Birmingham state herald., 1897-01-10

anybody can enjey sthisss who will drink the impure or deadly Spirit uszsl in alcohol lamps To the Muscoxita- It may be a good thing, but in this country l it's use is unpardonablei lIt3 1e. = a Besides the exquisite wines which have made that land famous, Hungary ssnds us slivovitsch. or Magars plum brandy, It is made from a peculiar variety of that fruit which Is found only In certain. parts of the Austrian empite, and, though strong and fiery to the last degree, is net so very disagreeable1 to the tongue It is favorite tipple. not only to the Hum garian, but also with. the people of sur rounding lands, including the Bohemians, Austro- Germans, Wallaks, Lithuaks. and Servians. In one variety of slivovitsch the plum. stones are used, as well as the fruit. The result contains an appreciahle flavor of Prussic acid, similar te what ob- tains in Kirsch water, maraschino and creme de noyau. .s5frr0a e vf 5otzst,5t,.
 Asia Minor is steady customer at the American custom house: Although itahas sent a small army of Creeks, Armeni- 2 ans, SyrianS and half-breeds ito these shores, it takes them. into no account when it ships us alcoholic goods. These are produced almost exclusively for the use of the children of Israel and more especially for those who once sdwelt in the Slavonic Islands, but are now true blue citizens of the New World ; For centuries this trade a1as endured, one year rising high in prosperity and an- other falling into the abyss of bankrupt cy. The orthodox Jew, no. matter how poor, wants some of the wines and liquors of the Holy Land, and is willing to pay for them regardless of either quali- ty or price.
 At rare intervals wine is sent over in the "bottles" referred to in the Scrip lures, tough skins, which in turn are carefully boxed. The Gentle cask and glass bottle, however. have pretty nearly driven the sheepskin and goatskin ves- sells out of the market The wet goods" of Judea and its neighboring territory are Jerusalem wine, Jerusalem brandy. honey wine and Passover wine. Judging from the supplies at the custom house the Oriental is a poor hand at viticulture. If things were no better eighteen centuries ago 1t is hard to understand how St. Paul could recommend "a little wine for the stomach's sake" but it is very easy to realize how hideously drunk Noah must have been if he used similar in- toxicant. The wine is thick, muddy, coarse, very like the homemade vim tages of old New England housewives. It has a rich bouquet and flavor sug- gestive of Tokay and Muscatel.
 The brandy is no better than the wine. It is made from plums or prunes and is distilled and rectified in a way that
 
 of raw spirits It is above proof and seams the mouth and throat as it is swallowed. The honey wine and Pass over wine are apparently varieties of the same kind of liquor. The habbins claim that they are produced by fermenting resulting wine with honey of a different flavor If the claim is truthful there is no fear of the bee ever becoming the rival of the grape. Of the many honey wines and Passover wines which come through the custom house every one is flat, syrup, to put it mildly, unpalata- ble. sa s,t.ao, a.7it6 a
 An immense array of curious stimu- lants come from the far east-China, .Ja- Dan and Java. The Orientals never have learned to make effervescent beverages, but outside of this they know as much about fermenting and distilling as we western barbarians In some respects they have gone further and utilized all most every vegetable from which profit able fluid could be procured. A parallel would exist if we made whisky from rice, buclxWheat and oats or wine from can taloupes, watermelons and pumpkins.
 There is so great variety of these eastern liquors that the government clas- sifies them roughly into wines, strong liq- ours, cordials and medicines Of these four classes the representatives that are presented for sampling are all well made. None are bad in any regard, but, very few are eXtraordinar attractive. They average about 20 per cent, higher in quail ity and palatabiiit than the average con-. tents of a first-class American bar. The wines are mainly fruit fiavors, weak, thin, but very fragrant. Those from al- monds, roses and tea are the best. ieo4
 The strong liquors are numberless. Ar rack, saki. sam, sui, arg- -ka-peh, no-ma- dhado and -ma-shaio are the more common. These are distilled from wort from rice palm starch, yam starch, millet and other farinaceous substances, uneol- ored or colored with caramel, and flavor ed with simple or compound vegetable ex- tracts. They are not so strong as our hard liquors, nor according to people who have used them in the east, so in furious to the system. The cordials are similar to our own, butno sofsweet and heavy. The medicinal wines and liquors bear a strong resemblance. to the, "bit- ters," "tonics" and the like with lwhich the shelves of our drug stores are crowd ed. This is especially true with pfepara- tions of ginger, peppermint, opium, gin- seng and gentian. II G
 This long list of intoxicants passes through the custom house, leaving sam pies in the appraisers office and in the abora tory of the governments chemist and then passes to the, people of the United States who come from the lands in which they are manufactured. The wa riety as we'll as the quantity of the im- portationS increases every year. When the ceaseless influx of foreigners is taken into consideration, it may well be asked how much and how many of these out landish drinks will be passing the cus- toms hundred years hence. S"'s
 Splint Coal. Va. and Ala.