Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-07-19
CONCERNING WHIsKEY.
How II Is Made. blended and Aged
While YOu Mnit.

ell to investigate 'WnCthCr rcCtiticrS I'M
der license granted 10y the government
| adulteratc, pollute, or otherwise drug
the product produced or distributed by
them. and If so adulteratcd. whether such
product when so adultcratcd is sold and
distributed throughout the country to be
used us a beverage"
! will read some of the conclusions of
that judiciary committee as reported in
House report 2G0l:
These compounds are now being cx-
tensively manufactured in the United
States. The manipulation ana COM
position Of these goods is done by
dealers under authority and direction
of n license granted to them as rccti-
ncrs. rho license for that purpose is
now used by wholesalers to enable
them to blend" and compound"
goods
Neutral or cologne spirits possess
ing the same strength as whiskey can
easily and with little expense be given
the odor and appearance OF aged whis-
key, which nny be and no doubt are
extensively disposed of in the open
market as straight goods.
The straight goods arc unqueston-
ably preferable and in so far as the
protect the public against the dcccp-
ton that is now being practiccd.
The blenders concoct spurious whiskcy
they take a small quantity of real pure
whs<oy. six. seven or eight years old.
and mix with that whatcvcr they please
all kinds of colorng and favoring OK
tracts, prune juice. and oils-and between
sunset and sunrise they will bring ont
what they call pure Kentucky whiskey.
eight years old" ! do not say that all
rectificrs do this, but it is done, and
under section 1924 of the revised statutes
spurious, imitation, or compound wills
kies are allowed.
Senator Campbell the orator Of the
Kentucky senate, hayed the rcctifcrs.
branding them as counterfciters of the
worst type.
Senator Campbell told the Senate that
the facility with which some rectifers
produce any sort of liquor on a moments
notice had a striking parallel in Goothe's
Faust. "The devil" said Senator Camp
bell. asked the good people of the vii
lage what sort of drink each desired
Some asked for Tokay wine; some asked
for champagne; some asked for port;
some asked for sherry, and. 10 and be-
hold. the devil proceeded to draw all
these different beverages from one and
the same cask''
This was pretty good work, but the
rccticr beats the devil. He can not
only draw YOU brandy, rum. gin. and
whiskov from the same vat, but he can
make them all eight years old for you
while YOU wait
The bender takes him no time to give
age. color, or flavor He needs no bot
tle-in-bond warehouse for his product
to stay there for several years to ac-
quire age, flavor. or color. lie substi-
tutes all that in a few hours.
A whiskey made in a garnet or cellar
between suntsct and sunrise, with frnc-
ton of real whiskcY mixed with adulter-
ants. comes out eight years old the next
morning.
will read to the committee ca extracts
from speech made in an extraordinary
session of the Kentucky Legislature:
The rcctitiers may be considered
reputable business men by some of the
senators here. but as for me, con-
slider that the deception which they
are forcing upon the public by label
ing their new mixture, which they
can make is1 n few minutes, as famous
old Kentucky whiskcy s or 10 or 70
years old, puts these gentlemen in
the class of the "bunlio stcorer," the
''greon-goods men" and the gold
brick fallir. who ere all outlawed by
the good people Of Kentucky
The man who sells you n gold brick,
gilded like il was gold and which lv
chemical test shows that it was brass,
is put into State prison as soon as the
law can get hold of him; but the man
who sells you n bogus whiskey gets
rich on the trick and becomes an in
huential citizen. If l had my way I
would require them to tell the truth
about these mixtures they are label
ing like real whiskcy, and stop COM
hitting this fraud upon the public.
want every man. woman, and
child in my district to know what
these rectiiers are doing. When a
woman goes to a drug store for pure
whiskey for sick infant, don't want
her to get rectified dope
The State chemist of Minnesota, DR..
Julius IIortvet to the governor of Min
nesota, under date of 1905 says:
THE well-known quick methods of i'm
parting age to liquors are among the
most aggravating forms of sophsticatiotl
According to one method, the result is
said to be attained by adding four to
eight ounces Of ammonia water to 40
gallons of spirits and in the products
of runs, WHISTLES and brandies an addi-
ton of about one ounce of a so-callcd
'raisin essence to one barrel of 40 gallons
is claimed to have an aging effect. The
of compounded liquors has
the supreme advantage of being an cx-
pert advertiser. His products are all old
time faVorites;' they bear the names of
localities long famed for genuine prod
Ucts. and their labels specify the num-
Der of years during which they have
been stored for the purpose of aging"
The food commissioner of PENNSYLVANIA
SAYS ON page ~ of his report for the
year 1904:
fact that so-terned pure rye whisiIey'
Is almost myth. as raw alcohol prune
juice and chemicals constitute the main
ingredients of many of the compounded
or blended pure rye 60 brands. This
mixture may suit some palates, but the
purchaser is deceived and pays for what
he does not receive. We have need Of
some stringent laws regulating the sale
of alcoholic beverages"
The assistant food commissioner of ILL.,
nois, in an address before the internn-
tonal pure-food congress at ST. Louis in
1904, said:
at is stated by authority of the gov
eminent that some SO per cent. of all
now Cn the market in the United
States are aGultcratcd base limitations