily engen- dered rendered me particular in matters upon which I might have been otherwise careless, so that my early training became advantageous to me in my later career. But it is not my object to write my own biography, nor will I tire my readers with any further personal reminiscences ; but I thought it not out of place to show my cre- dentials for the task I have undertaken, as few have had better opportunities for obtaining @ thorough knowledge of everything connected with alcoholic products than myself. I am well aware that in certain quarters, works such as this are likely to meet with little favour. There are powerful organisations in operation endeavour- INTRODUCTORY. ix ing to put down entirely the use of alcoholic drinks. There are societies for the purpose existing under all sorts of names—Temperance Societies, Total Abstinence’ or Teetotal Socie- ties, Bands of Hope, Rechabites, Phoenix Societies, Maine Law Associations, Total Prohibition of the Liquor Traffic Societies, Permissive Bill Law Asso- ciations, and many others. I have as earnest a desire as any one to see the odious vice of drunken- ness die out, and would deal strongly with the drunkard and with those who give him the means of encouraging his detestable propensity,* and when drunkenness is proved to be a mania too * In New Zealand they settle the matter by applying a kind of Special Maine Liquor Law to meet particular cases. The following from “‘The Lyttleton Times,” of June, 1863, is one amongst many such like advertisements to be met with in the colonial papers :— Postic Norice.—Provinece of Canterbury, Colony of New Zealand, to wit. Whereas it has this day been proved to us the undersigned, being two of Her Majesty’s justices of the peace, acting in and for the colony of New Zealand, in the said province and colony, that one Christina Swanson, now of Christ Church, aforesaid, and lately residing in Lyttleton, in the said province and colony, who is described at the foot of this notice, has become an habitual drunkard, and is injuring her health by excessive drinking. "We hereby, under the pro- visions of the 38rd clause of the Public House Ordinance, 1862, give notice that we prohibit all persons from supplying the said Christina Swanson with any spirituous or fermented liquors whatever, for the space of two years from the date hereof x INTRODUCTORY. strong to be resisted, would treat the offender as & maniac, and coerce him accordingly. Yet I look upon it as monstrous, that, because there are some who abuse the privileges of enjoyment, all the rest of the world should be deprived of it entirely. The attempts of “The Total Suppression of the Liquor Traffic Society,” or of “ The Permissive Bill Advocates,” are too unjust, too one sided, too absurd, to be looked upon as fit objects for serious and general opposition. One can scarcely suppose that the. originators of these absurdities have English blood in their veins, or they would know that Englishmen have outgrown the day when And we also give notice, that any person who shall knowingly supply, or cause to be supplied, to the said Christina Swanson. any spirituous or fermented liquors whatever,..during the space of two years from the date hereof, is liable to a penalty of £20 sterling, or to be imprisoned with or without hard labour for the term of three calender months, Given under our hands, at Christ Church, this 20th day of May, 1863. Joun Hart, R.M., and J.P. R. J. 8S. Harman, J.P, Description of the above named Christina Swanson, Christina Swanson is the wife of Andrew Swanson, now stay- ing at Christ Church, but formerly of Lyttleton, is a needle- woman, thirty-nine years of age, five feet five inches in height, stout build, dark brown hair, swollen eyes, fresh eomplexion, large bloated features, a native of Aberdeen, and speaks with a Scotch accent. INTRODUCTORY. xi they could be treated as serfs or as children, from whom certain things were to be locked up, at the dictum of a few brainless, although, perhaps, well - intentioned zealots. No! it is not by such absur- dities that the moral condition of society will be improved. The reformation will not come from without, it must come from within; it must be formed with the growth of intelligence and educa- tion, and with the increasing influence of refine- ment in elevating the popular tastes. All this is in progress, and the injudicious conduct of those who are agitating the adoption of coercive measures serves only to irritate the people, and make them revolt against such attempts upon their liberties. The good cause which they, the promoters, some in hypocrisy—all in ignorance—profess to serve, will never be attained by coercive measures. Let Prohibition Liquor Traffic Agsociations take lessons from history. They will in page 56 and continu- ance of the present work, see the result of a measure similar to that which they are now attempting. As, however, I have gone fully into the subject in a recent publication.