ALCOHOL. —Potteen Whisky.
104
monly to the same degree as that which is observedin regular distilleries; they are next put into a pipeor puncheon, with about a gallon of yeast; in anhour or two after the barm is added, fermentationbegins, and in twenty-four hours afterwards the at-tenuation is considered complete. Sometimes twobrewings, after undergoing the fermenting process forabout eighteen hours, are considered fit for the still;and in the ordinary course of working a brewing ismade every morning. The quantity of pure spiritdrawn from these two brewings is usually 223 gal-lons, of one-to-two, or two-to-five; or, in otherwords, the spirit is of such a strength that it willbear 1 gallon of water to about 2 gallons of spirit, or 2gallons of water to 5 of spirit, to bring it to proof.The usual strength at which illicit spirit is made, isfrom 4 to G over proof on Sikes’ hydrometer; butsometimes it is as much as 8 per cent., and in manycases it has been sold at a strength of 30 over proof.
The flavour is entirely caused by the malt, and themode of distilling.
In distilling the wash, the strong low-wines areseparated from the weak, the latter being thrownback into the still with the succeeding charge ofwash; a similar practice is observed in making spirit,the faints being put into the still with the next chargeof low-wines. Thus the spirit is preserved pure andclear, nothing whatever being used in the distillationbut a small quantity of soap thrown into the stillwith the pot-ale or refuse, to neutralize or keep downthe yeast, as they term it, which would otherwisecause the run of the low-wines to become colouredlike the wash, or to get foul. It is a mistaken notionto suppose that soap is used only by the larger dis-tillers, since it is considered an indispensable articleby every person who understands the mode of work-ing a still on the old system.
Fig. 40.
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BiKi
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llli'hiiii Mh i iiiiil
liiiiiiiiiiysiwail
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from Indian corn; and in Cincinnati , where thisgrain abounds, there is so large a quantity manufac-tured as to supply the Western and Southern mar-kets. In Pittsburg, and other parts of the UnitedStates , the whisky is purified by filtering it throughcharcoal coarsely ground.
Kumbers of distilleries are now at work in Canada ;they are mostly of wood, and worked by steam. Theannexed drawing and description, Fig. 40, is of onenear Toronto .
A is the brickwork, in which the iron boiler, with acylindrical flue running through the centre, is partlyinclosed. B and c are the first and second wmodenstills, of the same size, being 4 feet 8 inches at bottom,and 4 feet 6 inches at top, with an altitude of 6 feet;D is the doubling or low-wines’ still, 2 feet 10 inchesat bottom, and 2 feet 4 inches at top, the heightbeing 8 feet 9 inches; E is the worm-tub, 6 feet atbottom, 5 feet at top, and 9 feet high, supplied by acopious stream of water ; f the low-wines’ and faints’
receiver; G is the recipient for the spirit previous topassing through the rectifiers or filtering vessels, H,I, and is 2 feet at bottom, 2 feet 4 inches at top, by2 feet in height. The top diameter of H and I is 3feet, and the bottom 2 feet, the altitude being 5 feet;they are filled with charcoal and other material,through which the liquor gradually descends in a lim-pid, gently-flowing current into J, the final receiver,or store cask, k is a tank or large vessel for holdingwarm water for distilling purposes, supplied from thetop of the worm tub, the heat of which is supportedby steam from the tube, c, connected with the boiler,and having a stopcock for regulation at e. The tankis a reservoir for supplying the mash tubs with water,of which, in the establishment, there are fourteen,each measuring 3 feet 4 inches by 3 feet G inches indiameter, ranged on a loft above the stills, in sucha manner that, after the worts have undergone fer-mentation in these tubs, they are let down by a leaderor trough into the second still, c, at rj. When the