Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-07-28
THE AGE OF WHISKY.
hears DO Not Count Unless 1t fs Ken
In the Wood.

In the Wood.
In the smoking compartment Of a car
,, on the Congressional Limited a few DAYS
ago gentleman handed out his flask. with
the remark that he had some of the Oldest
and finest whisky that anybody on the
train ever tasted.
He said that he had Unexpectedly dis
covered under pile of rubbish in the cell
lar or his house on his plantation in Vir-
s1nia a demijohn Of old whisky that had
probably been lying there for over twenty
years He considered it perfect
1t Is no better than the contents of this
hask, said a whisky drummer, produc-
ing his bottle land this whisky is not over
five years old. But 1t was drawn In nv
presence yesterday from the barrel In
which 1t had been originally poured when
1t left the coil In the distillery. Whisky
is only improved by remaining in the wood
and by the slow process of evaporation
which goes while It is in the barrel
If 1t Is in glass 1t may remain there for
forty years and the original quantity and
flavor are the same as when bottled
The sentiment you have expressed is a
popular supposition, but erroneous Wine
Is improved with age in bottles but not
WHISKY A barrel Of whisky will evapo-
rate from third to quarter in five years
and 1t Is this slow, imperceptible conden-
sation which mellows and gives it that pc
cullar' rich flavor found In old whisky so
esteemed by the Judges of fine liquors.
mere are various processes by which
dealers age whisky, and it is possible
! to take the liquor right from the still, COM
pound IT and make 1t mellow to the taste
~ i, Is Is a fraud and a deception to do SO, but
IL Is done Most of the case goods on the
market, however, are what they are rep
resented to be. The competition Is so
great between the owners of the various
y dc
usually gets what he pays for
1t Is trade secret how WHISTLES are
aged but will tell you one or two meth
obs by which new whisky is made mellow
ana soft When you have held your glass to
the light over the bar you have noticed
That the liquid clings to the side of the
glass In little waves and semi-circles like
OIL. Many men judge their liquor by this
oily appearance, supposing that 1t is pro-
duced by the liquor itself from its age
Tnls Is true, If 1t is really old mellow
WHISKY, but the same appearance is mani
TEST when a proper quantity of gIycerine
parted also. The juice of prunes is the
most used ingredient to darken whisky,
and to give 1t that heavy rich color which
some men like. 1t ages the liquor too.
Some men prefer blended whisky
which is supposed to have very old whisky
mixed with new. In most blended whis-
kles prune juice and glycerine are impor-
tant clements. They are not deleterious
substances and impart an agreeable taste
A straight whisky is liquor which is un-
blended with other brands, and is aged en-
tirely from standing in the wood, IL 1t is
the pure stun. Inferior grades of whistles
are doctored with chemicals and fngredi-
ents' according to the methods of the seller.
A man OF discernment can detect the diff
terence In the different grades as soon as
ne touches his lips to the liquid, but all
men nave not this faculty, and will swaI-
low anything from bottle which is placed
oeIore them on the bar without a word,
| so long as 1t burns when IT goes down -,