* I will only trouble the . reader with a few passages from eminent writers, showing the value of alcohol and the necessity for its use; and I take a quotation from one, certainly 96 Alcohol versus Teetotalism, Longman and Co., London, 1863. xii INTRODUCTORY. not disposed to look favourably upon alcohol, as his book was written to point out the evil effects of intemperance. The author is Dr. Macnish, “On the Anatomy of Drunkenness,” and at page 225 ‘will be found the following :— “ Spirits, when used in moderation, cannot be looked upon as pernicious; nay, in certain cases, even in health, they are beneficial and necessary. In coun- tries subject to intermittents, it is very well known that those who indulge moderately in Spirits are much less subject to these diseases than the strictly abstinent. ‘ At Walcheren it was remarked that those officers and soldiers who took schnaps, alias drams, in the morning, and smoked, escaped the fever which was so destruc- tive to the British troops; and the natives generally insisted upon doing so before going out in the morning.’ “The following anecdote is equally in point :—-‘Tt took place on the Niagara frontier of Upper Canada, in the year 1813. A British regiment, from some accident, was prevented from receiving the usual sup- ply of Spirits, and in a very short time more than two- thirds of the men were on the sick list from ague or dysentery ; while the very next year, on the same ground, and almost in every respect under the same circumstances, except that the men had their usual allowance of Spirits, the sickness was extremely trifling. Every person acquainted with the circumstances believed that the diminution of the sick, during the ace INTRODUCTORY. xl latter period, was attributable to the men having received the quantity of Spirits to which they had been habituated.* Indeed, I am persuaded that, while in the tropics, stimulating liquors are highly prejudicial, and often occasion, while they never prevent, disease, they are frequently of great service in accomplishing the latter object in damp, foggy countries, especially when fatigue, poor diet, agues, dysenteries, and other diseases of debility, are to be contended against. It has been stated, and, I believe, with much truth, that the dysentery which has prevailed so much of late among the poorer classes in this country, has been in many cases occasioned, and in others aggravated, in consequence of the want of Spirits, which, from the depressed state of trade, the working classes are unable to procure; and should this assertion turn out to be correct, it follows, that Temperance Societies, by the rigid abstinence urged upon their members, have con- tributed to increase the evil. The system is fortified against this disorder, as well as various others, by a proper use of stimuli; while excess in the indulgence of these agents exposes it to the attack of every disease, and invariably aggravates the danger. Water is, un- questionably, the natural drink of man, but in the existing condition of things we are no longer in a state of nature, and cases consequently often occur wherein we must depart from her original principles, There are many persons who find a moderate use of Spirits * Glasgow Medical Journal, No. XV. xiv INTRODUCTORY. necessary to the enjoyment of health. In these cases it would be idle to abandon them. They ought only to be given up when their use is not required by the system.” The following passage from Archbishop Whately will form an appropriate conclusion to this part of my subject :— “ A person of temperate habits will, usually, when he has taken a moderate quantity of Wine or other such liquor, have no wish for more: and indeed would rather dislike it; even as he would to go on eating after he had taken a sufficient meal. But, on the other hand, those who have been led into intemperate habits, will often be of the opposite constitution to this, and find their craving for strong drink rather in- creased by even the smallest indulgence. So that. they find it harder to abstain from excess after they have taken a smal] quantity, than to abstain altogether. A. person who is thus afflicted with a malady which has been called Dipsomania, will certainly do well to form a resolution of total abstinence, which is in fact taking an easier mode of effecting an important object, instead of the more difficult one of moderation, And again if any one, although himself of temperate habits, finds that some member of his household is prone to commit excess, he will perhaps do well to exclude strong liquors from his house altogether. But it does not follow that any one should feel himself bound, in INTRODUCTORY. XV ” duty to his neighbours and to his fellow creatures generally, to pledge himself to total abstinence. Many persons contract imprudent marriages when they have no reasonable prospect of having means to support a