Birmingham state herald., 1897-01-10
SIX THOUSAND JIPPLES
THE NUMBER soF INToxIcANTs
 SOLD IN AMERICA.
outlandish Stimulants From Remote Parts Of the world-orienta1 a+fffHf fft
 Goods.
New Orleans States.

There are. more kinds of intoxicating liquors used in the United States than in any other country on the face of the earth. This is not because we are such abnormally incorporate people, for, as a matter of fact, this nation is quite as abstemious as any. ana more so than many others. But our very large popu- lation has brought with 1t not only the general habit. of European countries in the use of intoxicants, but also the thirst for the. national beverages of the old countries. Thus comes about the pictur- esque variety of intoxieants.
 No other country in the. world can show such a,huge Importation of all sorts Of queer and outlandish stimulants from every part of the globe, as well as the erectlon Of establishments which turn oul tSkllnuf limitations of the imported articles. In nearly American city today are places where the brewing, fer menting, and distilling practiced in ev- cry part of the globe can be witnessed by, the s1ghtseer and student. In every port or entry from New York to San Fran CISCO can be found samples of not hun dreds, but thousands of foreign alco- hoIlc beverages. Few Americans have any idea of the variety and wealth of this field. The average wine card of hotei, restaurant and saloon alike sell dom has more than 100 entries. Yet in the literature upon the subject. and more especially in the official records of the custom house, there are more than 5000 different brands of legally recognized 1nfoxicants, .h lEsnas,-7taf'
 Our next door r1eighbor, Mexico, sends Us limited quantity of pulque and mes- cal. The former is swedish sour beer. resembling milk and water in appear ance, which Is made from a cactus simi- lar 10 the Towering aloe of our hot houses. There is nothing pleasant about 1T at the nrst taste: The Mexicans say that one must drink it twenty times be- lore he appreciates it. To strangers both the taste and smell of pulque are horri- pie, something in smell like rotten eggs; put people seem to get accustomed to its navoT and like it, as the natives do Bay ara Iaylor thus speaks of 1t: 'I can only liken the taste of this beverage to dis tlllation Of sour milk Qf there can be such thing) strongly tinctured with cay enne and hartshorn.' And yet 1t is national drink, and the taste for it once acqulred It is kind of nectar in its way, a sort Of liquid Dimburger cheese. From me pulque mescal is distilled. It is rank ana corrosive liquor, alongside of which Jersey lightning Is as soft as cream. It IS popular with the Indians and half breeds, who enjoy 1t, apparently. as a substitute for suicide. The native az uadiente of Mexico rarely crosses the Rio Gnande. It is coarse and poorly recti- fled whisky. finfi tt7f efe
 Central and South America produce a large number of intoxicarts, each of which is from time to time brought into the United States. Some are horrible to nostril and palate alike. Of these a rep resentative fluid is casasha, or white su- gar cane rum. It bears the same rela- tion to Jamaica and Santa Cruz that the poor Irish potheen or potato spirit does 10 rye or Bourbon. Large amounts of casasha are made 'illicftly by negro farm hands and retailed at ridiculous prices. In the interior of Porto Rico, Jamaica, and Brazil 1t can be purchased anywhere at from I to 8 cents a glassful, and no little glass, mind you, but good old pint. .15''ite rsst r'f+'1a .t4 D fasii
 Far different from this rnephitic com pound are the liquors and cordials made in the Latin-American countries from the countless leaves, barks, flowers and fruits of the tropics. Among the more nota ble are those whose bases are the banana, pineapple lime, lemon, orange, chocolate, tonka bean, mango, guava, capadilla cas- sai. sassafr7as, coeoanut, date, tamarind, fig, lily and lemon verbage. To increase the variety the makers will combine two or more havors to produce novel flavor. This now and then will be half familiar to the American taste, as chocolate and va- nilla or banana and orange.
 Nearly all of. these liquors, however, are utterly strange, ana an are delicious. Generally they are g .trifie,too sweet for the masculine taste, containing so much sugar as to be cloying. But for women and invalids, or for a pQ1sse cafe, sherbet or punch, they are simply invaluable. They have the-further advantage of be- ing quite inexpensive. Before passing on, mention should be made of laranglna, or orange peel gin. This is thin, yellow iSh green diStillate, with an aromatic bou- quet and a pleasant but strange taste of orange. It is credited with all sorts of medical virtues, and is used by those who like it upon every pretext possible. It contains large percentage of alcohol, and would suit any rAng1o-Saxon to per lection. From, Chifi we get a white, fine 1y favored spirit made from apples. and from British Guiana a liquor resembling champagne, extracted from the undevel- oped palm flowers. t,l nfi~ s.i
 From Europe comes an inexhaustible stream of odd drinks. In Hamburg and Bremen are score of manufacturers whose sole business is adulterating, or rather, initiating, every known stimulant whose value allows a, fair, profit upon the work. Champagne, Cognac, and Otard, Madeira, Chateau Lafitte, Stenburger
 Cabinet and Clos Vouguet are so skilfully initiated as to decefVe anyone but an ex- pert. Besides this there is another
 branch of their vinainouse profession.
 which consists in manufacturing drugs and chemicals wherewiths dishonest deal CTS and hotel Keepers can transmute raw spirits into a. aafour-star r brandy or the thinnest California vintage into a world famous wine of the Rhine e.or Moselle. While the trade=is prohibited. so far as home consumption is concerned, the com | mercial policy of the government gives it | full sway to the rest of the world As a result huge invoices of bogus vines and strong liquors, essential oils and fiavoring ethers are continually being forwarded from Emperor Williams Tyre and Sidon to every port of entry in the United States. The business done in this line with Yankee]and already exceeds $500,- 900 annually and is on the increase.
 Our Scandinavian citizens keep alive the love and pleasures of home by im- porting red earaways liquor, Norwegian beer. Danish corn whisky and Swedish punch. Theaflrst is a2 curious combina- tion of alcohol, water. caraway seed, rose | leaves and anise. fit tastes something
 like kummel, but is harsfief. more pung- | ent and penetrating It Is an acquired l taste on the part of, those who likN it. l The beers or Norseland are remarkably good. They seem to -be Clarified with Shayinps of fir eSDrilce f nd 1arch a 6 thev