The Lamoille news. (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1877-1881, 1878-04-10
our NEW YORK LETTER.
tFran Der Oirn CorresPoa,icnf)
New York. April Sth, lS7

New York, April 9TH, 1870.
To the EDITOR ~ NEws:
In the course Of prolonged discus
sion in the New York Legislature over
various and sundry plans for decreas-
ing drunkenness, a bill was under con-
sideration a few days ago, making It a
misdemeanor for saloon keepers to sell
liquor TO a certain class of persons.
Before the vote, one assemblyman got
up and made vigorous speech IN IA
vor of '.purc whiskey" and liquors
generally, and protesting against their
wholesale condemnation by the tenn
perance people. Reading the report
Of these proceedings set me to think
ing about the "pure" liquors which
this rural law-maker so eloquently de-
Tended; and | soon recalled afew per-
tinent facts elected by a general ex-
animation of drinks made in this city
last winter, and which perhaps failed
to come under the eye of this innocent
and elbow-crooking legislator.
In the first place, the foundation
fact established by the investigation
referred to is, that there is almost nc
such thing, commercially speaking, as
pure wine or liquor.
The four kinds of liquor sold il
New York saloons are rum, whiskey
brandy and gin, or at least they go by
these names, though perhaps they are
not the same liquors rs were original
IL so described. Rum was originally
made by fermenting and distilling mo
lasses. Whiskey was made by fer
menting and distilling on small scale
either rye or wheat or mixture of thu
two. Brandy was made by distillins
the wine of grapes, or by taking The
pulp and skin of the grapes, after til,
Juice was expressed for making wine
and fermenting them or distilling. Gin
was made by distilling alcohol through
juniper berries. @
The modern liquor-dealers, accord
ing to the most trustworthy authori
ties, have changed all this, and have
Dissolved much cheaper and simple
way of carrying on the business, name
", to make all kinds out of corn al
cohol (the cheapest producedO, flavor
ing it to initiate what they desire t.
sell. To make his low grade whiske,
he merely dilutes a portion of the stut
till it contains 4j per cent. of alcohol
colors it with burnt sugar, and it i
ready for sale.
Rum is made by filtering the higl
wine and reducing it to the prope
strength by water, flavoring it witt
butyric ether, pine apple ether, etc.
adding burned sugar and q little mo
lasses. To make gin, the filtered higl
wine is diluted to the proper strength
favored with the essential oil of juni
per and sweetened with white sugar o
rock candy.
Brandy making is little less sim
pie. A purer alcohol has to be used
called Cologne Spirits.
All the above processes are thos
use by the best of liquor manufactur
ing class. BY the less scrupulous-i
there can be said to be any grades o
rascality in this business-some mos
hurtful drugs, and even active poisons
are used, to give their villainous slut
the required strength.
The same practice extends to th
fabrication of ''Imported" wines.
am told that at the death of a promi
nent wine importer of this city som
three years ago, q careful examination
of his books failed to discover q singl
invoice of wine, but that in his celia
was found all the machinery and ma
terial for making it in any quantity de
sired. One small phial holdings darl
liquid, was guaranteed omakc twent
gallons of ''pure Port wine, "-whic
| believe is extensively prescribed b
physicians for the use of invalils.
From what has been said abov
some idea may be got of the extent t
which fraud in alcoholic beverages
carried on here. Nor are these tn
only articles Of consumption which az
grossly adulterated. Quite an inter
esting chapter might be written abou
the sophisticaton of drugs, spices
groceries, textiles, &C., but these sut
jects must be reserved for another OF
casion. RADIx.