wife and family. It is quite right to warn all persons against such rashness; but it does not fol- low that a person in easy circumstances is bound to make a vow of celibacy. It may fairly be said, that by doing nothing imprudent he is setting an example of prudence. And, in like manner, it may be said that every one who lives temperately is setting an example of temperance. It is sometimes urged, how- ever, that a man’s pledging himself to total abstinence, though such a pledge is not needed for himself, may be the only means of inducing others to take such a pledge as for them is needful. But this is, in fact, supposing them to say, although we are aware that in- temperance is sinful, and destructive of respectability, health, and comfort, still these motives are not suffi- cient to induce us to abstain from it, unless you will join us in taking a pledge; we will not perform our own known duty, unless you will impose upon your- self a kind of artificial duty of human invention. Now this surely is anything but reasonable. Some, however, will say that we ought to submit even to what is unreasonable, out of tenderness for weak brethren. But it may be doubted whether this is not Urging them to what is right in itself on wrong founds, It would be better to say to them, I, as well %8 you, belong already to a temperance society not of xvi INTRODUCTORY. man’s forming; and it is also a Veracity society, and an Honesty society, and a Peace society, and a Purity society. Every member of the Christian Church is already pledged to renounce the devil and all his works, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, And a person who sets himself to perform his duty, in conformity with the Divine will, is less likely to evade the spirit of a command while observing the letter of it, than one who is submitting himself to some arbitrary regulation of human inven- tion. How prone men are to seek such evasions when acting under a precise rule rather than on a principle, is a matter of common experience. Those whose Church requires them to abstain from flesh meat on certain days, often seek to mitigate the severity of the restriction both by unbounded indulgence on other days, and by dressing a great variety of fish in the most delicate manner on the fast days, And the Mahometans, who are rigidly prohibited the use of fermented liquors, are well known to indemnify them- selves for this restriction by the use of opium, intoxi- cating hemp, and other such drugs; and there is reason to fear that a large proportion of those who have taken the temperance-pledge have addicted them- selves to the use of opium ; thus exchanging one great evil for a greater. There are some, however, who urge that the example of any man, living in good health without the use of fermented liquors, proves at least that these are not necessary for health, It proves certainly that they are not necessary for his INTRODUCTORY. xvii health ; but it does not prove that all constitutions are alike, and that what is unnecessary or noxious to one, may not be salutary to another. There are some, for instance, who are not at all liable to catching cold, and can expose themselves to a wetting with impunity ; but this does not prove that all others can safely do so. So that the alleged example is after all inconclusive as an example. As for those who endeavour to enlist Scripture on their side, by maintaining that the wine mentioned in Scripture was not an intoxicating liquor, they must either be themselves very ignorant and silly if they really believe it, or must be fostering a pious fraud in the hope of deluding the simple into what is + right, under false pretences, And pious frauds almost always do more harm than good to the cause for which they are employed. On the whole, then, it is best that all men should be exhorted to perform each his own duty, in the mode which is most suitable for each, in consideration of his own peculiar circumstances, with- out requiring others, whose situation may be different, to combine with him in a self-formed community, whose rules may be suitable for him and not for them.” It is not difficult, then, to show that Teetotalism, or Total Abstinence, is, in principle, religiously, morally, and physiologically wrong. And now let us look at another phase of the same question, and ascertain how far the revenue of the country would be affected should those who advocate the total prohibition of the liquor traffic succeed in Xviii INTRODUCTORY. their object. Mr. Gladstone, in his speech upon the Budget, on the 7th of April, of the present year, stated that “from the single article of what is called ardent spirits, we raise nearly one-fifth of the entire revenue.” If we adopt his figures, the revenue derived from Spirits in 1863-4 was £12,638,100. To this add the malt duties, £6,091,000; duty -upon Wines, licences for distillers, rectifiers, wholesale and retail Wine and Spirit dealers, publicans, beer houses, licences for refreshment rooms, &c.