The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-06-08
WHISKY MEANS
ANY old THING
The Blends, the Compounds
and Various Mixtures Come
Under One Head.
IT'S ALL CALLED WHISKY
OPINION OF SOLICITOR GENERAL
or THE UNITED STATES.

Washington, June Lloyd W. Bow
ers. solicitor general of the United
states, today submitted to President
Taft his opinion as to what the term
whisky" means in law.
The mixture of whisky with alcohol
or neutral spirits is entitled to the name
whisky, Mr.. Bowers holds, provided the
mixture retains a substantial amount
of by-products in proportion to the vol
ume of the mixture, giving distinct fla
vor and properties. He says the addi-
ton of alcohol to whisky is not the
Introduction of a foreign substance, but
is merely an enlargement of the pro-
portion of one proper constituent 1t
is merely a form Of dilution, just as
the addition of water is.
Compounds Also Whisky.
Continuing, Mr.. Bowers says: so
long as the mixed article varies only
in respect of being stronger or weaker,
without losing distinctive flavors and
properties in substantial degree. and
consequently the article has not been
altered in its essential nature. it can
not be said that the public has been
giving the name whisky to an article in
ignorance Of its character CT under de-
fusion concerning the thing TO which
the name whisky was applied. Even
a compound article made by the COM
bining of two things. wholly foreign to
each other. may. through application to
1t by the public of a single distinctive
name, acquire the full right to that
name. In such case the established dis
tinctive name properly describes the
compound article; and the pure food
act recognizes this, it being provided in
that act that, Gin the case of mixtures
or compounds which may be now or
from time to time hereafter known as
articles of food. under their own dis
tinctive name, and not an imitation of
or offered for sale under the distinctive
name of another article" the use of
such name shall not be a misbranding.
Not an Imitation.
Whisky mixed with alcohol cannot
be imitation of other whisky while It
still retains the requisite amount of by
products Of the distillation from grain,
because il is identical with unmixed
WHISKY under the description which 1
have given il. and mixed whisky which
remains identical in constitution and
character with another article proper
ly called whisky cannot in its own
use Of the name whisky be said TO be
using the distinctive name of the other
identical article"
Solicitor General Bowers holds that
the name whisky has no different scope,
whether it be used as a drug or as a
beverage. He also holds that the con-
tention that whisky may be made from
molasses is incorrect.
While the opinion OF Mr.. Bowers is
not final and may be overturned by
subsequent proceedings, it is a distinct
victory for the contention of blended
whisky distillers and is a reversal of
the position heretofore taken by the
4 department of agriculture. The opin-
/ ion is very vOluminous, consisting of
| thousands of pages of testimony and
an opinion of Solicitor General Bowers.
i President Taft authorized the opin-
| ion Of Mr.. Bowers to be made public,
/ but announced no opinion himself, be-
cause it was desired to hear further
| testimony taken from those known as
| straight whisky distillers.