Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-29
BLENDING OF WHISKY
DISTILLERS' VIEWS HEARD BY
SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE.
Efforts to Have the Regulation Under
the Pure Food Law
Rescinded.

Secretary Wilson of the Department OF
Agriculture is still struggling with the
problem of straight and blended"
whisky. There have been hearings at in
tervals for three weeks past of distillers
and blenders, some of whom want and
some of whom do not want the depart
ment's ruling under the pure food law
changed. There will be another delegation
of distillers at the department Monday.
and the hearings are likely to continue
till sometime after the first of the year.
Meantime the regulation Of the depart
ment covering so-called blended" whisky
has already been promulgated. and it will
stand unless the distillers can show the
Secretary that it is not in accordance with
the pure food law. The regulation is to the
effect that nothing but straight whisky
can be called whisky. The ruling. of the
department as already printed says that
even IL mixture contains half whisky and
half neutral spirit it must be labeled 'imi-
tation whisky" This Is where the shoe
pinches, as three-fourths of all the dis
tillers Of the country sell direct to the
blenders, and none Of their product ever
gets into the hands of the public
The Secretary and DR.. Wiley. together
with Solicitor McCabe of the department,
returned from Baltimore last night on the
first of a series of trips that they will make
to a number of whisky distilleries and
says he is going to make a personal in
vestigation. and has no doubt that he can
last till it is over.
The trip to Baltimore yesterday resulted
in the inspection of two whisky diStillerieS,
and developed the interesting fact that
there was at least one genuine gin distil-
lery in the country. The establishment was
a small place, and turned out only about
six barrels of gin day. None of this goes
to the public, because the distillers have
to charge too much for it. But it is sold
to the rectifiers and blenders, who use
about one gallon of it to five gallons of
water and spirits and sell it pure GIN
Even the experts of the department did
not know that there was such an establish
ment in the United States and considered
it quite interesting discovery.
The Secretary. so far, has heard state
ments from about thirty representatives of
big whisky interests, many of them dis
one of the whole lot has been willing to
abide without protest by the decision
against calling blended whisky whisky"
1t is explained that practically all of the
diStillerieS sell their straight whisky to the
mixers and blenders, who use it as basis
in making up any sort of a decoction they
choose, which they sell under the name of
blended" goods. Real whisky costs the
manufacturers about four dollars a gallon
after 1t is few years old, and some sam
Piles of real whisky twenty years old that
have been sent to the department could not
be sold on the market for less than ten or
twelve dollars. But the blenders have to pay
the internal revenue tax of 81. 20 only on the
actual amount of alcohol they use, and
some of their whisky is sold down as low as
eighty-five cents wholesale. This indica ties
about how much real whisky there is in it.
What the Department of Agriculture has
SO far held is that this stuff is not whisky
at all, and that 1t cannot be so labeled and
sold without violating the law. The depart
ment's regulation on the subject as has
been said, has already been promulgated
and the series of hearings now being held
are to whether the manufacturers and
blenders can advance any sufficient argu-
ment for repeating the decision. q