* Now let the president of the society for Tee- total Prohibition of the Liquor Traffic put all - these items together, and when he has the sum ‘total, inform Her Majesty’s goverment what taxes he is prepared to levy in the place of those which “will be. no longer available when Teetotalism is made absolute.t He will be a wonderful man, *T regret that I cannot furnish these several items with the gross amounts for the past year. I made every endeavour to get them, even parliamentary influence failed me. That ‘which could be made up in a merchant’s office in 24 hours, -would take 24 weeks to procure in a government department, ‘besides which there are fees to be paid, with, after all, no certainty of correct results. + It is presumed that the total prohibitionists, have made provision for indemnifying those engaged in the “ liquor traffic.” They will, of course, if only to destroy, purchase all the stocks of alcoholic drinks in the country, indemnify free- INTRODUCTORY. xix this president of the society with a long name, if ° he can satisfactorily arrange for this deficiency, and he will be still more wonderful if, having pro- cured the revenue, he satisfies the bulk of the people, making them more moral, happy, healthy, and contented, than they were before the despotic rule of total prohibitionists. But enough of this subject. I have shown in the following work the injurious results to the Spirit trade, and to the country, from the effect of a high rate of duty, and I would call the reader’s attention especially to the able letter addressed to Mr. Disraeli by & Scotch distiller.* Few will be inclined to dispute the great services which Mr. Gladstone has rendered to his country, and to his ability and his integrity all will testify, but that he made a mistake in raising the duty upon Spirits to its present height is evi- dent to those whose judgment and experience upon this particular subject is greater than his own, and, however ingeniously he may arrange his figures, he is compelled to admit that, since the additional holders, leaseholders, of warehouses, distilleries, spirit shops, Public houses, &c., and compensate the traders for their loss of income. It is to be hoped they will be just and temperate in their dealings—they have a precedent in the compensation $iven to slave holders, when the Abolition Bill was passed. * See page 80 and continuance. xXx INTRODUCTORY. duty added in 1860, of 1s. 11d. per gallon, the revenue derived from Spirits has continued to decline. He says, “indeed it is true that in Ireland at this moment there is an increase in smuggling as compared with the three preceding years,” but he adds “it is not true that there is an increase in smuggling as compared with what it was when the duty was 8s.” There is some con- tradiction and confusion in this statement, and with due submission hé is altogether at fault. It is not in Ireland alone that there is an increase in smuggling, or rather in illicit manufac- ture. There are greater facilities now offered than were ever known for the carrying on of illicit dis- tillation. The practice is wholly different from that of which so many interesting incidents are recorded in the following chapters. The romantic. associations of caverns, ravines, and sides of moun- tains, must all be dispelled. The contraband operator now labours more successfully, and with little chance of detection, in dwellings in large cities, and may practise his secret work even in model lodging houses. Wherever he has gas and water, and a flue to take off any vapours that may arise, he is pretty safe. Gas and water companies. have given good aid to the free distiller. A rude still, sufficient for the purpose, costs but a few shillings, Two or three gas jets will produce INTRODUCTORY. Xxi sufficient heat, and there is plenty of water laid on for refrigerating purposes. A small shopkeeper can manage all this in the room at the back.of his: shop, he deals perhaps in groceries, and treacle is part of his stock in trade. Say that the produce is but two gallons per day, here is 20s. gain on the duty alone, a sufficient inducement (unhappily for many poor struggling tradesmen,) to risk the con- sequences of detection, especially when they have little to lose. The abolition of the former rigid excise survey gives great opportunity for the dis- posal of such manufacture, and it is in large cities that such a trade can be carried on. The pur- chasers are publicans in low neighbourhoods, and beer-house keepers. The Spirit is new, coarse, and fearfully intoxicating. To properly manufac- tured Spirit age is allowed, and it is thus matured. The illicit Spirit is disposed of at once, and those who partake of it soon become drunk, and exhibit themselves helpless and half paralysed. In a late visit to Glasgow I had an opportunity of tasting some of this illicit product, and witnessed