148 PEOCEEDINGS OP SECTIOA U. 



tiayouring essences near at hand with which he can — Hke the conjuror 

 on the stage — draw forth gin, rum, whisky, and brandy from one and 

 the same bottle ! 



These are questions of ethical, chemical, pliysiological, and 

 psychological importance, and I cannot attempt to do more than 

 speak of the chemical side of the question. 



The mobile ethyl radical is at the bottom of all aspects of the 

 liquor question, whether as the hydrate in ethylic alcohol or oxidised 

 as ether and acetic acid or subtly combined as the ubiquitous ester, 

 much to the mystification alike of judges and barristers trying a 

 brandy case. 



With the rapid advance of carbon chemistry it is possil)le to make 

 a pure ethyl alcohol betraying no sign of its origin. Here it -is, ready 

 for whomsoever will buy it, to be used for a thousand different pur- 

 poses. What is there to prevent the brandy-maker from flavouring, 

 colouring, esterising, diluting, and electrically ageing the same until 

 he has a product which so closely resembles brandy as to be called, 

 as it is for that matter, synthetic brandy 1 Put it into bottles with 

 the label bearing the design of a few bunches of grapes and a French 

 name, and the thing is done. Absolutely there is nothing to prevent 

 him. Nay, he may go further, and get it shipped from a French port, 

 s'j that invoices, bills of lading, and Customs certificate, including the 

 famous white certificate, all join in declaring it to be French brandy. 

 Obviously no analyst can stand such an array of rebutting evidence, 

 often as not regrettably backed up by a commercial analyst's sworn 

 testimony and the professional taster, who has been tasting synthetic 

 b)-andy all the time. Thus two sets of circumstances have conspired to 

 bring spurious brands on the market : the Phylloxera and the synthetic 

 essences, coupled with the commercial production of pure alcohol 

 electrically aged and matured. 



In the face of such long odds, what can be said to be known 

 about genuine brandy? Fortunately we live in a countiy where the 

 vine flourishes, and wines are distilled for brandy production. In 

 Australian brandy we have a sure basis to work upon, and it is open 

 for the inquirer to see the steps in the production of brandy from 

 the grape to the finished product. 



What then are the characteristics of genuine brandy? A true 

 brandy, an eau-de-vie-de-vin* is the matured middle distillate from 

 wine, the earlier and the end-products being separated and rejected. 

 The colour derived wholly from the cask, dark if from an old wine 

 cask, afid pale if from a new cask, hence the origin of the pale and 

 dark varieties. 



The flavour is wholly and entirely derived from the impurities, 

 and is largely dependent on the mode of distillation ; if from the 

 ancient pot-still, the ratio of impurities is relatively high ; if derived 

 from the patent still, it is low and sometimes so feeble that the 

 art and ingenuity of the blender consists in the admixture of a certain 

 volume or proportion of the pot-still variety with a larger quantity of 

 patent-still brandy spirit. The resulting bouquet, aroma, flavour, and 

 gusto are then and there det.ermined, modified first bv the variety 

 of grapes used and the time the brandy is kept in store. The pro- 

 fessional taster now passes his opinion, and the market value of the 

 brandy is fixed. 



* By eau-de-vie is now meant mere colourless alcohol or silent spirit, the term 

 eau-de-vie-de-vin being reserved for true brandy — the genuine grape product. 



