The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-02-29
DealcOholized the Wine and Then
Launched Line of Extracts
Now Have 81 Flavors-Vir-
ginia Dare Wine Proves the
Mother of Two ''Best Sellers"


No. 10, Brooklyn, N. Y, for the great
majority of the ninety years Of the or
ganizatiou haze been spent in fighting,
and conquering, obstacles which APP
Deared to be almost insurmountable.
When it is remembered that the sue
cess of Garrett & Co. was founded
upon the manufacture and sale Of their
Virginia. Dare" wine, the greatest Of
these obstacles is apparent.
Prohibition. at first local and then
national, logged their footsteps and
hampered their progress in all parts
of the country. In fact, as Paul Scar
rctt. president Of the company recently
stated: 1T was almost uncanny the
way that, as soon as our sales got
firmly planted in any state. that state
imm .diately went dry. We made the
whole circuit Of the United States
starting III our home sector of Virginia
and North Carolina, progressing
through the South, the Southwest, the
West, the Northwest, the North and
around to New York. only to find at
the end of our journey that the great
est obstacle of all, national prohibition,
was barring ouk road
In spite of the fact that Virginia
Dare wine was never classed among
the heavy intoxicants," as is contained
of last July apparently sounded the
deathkneu of the manufacturers. But
the toIling of the bell was an aural
delusion, for Garrett & Co. wouldn't
admit that they could BE- defeated even
by a presidential proclamation and an
amendment to the constitution Of the
United States They felt that there
ought to be a marlze of some kind for
the hundreds of thousands of gallons
of Virginia Dare wine, which they had
on hand and, long before July 1, they
had. tackled the problem of removing
the alcohol from the wine without i'm
pairing the flavor of the beverage.
Achieving the "ImpossibIe."
Practically every expert whom they
approached on the subject shrugged his
shoulders and muttered: "It can't be
done. The alcohol IS a component and
essential part of the wine. OF course,
IL could be- removed by the application
of heat, but that would destroy the
flavor and the aroma OF the wine. The
residue would be unpalatable and I'M
mlrketable.'
II was only after months of patient
experiment that Garrett 6, Co. sue
.ccdcd in performing the impossible"
by al combination OF heat, very care
luiIy applied, and the utilization of the
trHctcd more than 991z per cent of the
alcohol in tho wine, but left the flavor,
taste and bouquet Of the beverage I'M
changed!
Virginia ar Wine" the direct de-
scendent Of the famous "scuppernong
wine" of the South, was by this pro-
cess transmitted into Virginia Dare
wine, u-intoxicating and containing
less than Il of one per cent OF alco-
hoI." But the change, to all intents
and purposes, was only on the label.
Even experts failed to note any differ
cnce in the taste.
What was more, the wine in its new
form filled a Iong-felt what in the
states which had been dry for years,
as well as a newly discovered but none
the less acute want in the secitnons of
the country which were deprived of
alcohol for the first time in July of
last wear. The removal of the alcohol
opcned up every section of the coun-
try and the Virginia Dare sales-chart
curve shot up so suddenly that II
threatened TO jump right off the paper.
But that wasn't the only effect
Taking the alcohol out of the Wine
naturally left Garrett & Co. with
considerable amount of highgrade
grape alcohol on their hands-a
product that they did not care to sell
ON the open market because of price
conditions and also because its quality
was distinctly above the figure which
it would command.
The problem, therefore, was to find
some way in which to utilize this
grape alcohol and at the same time
support the Garrett reputation for the
excellence Of their products. The man
ufacture OF any beverage was, Of
course, out of the question-but exam
ination pro ed that the extract field
was one in which no single company
cxceilcd all along the line and that
there was q widespread demand for
flavors of the better class, those which
could be depended upon to produce the
best results under all conditions.
oube- Strength Extracts.
Securing the services of one of the
leading extract chmeists of the coun-
try Garrett & Co. commenced the
manufacture OF a line ofN twentyone
flaVors, all of which-with the excep-
tion of vanilIa--being double
strength" y 200 per cent solution of
vanilla, it was found, did not produce
good results, so the strength in this
case was reduced 10 150Aper cent, TAX
ing the ordinary vanilla extract as a
basis for comparison. AS n result, the
extracts. although retailing at price
above that of any flavorings on the
market, were extremely economical be-
cause it was necessary to use only
half as much as usual (twothirds in the
case Of vanIla) and the resultant fla
vor was distinctly more natural ana
than that obtained from the i
use Of other similar products.
The grapeaIcohol, being used only as
n base, and being thoroughly inpreg- /
mated with the essence of the flavoring
itself, permitted Of exceptional results +
and "a the same time effectually pre-
vented the use of the fIavoEinSs as
bevCra yes thus complying with all