its effects, not, certainly, upon myself, but upon some poor victims. Instead of the alcohol producing the general boisterous demonstrations, making its im- bibers “ happy and glorious,” they became helpless as children, declining into a maudlin state of in- sensibility, with the appearance of being under the b xxii INTRODUCTORY. influence of some drugged poison. This Spirit is sold in the shebeen shops in Glasgow. Many people are under the same impression as was Mr. Whiteside, who, in criticising Mr. Gladstone's. budget, stated— “The increase in the rate of duty had produced the reverse of a good effect. It had caused an increase in adulteration. He understood from an eminent dis- tiller that, though pure Spirits were sent out by the distillers, a great deal of it was adulterated before being sold, in consequence of the high duties, In the first place it was watered, then treacle was added, and it was strengthened by vitriol. This dangerous and unpleasant compound was called ‘Gladstone’s Cordial.’ In the course of further remarks upon the ill effects of the increase of the duty upon Spirits, the hon, member said he believed there never was a time when the illicit distillation of Spirits was so rife in Ireland as at the present time ; and it was a remarkable fact that where- ever there was an illicit still there was ribbonism. ~ He thought that the right hon. gentleman should act up to his policy, and restore the duties to what they were in 1838.” The hon. gentleman is correct in some particu- lars. Most of the vendors are licensed to retail Spirits, and they are compelled to procure from the distiller or dealer a certain quantity of pure Spirit INTRODUCTORY. xxiii with a proper permit, which acts as a cover for the introduction of the illicit produce. The pure Spirit is, no doubt, mixed off with the former, but the treacle and vitriol used, as described by Mr. Whiteside, is an absurdity. The treacle is fermented and converted into Spirit in the manner described at page xx. With these remarks, by way of preliminary, I resign my book to the reader, who, if he is a business man, will grant me every indulgence, for he will be aware that it is not easy for one who has been actively engaged all day in the harassing de- tails of business, to command in the leisure hours, at evening, the power of expressing his ideas with either the force or the facility of a professional writer. But I confess to a yearning towards literary avocation ; books have ever been my solace, my joy, and delight. And it has often occurred to me that it is in the power of very many, by the simple nar- ration of their own experience in the business of life, whether as merchants, manufacturers, or traders, to add much to the general store of know- ledge. It needs no great amount of erudition to make useful statements in plain perspicuous English. But the literary aspirant must not sup- pose that his work is done when he has written his book. Its compilation is about the happiest time he will have, and as it progresses towards comple- XXiv INTRODUCTORY. tion it will be “his hope by day and his dream by night.” His ambition is fed by the delusion that leads him to think that he is about to astonish the world, and that not only for his generation, but for all ages, his “magnum opus” will be of great renown. It is an excellent practical lesson for an aspirant to literary fame, to wander forth in search of a publisher. I have undergone this trial, and am _free to own that the ordeal is anything but in- spiriting; and I cannot help observing that if certain publishers were to extend a little more gracious encouragement to writers yet unknown to fame, they would save themselves from a large amount of obliquy and reproach. But there is, after all, compensation to the writer if his book is well received by the Press, and I take this opportunity of acknowledging (as I do with true and grateful feeling) the‘ very kind manner in which my work “ Wine and Wine Countries,” was noticed in the metropolitan as well as in the provincial journals. I should not be truthful did I deny that the criticisms upon my book were looked forward to with much natural anxiety, and the more especially so, as more than one publisher had given me much discouragement, and led me to anticipate anything but a gracious or kindly reception from the reviewers. My thanks INTRODUCTORY. XXV then, my very hearty thanks, are due to those who so favourably countenanced my efforts and * passed over my shortcomings; they no doubt made a charitable allowance for the circumstances under which I wrote, and I trust that in this effort they will find their encouragement has led. to an improvement. The numerous quotations which I have made from various authors will show how much T have been indebted to adventitious aid in the compilation of my work, and I have to thank many friends for their assistance, especially for the statistical infor- mation, which I could not otherwise have procured. The cost of the book is necessarily much in- creased by the tabular form of the statistical teturns, and likewise by the numerous tables for reducing Spirits and showing their relative value. These were not compiled without much labour, and they will, it is to be hoped, be found very service- able, as they are arranged in a familiar manner. The coloured map of Cognac will point out the position of the different vineyards producing the finest Brandies. 