Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-04-15
aalistslIansuus &eaain9.
WHISKY FIGHT IN CONGRESS.
Technical Facts for tho Average Man
Who Drinks.

Technical Facts for tho average man
Who Drinks.
Routine reports Of the proceedings
of congress give no idea Of the strife
and turmoil engendered by those Sec
tions Of the pending Hepburn-Dolliver
pure food bill which seek to maintain
the integrity of the high ball and pre-
serve the purity of the rickey.
The average man Of voting age In
this country, and there are more than
21 .0O0, 900 Of him, consumes some five
gallons Of distilled spirits annually, to
say nothing Of wines, beers, etc. The
desire Is to protect this average man,
to legislate him into the straight and
narrow path which leads to alcoholic
purity. Hence the struggle between
the actual distiller and the man who
rectifies blends or compounds.
The straight-goods whisky men con-
tend that their bottled-in-bond Bour-
bon or rye is the only genuine article
and the one brand of goods that the
drinker can quaff with impunity. The
blenders insist that the only road to
absolute immunity from all the Ills OF
dissipation is through the use OF
properly compounded bottle Of all that
Is virtuous in whiskydom.
In the meantime the unenlightened
average man, who knows nothing
about the merits Of the dispute, who
|
what the barkeeper hands out, stands In
| bewilderment, for by drinking Of It he
knows not the difference between rye
and Bourbon, straight and rectified.
He can now take the facts as develop
ed in the hearings before the commit
tee in charge Of the Hepburn Dolliver
bill or as set forth on the side by ex-
perts for both camps, pay his money
and take his choice.
OF course there are outlawed straight
whisky and upright blends. good and
wholesome rye and bourbon and dis
honest compounds. For example, bour-
bon whisky direct from the still Is
| without color and impregnated with
|
| miliar golden hue comes from the
charred inside Of the oaken barrels In
which the whisky Is aged and purified.
Dishonest men have been known to
take the rank new whisky, when only
few months old, reduce its fire by
the addition of water, bring up Its COL
or by the admixture Of drugs and put
It on the market as old liquor. Then
indeed, it is vile.
On the other hand, your clever
blender or rectiier. prone to deceive,
takes neutral spirits, prul.e juice, burn
ed sugar, water and bead oil and
makes a tolerable cheap whisky. one
that misleads both the eye and the
palate Of the occasional drinker and
satisfies the thirst of the drunkard.
And it need not be especially dele
terious, this mixture.
Neutral spirits" is pure grain al
cohol, made from wheat or corn, and
distilled pretty much as whisky Is dis
titled, except that it Is highly concen-
trated, Is subjected to a process which
removes all impurities and leaves the
spirits tasteless, colorless and odorless
and about 1876 proof, or susceptible Of
reduction by the addition Of 100 per
cent Of water and still have the alco-
| holic strength Of six-year-old whisky.
While spurious rye or bourbon may
thus be made out of neutral spirits,
fruit juices, etc., and the mixture be
practically as pure as aged whisky. to
the trained palate it is without that
| peculiar flavor and aroma which is to
| be found in the genuine goods proper
ly aged.
The reputable and scientific blender
insists that neutral spirits doesn't en-
ter into the process which he employs,
but that he seeks to and actually does
| produce a whisky more uniform in its
flavor and purity, more attractive to
the eye and more pleasing to the taste
than any distinctly straight bourbon or
rye to be found on the market. and
that the honest blenders label Is a
passport to health and happiness.
He declares that neither rye nor
! bourbon in it's natural state meets the
requirements Of the connoisseur, but
utilizing certain brands and ages, re-
suits in beverage that surpasses any
brand known to the trade as strictly
straight whisky.
Each scientific rectifier or blender
has his secret process or formula, to
divulge which. he asserts, would work
his financial ruin. Hence his strenu-
Gus opposition to the measure which
proposed that all blended goods sold
should have pasted upon the bottle a
label giving the ingredients thereof.
Straight whisky is known as either
rye or bourbon. Bourbon whisky got
its name originally from the county Of
that name in Kentucky, where great
deal of whisky was made in pioneer
days, but the term Is now applied gen.
orally to all Kentucky or corn whis-
ky, most Of the ryes coming from
Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Pure Bourbon whisky should contain
60 per cent of corn, 30 per cent Of rye
and 10 per cent Of barley. Rye whisky
Is made of rye and barley malt.
A bushel of corn will make about
four and a half gallons Of whisky.
Without the government tax. new whis-
ky could be sold at profit for Is cents
gallon, but the government adds $1.1O
gallon to start with. This, with the
cost of storing the liquor until 1t