The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1907-03-31
STRANGE LIQUORS
FROM OTHER LANDS
Uncle Sans Immigrants Bring With
Them Many Curious Vcrieties Of
Ardent Waters.


| The flood of immigration. which in an
| irresistible stream has poured into the
| United States from every corner OF the
/ wide world for the past half century
| has brought with il In the way OF not
/ sam and jetsam a host OF strange
/ liquors. with weird names and subtle
| effects. The prosaIc figures Of the Gus
| toms reports Of the Treasury Depart
ment tell the story of the increasing
magnitude Of this traffic, which has
| sprung up in the wake of the exodus OF
| races. to solve and satisfy the great
American thirst problem.
| The simple life for the barkeeper is
now only a memory. No longer, as IN
| the good old days of unperverted taste,
can be establish a jag factory with a
barrel of whisky. a happy smile, and a
| quick-trigger finger for operating CAPT.
tai; at least he cannot do 1t and cut his
coupons with any degree Of certainty
and regularity. A complex civilization
| is no longer content with mountain
dew" straight. but It's heterogeneous
I thirst demands sake. mastica, tirnovka,
| arTack, aqUavit bOuza, Quass, ChiCa,
! murra. ten, yaOust, in addition TO an
| almost limiJless list OF new wines and
beers. The time has arrived when the
| competent barkeeper must not only be
| an expert analytical chemist, but also
an accomplish anthroDologist
Cyclone Power of Mastic.
Mastic, or mastica. is the gift to the
American republic from the Isles of
Greece. 1t is a drink with proud lin
cage that runs back to the times Of Per-
icles, Aspasia, SOphoCies, and AnaXa-
goras. 1t is even the tradition that it
Is the tipple that gave Xantlppe a
| tongue so bitter that Socrates welcomed
the cup Of deadly hemlOck as the only
solution Of the trial marriage problem.
| Painstaking investigation OF the quail
ties OF modern mastic throws a flood
| Of light upon the veXed problem Of the
/ battle Of Marathon, IN which handful
of Greeks swept the vast army OF in
vading Perisians into the sea and saved
/ Europe for Occidental civilization. A
/ homeopathic dose of maStlc has enough
concentrates courage In II 10 make
rabbit spit ia a bulldogs face. HIS
| tOrians are, therefore, leaning 10 the
theory that the famous charge or the
| Athtnians. which struck the Persians
like a bolt OF FaVaginS fury, mad ITS IN
/ SEPARATION IN sOUl-burning draughts OF
the historical pTOgenitCr OF mastiC Ac-
| cording to modern police records, one
American full Of masuc Is storm cen
ter Of desolation; an army loaded with
the juicy would be a cyclone OF disaster.
Pacific Coast Tries Sake.
Mastic has come to the United States
in the train Of the large immigration
| from Greece and the countries Of the
Eastern Mediterranean. 1t can be had
al nearly all the bars in the large cities
OF the East and Middle West. 1t is one
OF the most fiery of the brandies and
| IS made from the must OF grapes or
! currants after the juice has been eN-
/ pressed for wine. Care IS taken TO
crush the seeds in this must. and as
a consequence, the mastic has a peculiar
/ astringenU taste that needs considerable
| practice TO enjoy
With the invasion OF the Japanese.
| particularly in the West. has come the
/ Introduction Of sake, drink around
/ which clusters many religious myths as
| TO its origin. II is thick ana syTupy
and IS made from rice II has 50 high
a percentage of alcohol that II Is Gas
| sified under the head Of spirits by the
customs house officials. There are q
number Of varieties Of sake, and some
Of them have succeeded in capturing
the jaded taste OF the bibulously inclined
on the Pacific Coast.
Affected by the Mexicans.
: Puloue, tequua, mescaI, and other
Z chain-lightning intoxicauts distilled
from the maguey plant, in Mexico, have
certain vogue In the Southwest but
the national drinks Of Mexico have not
become popular this side of the Rio
J Grande. and are rot TO be had east Of
the Santa Fe or FL Paso. There are
, thousands Of acres in Texas, New Mex
ico Arizona and California that are at
present yielding no return that could be
/ utilized for maguey plants, and DOUBT
! less the Southwest would be as thickIy
: studded with century plant ranches and
mescal distilleries as IN the sister re
| public of Mexico If the American palate
| could be trained 70 Ike tequila OF mes
, | cal
! Many immigrants from the Danube
| valley, BulgaTians, ROumanians, Scr
yians. SiaVs. BOsnians. Russian Jews,
, etc, have invaded the Northwest, and
: ! as q result the customs authorities have
! | made the acquaintance of 'urnovka,
a prune brandy, The valley OF the
Danube is probably the original home Of
the Prune and plum. Not only do they
Z grow wild, but what is more, nowhere
= Il: Europe do they reach such perfection,
, and despite the competition OF France
! and California, Bosnia and Seryia still
I furnish the greater part OF the world 5
prune supply. Prunes and pigs are the
two chief sources of wealth OF these
| Balkan states. for after the people have
sold all the prunes they can fer export
J they teed the rest 10 the pigs or distil
, ! them into prune brandy.
Cherry and Plum Cordials.
Cherries and plums were long ago
= utilized for liquor by the people Of Eu-
= rope. Two famous Hqueurs that are now
extensively consumed here were invent
ed in widely separated countries Mar
| asChinO was first made In commercial
, | quantities at the little town Of cara in
1 Daimatia, the makers having obtained
2 ! the secret from the neighbOring Slavs
| OF Bosnia. II was originally distilled
/ from the fine, large Marasca cherry, and
| after the distiilatiOn the seeds of the
/ cherries were cracked and the hqueur
| favored with the pits. The Germans.
who doubtless also learned the art OF
| making light brandies OF plums and
| cherries from their neighbor Slavs. in
! Poland and Bohemia. invented the
liqueur known as kirchen
S7,oOo,ooo BEING SPENT
TO UNVEIL NATURES SECRETS