2, Royal York Crescent, Clifton, May, 1864. Digitized by S0ogle CONTENTS. CHarteR L—DIstTILLATION - ee el » 1L—Gm . » XIZIL—Ho.Luanps GENEVA oo » <V.—WhHisky . . . . . » _V.—BRANDY. . . . » .VIL—Rum . . . » .VIL—Ponce . » VITL.—Liquevurs AND Corps. APPENDIX. Exrract oF Jurors’ REPORT . List or AwArRDs, INTERNATIONAL ExuIBITION*. Noumser or DISTrLERs, FROM 1822 To 1863 . ConsUMPTION OF SPIRITS, 1822 ro 1863. Rates or Duty PER GALLON, 1822 To > 1863 Amount or Dury Paip . . . . RETURN OF IMPORTS, &c—Ru BRANDY GENEVA Disrriters IN IRELAND IN 1818 . Wing anp Sprerr Brokers BILL FoR WAREHOUSING BRITISH SPIRITS, 1864 Branpy SHIPMENTS TO GREAT BRITAIN . ” Tastes —RELATIVE VALUE oF BRANDY IN BoxD” ” n° Rum mv Bonp ” ” ” ” ” ” Gin TaBLe To Repuce Roum at 300.P. . ” ” Rum on Wisxy ar 25 O. P. . ” » Spirit AT PROOF . ” ” Gm at 17 UP... GIn at 22 U.P. . TABLE oF DUTIES ON BRANDY CALCULATED . ox Rum . Excise LICENSES . CIseE ALLOWANCES, DRAWBACKS DistiLuERSs IN ENGLAND . ” in ScoTLAND ” In IRELAND . Roum, with Doty Rum Av 25°, WITH DO. (WHISKY, WITH Do. sggeeseecceres ERRATA. Page 165, line three from top, for acid-like, read acid like. Pages 175, and 176, for Kamtschatdah, read Kamtschatdale. Page 206, line five from bottom, for effect, read, affect. Page 231, for verbatum et literatum, read verbatim et literatim. BRITISH AND FOREIGN SPIRITS. ,CHAPTER I. DISTILLATION. “Upon my secure bower thy uncle stole ‘With juice of cursed hebanon in a violl, And in the porches of mine ear did pour The leperous distilment.” Shakespeare. Hamlet, act 1 sc. 1. “Upon his hoary beard his breath did freeze, And the dull drops from his empurpled bill As from a limbeck did adown distil.” Spenser. Of Mutabilitie, c. 7. “ All hope is fled! our families are undone! Provisions are all conveyed up to London; Our copious granaries distillers thin, ‘Who rajge our bread,—but co not cheapen gin.” . Warton. The Ozford Newsman’s Verses for 1767. Derivation — Process described — Earliest Introduction — Alembic—Compared to the Human Body—Arnoldus do Villa Nova—Raymond Lully—First Introduction to France—Aqua Vite—A Working Distillery described—Mashing—Brewin, Distilling—The Excise—Their Restrictions—Regulations—In- quisitorial System—Ordinary Stills—Low Wines—Faints— Fusel Oil—Former Duties, how levied—Scotch Distiller—Out- witting the Excise—Committee on Duties, 1799—Consequent Alteration—Rapid Distillation— French Improvements in Stills —Adams—Solimani—Isaac Barard—M. Baglioni—Blumenthal —Derosne—St. Marc—Joseph Corty—D. T’. Shears—Coffee— Still at Inverkeithing—Produce of Spirit from Malt—Dr. Ure’s iments—Duties, how levied—British Plain Spirits—Sym- bolical Letters—Use of the Saccharometer—Hydrometer—Rule for calculating Strength—Tables of Specific Gravity—High Duties—Illicit Manufacture—Frauds upon the Revenue—How effected—Honesty the best policy—Distilleries in Caverns, on Islands, Boats, &c.— Carrying away and Secreting Revenue Officers—Anecdotes and Descriptions of Illicit Distillery and, Rude Apparatus—Preference given to the Illegal Produce, and B 2 BRITISH AND FOREIGN SPIRITS. consequent Encouragement to its Manufacture—Number of Illicit Distilleries destroyed by the Revenue and Military— Measures adopted by Government to Suppress the Evil—F ines upon the Town Lands—Revenue Police—Illicit Distillation Decreased in Proportion to the Reduction of Duties—Narrative —Abduction of an Officer—Smuggling on the English Coast— Rev. R. H. Barham’s (Thomas Isby ) Experience—Mr. G. P. R. James—The Kent and Sussex Coast, and its facilities for Smuggling Operations—The Proceedings connived at and encouraged by the People of the Country—Tables of Return of Distillers and Consumption from 1822 to 1863, in Appendix. “Distiz, v. Fr., @estiller ; Sp., distilar ; Lat., distillare (di and stillare, to drop, or drip, to fall in drops). To separate drop by drop ; to fall, descend from in small particles, portions, or quantities, by slow degrees, gradually, gently.”—Richardson’s Dictionary. THE process of Distillation may be easily described. Certain fluid substances are placed in covered vessels of a peculiar form ; a well-regulated heat is applied in order to separate the more volatile constituents, which pass over in vapour, and are condensed by cold into a liquid state by pass- ing through what is technically called the worm, which is simply a spiral tube surrounded by cold water. The ordinary apparatus consists of the still or boiler, its head or receiver, with the worm and worm tube, or refrigerator. From the Arabians in the remotest ages we appear to have derived the knowledge of Distilla- tion. They practised the art of extracting the aromatic essences of plants and flowers in the form DISTILLATION. 