ALCOHOL.— West India Rum. 117
still is charged up to the manhole, and a steady firekept up. In each retort a quantity of low-wines isput, sufficient to cover the end of the descending armpipe in first retort, and the pipe from first retort inthe second one. In place of low-wines, wash may beused. When, from the heat, the vapour rises fromthe wash in the still, it passes up the head and downthe arm pipe into the first retort: there, the hotvapour coming in contact with the low-wines, a seconddistillation takes place, and vapour rises to the topof the retort to escape by the pipe leading to thesecond retort; but the cold water running over thetop in the water chamber condenses the weakestportions of the vapour, which fall into the bottom ofthe retort as low-wines, the stronger vapour onlypassing into the second retort, where a similar processtakes place. The vapour rising from the secondretort is freed of its aqueous parts and impurities,and passes into the worm, whore it is condensed anddischarged as spirit. The spirit thus obtained ismuch stronger and better than that produced by astill and worm only, without retorts.
The “ faints,” or low-wines left in the retort afterdistillation, are drawn off and kept in a cistern untilthere is enough to make a charge for the still, andthen that is worked off in the same manner as fer-mented wash. Fresh low-wines are used in theretorts at each distillation.
About five hours are required to work off onecharge of the still. The charge of wash producesabout 10 or 12 per cent, of rum, at an averagestrength of 25 per cent, over proof.
In some of the islands a still makes about 220gallons of rum daily; these are produced from about580 gallons of low wines, or 113 of rum may bo pro-cured from 1200 gallons of wash. This liquor is sostrong that olive oil will sink in it, and by one recti-fication it is made to approach the strength of alcohol.The process of distillation is in general slow, andmuch caution is observed in the condensation of thespirit. To provide against a scarcity of water, whichoften occurs in the islands, they preserve in largetanks a sufficiency of rain water to enable them tomix the molasses, &c., and to cool the worm of thestill. As the water becomes heated in the worm-tub, it is carried to coolers or cisterns, and whencold it serves again for refrigeration. In most ofthe islands, the curing-houses for sugar and thedistilleries for rum are constructed on the sides ofcanals, and the canes carried to them from theplantation, either in boats or by negroes. Five orsix immense copper boilers are kept in each of thesehouses, and the greatest cleanliness is observed inthe distillery; a precaution of immense importance,which must contribute largely to the strength andpurity of the rum. In Jamaica the operations go onwithout intermission; the negroes being formed intodivisions or relays, who relieve each other at regularintervals. The richness of flavour peculiar toJamaica rum has rendered it famous in all parts ofthe world; this is undoubtedly derived from theraw juice and the fragments of the sugar-cane,which are mashed and fermented with the other
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materials in the tun. The essential oil of the caneis thus imparted to the wash, and carried over in thedistillation. Sugar, when fermented and distilled byitself, yields a spirit in no way different from purealcohol. Time adds much to the mildness and valueof rum ; the planters age it fictitiously by the additionof pine-apple juice.
A superior quality of rum is manufactured in thecolony of Demerara, where distillation has beencarried to a high state of perfection by the perse-verance and skill of several scientific men, who havecaused the rum of this district, and that of Esse-quibo, to be as much prized in the American marketas Jamaica rum is in England. In Brazil largequantities of rum are manufactured, which arc ex-ported to America and to most European nations.The process followed is rude and simple. The washis generally fermented in large earthen jars, but nofixed rules to regulate the quantity of molasseswhich should be operated upon are observed. Astrong lie is poured on the syrup, in order to thickenand purify it, which is obtained by burning a plantof the polygonum species, called by the Indians catayn,and infusing the ashes in water. This plant has abitter pungent taste, and is considered of use inmaking rum. The stills are mere earthen jars, witha long narrow neck, on the top of which is placed ahead or cap, having at one side a pipe of about Cinches long; to this adapter a copper tube, 4 feetin length, is connected, which passes through anearthen vessel sufficiently largo to hold the waterfor the condensation of the spirit, and this contriv-ance is made to answer the purpose of both wormand worm-tub.
To calculate the cost of rum to the sugar planteris difficult; in general, it is estimated that one-fourth of the entire produce of a plantation may, inpoint of value, consist of rum, and accordingly one-fourth of the expenditure may be taken as the firstcost of the rum, and the remaining three-fourths asthat of the sugar. Some say that the charge ofmaking rum bears a similar proportion to that ofhome-made spirits, but this is an erroneous assump-tion. Rum is made from the molasses, or that partof the canc-juice which will not crystallize into sugar,and also from the scum which is taken off during thesaccharific process, and which in sweetness is equalto one-fifth of molasses. Take, as a standard, adistillery on a plantation producing 250 hogsheadsof sugar, yielding 15,000 gallons of molasses, andscum equal to 5000 gallons, netting in all 20,000gallons of molasses. These would produce about15,000 gallons of proof rum, which, when broughtto the British market, would be reduced by thevoyage to about 13,500 gallons, the average lossbeing 10 per cent. These would cost the manu-facturer throughout the islands from Is. Id. to Is. 4 d.per gallon, independent of all charges for pun-cheons, freight, commission, and other unavoidableexpenses.
From this statement it appears that the distillerof rum has little or no profit, but being the growerof the material, and having his capital embarked in