98 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



addition of foreign substances which must be used sparingly, both on 

 account of economy, and because their character must not be too obtru- 

 sively shown. It is plain, therefore, that the more effectively the pun- 

 gent fusel-oil is removed, the better the rectified spirit will be for the 

 purpose, as any attempt to mask its odor and taste by an excess of the 

 flavoring materials would betray the deception by the character of the 

 resulting products. Mr. Dawson truly says that "compounding is 

 diabolizing," but rectification is necessarily its preliminary step. 



Besides the fusel-oil, rectification also removes the essential oils 

 which may be contained in the alcoholic distillate, naturally giving it 

 the characteristic flavor of the original grain, rye imparting a rye- 

 flavor, corn a corn -flavor, etc. While there is nothing necessarily 

 injurious in these essential oils, they would nevertheless be justly con- 

 sidered impurities where the object in view is the production of neutral 

 spirit, and are naturally eliminated by the mechanical means employed 

 for rectification. 



Our finished product is now as complete as it ever can be, as ethyl 

 alcohol possesses inherently no latent quality which can develop in it 

 a more perfect character. Even if the unusual device is adopted of 

 storing it in a charred-oak barrel (a treatment almost universal with 

 whisky), the resulting color and astringency will add nothing to its 

 value, but a marked and rapidly increasing shrinkage of volume will 

 follow, without any compensating advantage. It behooves the owner, 

 therefore, to market it as soon as possible, and it would certainly be 

 some especial reason which could induce him to keep it on hand for 

 even the shortest time (twelve months) which Mr. Dawson regards 

 as necessary for its proper development. Rectified spirit, therefore, 

 may be described as the purified product of crude alcoholic distillation 

 (high-wines), and as close an approximation to pure ethyl alcohol and 

 its water of association as the mechanical means available to the rec- 

 tifier will produce. 



The legal definition goes still further, and includes, in the words of 

 the statute, "any spurious, imitation, or compound liquors" manufact- 

 ured by mixing distilled spirits, wine, or other liquor, with any mate- 

 rials for sale under the name of whisky, brandy, rum, etc. All recti- 

 fied and compounded goods put up in casks are, under Government 

 regulations, stamped with one stamp only, and are known as "one- 

 stamp " goods. 



What, then, is whisky, and especially good whisky? 



Its largest proportion is of course ethyl alcohol and water, with 

 sufficient of the essential oil of the grain to give it its distinctive grain - 

 flavor, although this is sometimes so feebly developed as to leave its 

 character in doubt, and deteriorate from its market value, especially 

 in the case of rye-whisky. When new, it also necessarily contains a 

 small quantity of fusel-oil, and it is this complex substance which gives 

 to whisky its distinctive character as compared with other alcoholic 



