HOW ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS ARE MADE. 81 



Therefore, if you want a pure article, purchase from a distiller or 

 first-class, reliable dealer ; and, by the term first class, I do not mean 

 the man who has the largest and most attractive place of business, 

 and the most capital invested, but the man who is known for his in- 

 tegrity and truthfulness of character. Insist that the spirits must 

 be at least twelve months old, and also be willing to pay a fair price 

 for them. There is no more exception to the rule in the liquor 

 business than in any other, that, if you want something of value, you 

 muse expect to pay value for it. 



At some distilleries, the spirits pass through a process of filtering 

 between the worm and cistern-room, which extracts the impure foreign 

 matter that is unavoidably forced up from the still with the vapor of 

 spirits. When this purifying process is skillfully and carefully done, 

 there is no absolute necessity for the further manipulation or rectifica- 

 tion of the spirits, and the only element then required to make the 

 spirits fit for medicinal purposes is time, and the longer the time the 

 better. If kept in wooden packages the spirits will improve and ac- 

 quire a slight color by age. Coloring-matter is not allowed by the 

 Government to be put in the spirits when this filtering process is done 

 at the distillery. 



Alcoholic liquors should not be offered for sale until they have been 

 filtered or properly rectified, either during the process of manufact- 

 ure, or after they have been withdrawn from the distillery bonded 

 warehouse. The best distillers never let their goods go on the market 

 until they have themselves put the whisky through a process of recti- 

 fication, or refining ; and woe be to the man who dares to change its 

 character in the original package bearing their brand, if they find 

 sufficient evidence against him ! 



Rye-whisky is made from rye and malt, without corn, but experts 

 say that it requires much longer time to mature, and become ripe and 

 smooth, than does Bourbon whisky, which is made from corn, rye, and 

 malt. Gin is made from the same materials and in the same manner 

 as whisky, with one addition : juniper-berries are boiled in the last dis- 

 tillation, imparting their peculiar flavor. 



There are two objections to straight (unmixed) American gin : 

 First, it is usually sold when new, because the dealer can buy it 

 cheaper and make a larger margin upon it than he can on the old arti- 

 cle. Second, straight American gin is not filtered and relieved of for- 

 eign and impure matters, but is sold with them in, obnoxious as they 

 are, depending upon the juniper flavor to conceal their presence. 



Rum is made from molasses, diluted with water, and a ferment 

 added ; after fermentation it is distilled in the same manner as whis- 

 ky and gin. 



Brandy is made from apples, grapes, peaches, and other fruits, 

 generally from the expressed juice, but occasionally from the pomace 

 or crushed fruit after fermentation. Fruits possess by nature an 



TOL. XXIX. 6 



