The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1885-01-28
An EnterprISing Firm.

-1here are numerous enterprises N
this State which began a few years ago
on very small capital comparatively,
which have assumed very large proper
tons since. and do immense business.
Prominent anong them IS the firm DIP.
B. Key & Co. Statewide. From the
Landmark We take the following:
The Landmark finds occasion to write
somewhat in detail OF all u leading bus
mess interests IN to-day ; issue. Proml-
nent among then-iu fact conspicuous
by the extent Of trade held and the
area Of coun.ry reached Is the exclusive
wholesale liquor house Of Key " Co
We recognize the fact that the d!stilllng
and wholesale liquor interest OF lredeli
county and Of Statesville is one that rep
resents great values annually, and cur
reporter has taken some pans TO az.
quaint himself herewith.
Messrs. Key 4 Co., wholesale dealers
in North Carolina whisky, apple brandy
and peach brandy, were recently inter
viewed relative to this traffic. The firm
is one that has made itself known
throughout a vast section OF country
within the Snort space OF two years 1t
has built up a trade that, as Tar as we
can learn. reaches into hundreds Of
thousands of dollars per Year, Il our
note book bears some memoranda rela-
tive to the firm that we make room Tor
in this review, feeling that it Will prove
matter of interest tohuudreds OF readers
of to-day's paper. In a circular letter
! which Kew & Co. send out TO the rad
some potent facts are made public. Here,
for instance is an extract from it thy
reason Of its situation in the foothills OF
the mountain district of North Carolina,
S%tatesville is headquarters or the ch!et
market for the goods of which we make
a specially. In this and adjoining coun-
ties, comprising the Sixth Internal Rev
enue District, there are upwards of 40
dlstilleries tributary to Statesyille, where
ed for collecting the tax on distilled
goods. This is perhaps the only inter-
nal revenue district III the United States
where whisky is made by the old fash
toned plan Of copper dlstillatlon BY fire
process, which explains the secret OF It's
quality and purity, and also accounts for
the popularity it sustains over and above
any and all corn whiskies manufactured
elsewhere" Right here is a point that
the trade and consumers should not
fail to bear in mind. The steam process
used by Cincinnati and other western
distillers produces quantity Al the *
pense of quality; by the fire process il,
the small distiller'es Of this section (and
few of them average over ten gallons
per diem) quality of goods is everything.
the liquors distilled have a body as well
as purity peculiarly their own, and this
fact is now so well determined that the
resources of Key & Co., are pushed at
all times to meet the demand from wide
ly different sections. To illustrate this
we may say that the firms ''order book
vas opened for our inspection, and from
it we could see how extended was the
trade Of the house, reaching to even the
most remote parts of Virginia, Tennes-
see, North and South Carolina, Georgia,
Alabama and Florida. Here and there
were orders from parties in the North
from Philadelphia and some other cities
and some idea of the extent of the
business may be formed from one
memorandum that caught our eye-a
single order from a leading firm in Rich
mond, Va, for 90 barrels OfN. {. apple
brandy, a~ggregating nearly $4,000. We
also learn that there is a very active
demand for all the fruit brandies that
can be secured. More apple than peach
brandy is made in the district, and at
times it is difficult to meet the demand
for either.
Key & Co. ''strike from the shoulder
in their advertisements. One of their
| postal cards is before us as we write,
o,1J - ,,a sIY,o oo1l pnthinr b,t = t,aj,rIt
and natural goods. We deal innothing
but the above mentioned articles (corn
whisky, apple brandy and peach brandy
all Of which are made in this mountain
section" land they also d%enounce in hear
ty terms the practice of cutting or
"miXing" North Carolina whisky with
spirits-a practice unfortunately resort
ed to 10y many dealers. In brief.
Messr>. Key & to-, make it then spec
ial province to handle the purest and
best, and ave adopted purity and eN-
cellence' a. their motto. The extent
of the trade i such that an office FORCE
Of four persons is usually required. and
IL the premises occupied by the house
we find ample warehouse capacity. with
abundant facilities Tor receiving and ship
ping goods.
Mr.. Phillips Barton Key, with whom
rests the management OF the business,
is, like most M~arylanders we have met,
a pleasant busiuess-like gentleman. who
is thoroughly in earnest in what he uil-
dertakes. Though a resident OF North
Carolina for the past fifteen years, it is
only about two years since lie opened
his house in Statesvllle. Since then he
has worked with a will toward the de-
~velopment of his business; he has es-
tablished a reputation as a reliable deal
er in reliable goods, and the large trade
he has built up shows more than words
can his character as a business man.