BRANDT. 147 



Midi, Armagnac in Gascony, Spain, and Algiers, have been brought 

 into requisition to cope with the demand. No doubt for those who 

 can pay for them these may be classed as genuine brandies, but there 

 is also a large trade done in Avhat, fi-om the dealer's point of view, is 

 pleasantly called '' blending," but which, in blunt English, may be 

 more fitly termed adulteration. Given some white spirit, eau-de-vie, 

 silent spirit, clear spirit, Berlin spirit, neutral spirit, spirit of wine — 

 for under these terms the alcohol -basis is known — and what is easier 

 than to take some liqueur and a vanishing quantity of real Cognac ? 

 and, hey, presto ! you have commercial brandy ready for the wholesale 

 market. The publican and bar-keeper have also a stake in the fraud, 

 but, as a rule, nothing further than tap-water is added, distilled 

 water being used by the better class of hotel proprietor. 



"Is protection called for in the case of spirits? Whatever may 

 be said of whisky, rum, and gin, it certainly is, we maintain, in regard 

 to brandy. Genuine brandy has long been recognised by the medical 

 profession and the public as possessing certain medicinal qualities not 

 enjoyed by other spirits. Thus, if in illness a stimulant is indicated 

 it is generally brandy that is employed. Indeed, probably the 

 n^ajority of people never drink brandy unless it is for medicinal use, 

 and undoubtedly fine old brandy has been most vahiable for this pur- 

 pose, and the phrase " eau-de-vie" is not altogether an unjustifiable 

 title. To this day good brandy is regarded as par excellence the 

 medicinally valuable spirit. Its reputation in this regard has been 

 founded on experience, and the composition of brandy shows important 

 characteristics absent in whisky and other spirits upon which the 

 medicinal value undoubtedly largely depends. This being so, when a 

 person asks for brandy he ought to be supplied with the genuine 

 article, a grape-derived or wine spirit, all else being regarded, in the 

 words of the Sale of Food and Di-ugs Act, as ' not of the nature, 

 quality, and substance demanded.' In this sense we regard genuine 

 brand}^ as a valuable drug w^hich should be procurable in accordance 

 with a standard." 



It seems to me to be altogether doubtful whether the subject of 

 this paper can, after all, be of much importance since the liquid sold 

 to the consumer is so artfully imitated, and he is so ready to pay for 

 what appears to him to be real brandy that he goes on his intoxicating 

 way with the mental suggestion that what appears to be brandy, and 

 is served out to him as the ancient product brandy, must really be so 

 in fact. It will intoxicate, and that will suffice for the craving of the 

 inebriate. 



But what of those medical practitioners who, though few, still 

 exist in the present age when the dietetic or therapeutic value of 

 alcohol is now much discounted? When he asks for brandy for a 

 patient the genuine article should be forthcoming and obtainable as 

 easily as any other medical comfort. The consumer asks for brandy, 

 and he is certainly entitled to get it, and not be compelled to take a 

 substitute, however much that substitute resembles the real article. 

 So to the question, Do we get exactly the thing we ask for when we 

 demand brandy? I think a negative answer must be given. In dis- 

 cussing this subject, I have been met with the counter statement that 

 it does not much matter so long as a fairly pure alcohol with an 

 appropriate flavour is supplied. Then, aU that will be required is 

 for the hotel-keeper to have white spirit on tap, and have a series of 