3 of distilled waters to supply the luxuries of oriental ’ baths, and are supposed to have been the first to extract from wine a colourless intoxicating spirit by distillation. From certain passages in Pliny and Galen, there can be no doubt that the Greeks and Romans were well acquainted with the distil- lation of aromatic waters; indeed, Nicander, a Greek poet and physician, who lived one hundred and forty years before the Christian era, employs the term auGif, ambix, and speaks of Distillation in describing the preparation of rose water. From ambix, which signifies a pot, the Arabic name alambic, or alembic, is derived. The words pot and poteen are used in the same way by the modern Trish to designate a still and its spirituous product. Distillation must have been a familiar process to the countrymen of Avicennce, since, in his treatise of Catarrh, he compares the human body to an alembic ; he regards the belly as the cucurbit or body, and the head as its capital, through which the humours distil, passing off by the nostrils as its beak. ; Arnoldus de Villa Nova, a chemical physician of the thirteenth century, is the first author who speaks explicitly of an intoxicating spirit obtained by the distillation of wine, and he describes it as a recent discovery. He considers it to be the universal panacea so long sought after in vain. 4 BRITISH AND FOREIGN SPIRITS. His disciple, Raymond Lully, of Majorca, declares this admirable essence of wine to be an emanation of the divinity, an element newly revealed to man, but hid from antiquity because the human race were then too young to need this beverage, destined to revive the energies of modern decrepitude. He further imagined that the discovery of this aqua vite, as it was called, indicated the approaching consummation of all things,—the end of the world. From a passage in his “Zestamentum Novissimum” it would appear that the production of Alcohol from Wine was familiar to his contemporaries (p. 2, ed. August, 1571.) In his “Chemical Theatre,” written towards the conclusion of the thirteenth century, Raymond Lully describes the distillation of Ardent Spirits thus :— “Limpid and well flavoured Red or White Wine is to be digested twenty days in a close vessel by the heat of fermenting horse-dung, and then to be distilled in a sand bath with a very gentle fire. The true water of life will come over in precious drops, which, being rectified by three or four successive distillations, will afford the wonderful quintessence of Wine.” The practice does not appear to have been intro- duced into France till 1313. Dr. Henderson says :*— “When first introduced into France, Brandy, or * History of Wines, p. 24. N DISTILLATION. 5 Burnt Wine (vinum adustum, ) appears to have been used principally as an antiseptic and restorative medi- cine; and the most extravagant panegyrics were bestowed on its virtues. It was described as a sovereign remedy in almost all the disorders of the human frame: it was recommended for its efficacy in comforting the memory, and strengthening the reasoning powers: it was extolled, in short, as the elixir of life, and an infallible preservative of youth and beauty.” All the old writers imagined that aqua vite imbibed from the fire its inflammable, heating, and exhilarating qualities ; so in order to increase these qualities to the utmost, they prescribed tedious and repeated warm digestions of the wine before it was put into the alembic, and an exceedingly slow distillation, that each drop might come over instinct with fire. Some authorities state that there is no evidence of the ancients being acquainted with Alcohol or Ardent Spirits, that there is every reason to believe the contrary, and that Distillation was quite un- known to them ; that neither the poets, historians, naturalists, nor medical men make the slightest allusion to Ardent Spirits, which could not have been the case had their liquids been applied to even a hundredth part of the uses made of them by the moderns, 6 BRITISH AND FOREIGN SPIRITS. After this brief review of the history of Distil- lation, some description of the various stills, and the operations of a distillery, as carried on in this country, may be interesting as well as necessary. Those who have never visited one of our large distilleries in full operation can: have but little notion of the busy, active scene therein dis- played. The noise from machinery in all parts of the premises, the rushing of steam, the pumps in action everywhere, the whirring of wheels, the heavy drone with a sort of metallic, crackling accompaniment, produced when the stills are what is called “coming through,” that is, when b