Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-25
IMPORTED WHISTLES
DR.. WiIey's Pamphlet on His
Investigations.
SCOTCH AND IRISH LIQUOR
Why They Are Distinct in Smell,
Taste and Effect.
NONE EXPORTED ARE PURE
It is Mixed With Plain Grain Spirit
Attempt to Get Certificate
Of Origin.
NONE EXPORTED ARE PURE

1t is illegal, according to British regula'
TONS to sell to natives OF the united king
dom, anything purporting to be whisky
which is not the genuine article. But when
it comes to selling for export, where it is to
be drunk in the United States, there Is
nothing to prevent the distiller from prac-
tcng any sort of imposition he chooses on
the Yanks This is the gist of the report
that has been made by DR.. Wiley Of the
Department of Agriculture to Secretary
Wilson. A pamphlet Oh the subject cover
ing Dr. Wileys investigation in England
and Ireland last summer has just been is
sued by the Department of Agriculture. and
is particularly timely, owing to the contro-
versy over straight and blended" whis-
kies, now being argued before the depart
ment, as well as the fact that the pure food
law under which whisky will have to be
Tabled goes into effect on January l and
will result in putting good many WHISKY
manufacturers out of business or making
them materially change their methods.
Much Of the information contained in the
departments pamphlet was made public
soon after DR.. Wiley returned from Eng
land But there is considerable additional
matter Incorporated. DR.. Wiley went to
England at the direction of Secretary Will
son and visited the distilleries OF England,
Scotland and Ireland. as well as the
bonded warehouses in the Inherent parts
of the united kingdom.
Detail of Manufacture.
He goes into some detail as to the manu-
facture of real Scotch and Irish malt whis-
ky, the process of mailing the grain and
dstilling it and the reasons why the re-
sultant beverage is distinct In smell, taste
and effect from any of the doctored and
imitation articles. Most of this informa-
ton is purely technical. but the popular
interest is in the fact that, along with the
genuine "pot-stil'' whisky there is manu-
featured a vastly larger amount of grain
spirit or silent spirit which is used to
aduterate genuine whisky for export.
The excise regulations are very strict and
provide against the very thing that hap
pens to all export whisky, namely, the mix
ing of genuine whisky with the grain-spirlt
liquor. The rules prohibit the mixing in
the bonded warehouse of different sorts
of liquor, and ii has been held by the Eng
lish courts that grain spirit and whisky
are distinctly different sorts of liquor. The
result is that nothing may go out of bond
for domestic consumption except properly
reduced and genuine spirits.
But there is a separate room in each OF
the bonded warehouses where spirits may
be doctored for export, and here there is
no restriction, and the seller may do any
thing he chooses to the liquor, from putting
up plain grain spirit as Scotch whisky"
to coloring. tiavoring and aging the mix
ture to suit himself.
AS the patent still whisky costs to
make only 80 cents a gallon and the genuine
whisky 80 cents. there is no real whisky
eXported-okcept so much as is necessary to
give the grain spirit something of the
requisite smell and taste. There are some
exceptional circumstances under which real
Scotch whisky Is exported to this country,
but it is only BY special arrangement of a
few men on this side who import barrel
or two for their own use. and even then
h.,-n to OF to Z ah nn of fho tic
tiller who does the shipping, as there is
nothing in the law to protect them.
DR.. Wiley points out however, that the
importation of the so-called Scotch and
Irish WHISTLES into the United States is
against our law, as their sale Is inadmis-
sable in England and that fact renders
them contraband here. He says also that
he inquired of the revenue officials whether
they would give certificate of origin with
the whisky sent to this country and state
officially on the invoice what, If any, treat
ment it had received, but the reply was in
variably that they could do nothing of the
sort DR.. Wiley says:
Certificates From Revenue Officers.
'In view of the results of this investiga.
ton it does not seem unreasonable to ex-
pect that some change shall be made in the
regulations by which the revenue officers
can be made to furnish this information
This expectation is the more reasonable as
such steps have already been taken by
other nations. France is now prepared tc
furnish n certificate Of origin for all the
brandies distilled in that country subsequent
to 1902, and the United States through the
Department of Agriculture furnishes all ex.
porters making application therefor Ger
tificates of the character Of the food prod
ucts they propose to send to foreign coun.
tries. Furthermore, spirits can be exported
from the United States with a certificate
showing their character. where made, wher
distilled, etc Such government certificate
is as much to the interest OF the reputa bic
exporter as to the importer and consumer
since il protects the reputation and sales OF
high-class products from the competition
of cheaper and inferior goods competing
with them under the same designation
That there has been some attempt to
tamper with the regulations respecting the
adulteratiOn of spirits in the British isles
is shown by a record that is appended to
the pamphlet taken from the proceedings
of one of the London police courts recently.
In this case grain spirits tempered with a
little Scotch and Irish whisky had been
sold in one of the public houses as genuine
Scotch and Irish whisky. The case was
tried at length and the defendants convict
ed, the magistrate holding that a distinct
injury had been inflicted on the purchaser
in palming off on him a cheaper substitute
for the thing he thought he was purchas-
ing.