Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1866-04-05

IMITATION OF FOREIGN LIQUORS: Judge
smallev. of Vermont, has been holding the
limited States District Court at Albany, N.
for the last two weeks, in place eot Judge
Hall. who is i'll. The case which has excited
most interest is one in regard to spurious
LIQUORS. reported as follows -: ls2
In October last some nine or ten ''eights
IF brandy were seized in the Champlain dis
trict, as having been smuggled--it having all
the appearance of the imported article. The
owner contended that it Was not an imported
article, but manufactured In this country. The
district attorney on the trial attempted to
nrove that the liquor, a cask OF WGlch was
PRODUCED, was a genuine article OF french
brandy, and for this purpose called an expert
enced hotel keeper and a druggist, both OF whom
after tasting, pronounced 1t fine Imported
brandy, such as they had often paid sl2 to
SIS per gallon for. The defendants counsel
then produced several small bottles, containing
louor of the same outward appearance, and
p5uring some into wine glasses, asked the wit
nesses to taste thereof, and say what 1t was.
Thev declared, each and ALL this miserable
stuff was not fit to be drank, except one Dot,
tie, which they considered ''very poor brandy
one bottle was taken from the Identical cask
which lad been so highly extolled, and that one
was common Bourbon whiskey, manufactured
here in Albany The cooper who made the
casks was called, and testified that they were
manufacture ed in Brooklyn-the willows around
the hoops being imported; that they were
Intended to be perfect imitation of the French
cask that, to give them the appearance OF a
sea-voyage, they were washed in solution Of
copperas, which rusted the hoops and discolor-
ed the wood; that there were several such
manufactures in Brookn and New York, and
thousands of casks made every year.
One extensive dealer swore to the manutac-
ture of the article, which was neutral spirits,
favored with an article known to the trade as
';oiI of cologne" and colored with burnt sugar;
the imported ''oil of cologne costing one hun
dred dollars and upwards per pound that a
mandatory of this oil existed in Cincinnati;
that he did not know the value of imported
brandy, as he had neither bought nor sold a
gallon in ten years; that thousands of gallons
Of this spurious article were sold yearly by his
house, and that many similar establishments
we're in New York; that many experts were
so deceived that frequently they declared the
spurious superior to the genuine article; that
gin was also manufactured to a large extent, as
well as other liquors; that, in short, very little
genuine liquor Mas sold in this country. Other
witnesses were called, who tasted and testified
that the article seized was a very good lmlta-
ton, but without drop Of real brandy in it.
The jury, without leaving their seats, found a
verdict for the defendent. After the verdict
Judge Smally said that in the whole course Of
his legal experience he had never heard more
extraordinary case than this, and referred with
much emphasis to the testimony, showing the
extent to which the community was imposed
upon by this base system of counterfeiting,
which, unfortunately, there was no law to pun
ish.-Abany Argus.