Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1898-03-11
rEABERRY JACK.
A Now Jersey Drink That Enlivens tho
Hos-killing Time. ii

A Now Jersey Drink That Enlivens the
Ho.-Killing Time. ii
Just at this season of the year the in
habitants of Burlington county, N. j.,
are winding up their big hog and tea
berry season, and it is the most joyous
of the year. Next to the prize hog,
''teaberry jack" fills long-felt want,
says an eastern exchange. 1t is bev-
erage indigenous to this part OF the
state, and rarely, if ever, found else
where. 1t is combination of native
ingredients, all of which are raised on
the soil where the jack is made. The
formula is not furnished with each
bottle, ut, judged from it's effects, it
must have proof as high as brandy
and be near relative to the alcohol OF
commerce. "Teaberry jack" is made
out of apple jack, which is kept in
secluded spot until it becomes brown
ish amber and has the odor Of age.
In the distillation and afterward the
apple jack is mixed with crushed tea
berries, sometimes called wintergreen
plums, or checkerberries. They have
the same flavor as wintergreen chew
ing gum. The odor is combination OF
apple blossoms and mountain tea
berries, which is so fascinating that
the amount of alcohol in the drink is
| forgotten. There is no burning or
harsh taste while the teaberry jack is
| trickling down the throat; there is
| none of the rasping which whisky often
causes when it is unmixed with water.
Water is not needed with teaberry jack
to make it palatable; it needs no dilu-
ton. The natives drink it without
water, and its strength is indicated to
the eye or the taste only in the size Of
the glass, which is the ordinary glass
of country barroom-smaller in size.
The teaberry drinker is expected to fill
his glass, close both eyes and gulp it
down.
The season for teaberry jack is the
hog-killing time in the winter, when
all the outdoor work is done on the
farm and the hogs are fat. Old tea
berry is valued most, but it is hard to
keep it year after year-its taste is SO
good, and the inhabitants require so
much of it during the winter
Teaberry jack affects man cumu-
latively. 1t begins with his toes, which,
if he has had eight or ten drinks, begin
to belively and somewhat intoxicated.
He feels as if the toes belong to some
other human being, and he is some
what surprised at the exhila1ated con-
dition in which he notices they are
The teaberry jack gives him the mental
| power to disassociate himself from his
toes, and to be spectator of the way
in which the effects of the tipple start
from his toes to his feet, then up to his
knees. This is the danger signal, and
should not be disregarded. The native
Jerseyman is accustomed to the effects
of this drink, but to visitor they are
fascinating and insidious. The effect,
as it gradually extends upward, is
cumulative and sudden. The last thing
to be affected is the brain, which re-
mains entirely sober after the throat
and tongue have started on mad
career of inebriety. The tongue may
be running on at a great rate, while
the brain, in sorry sobriety, stands off
in mental attitude by itself, wondering
what is the matter with the tongue
that it is carrying on and making all
kinds of speeches. The legs may be
dancing, while the rest of the body is
sober and amused at the antics of the
| intoxicated legs