o22 On (he Distillation of Spirits, 6^c. in Holland, 



bad taste of the spirit ; and, secondly, to increase the quan* 

 tity ot" spirituous matter, and thus to procure by those ad- 

 ditions a greater quantity of spirit from a given quantity 

 of wash than they could obtain by a natural process. 



To obtain the former object the distillers make use of 

 pure alkali, caustic alkali, and Glauber's salt, which pos- 

 sess a peculiar quality to absorb the essential oil ; but, on 

 the other hand, they communicate to the spirit their most 

 volatile particles, which their great volatility renders ex- 

 tremely pernicious, and also impart to the liquor an ex- 

 tremely urinous taste, not less unpleasant ; in order to de- 

 stroy which taste they arc obliged to make at the same time 

 use of acids, such as -the sulphuric, muriatic, and nitric 

 acids : others employ the crvstalsj of verdigris, or radical 

 vinegar (acetous acid) distilled from crystals of verdigris ; 

 or the acid from iron or copper vitriol . These ingredients 

 destroy, in some measure, the bad taste, without increasing 

 the quantity of spirit : for the purpose of attaining the latter 

 end, they have recourse to oleaginous aromatics in general 

 and vegetable oils, which possess an uncommon power to 

 augment the quantity of spirit ; but to produce this effect 

 they must be mixed with the liquor before the fermenta- 

 tion : for this purpose they are triturated with a little sugar 

 in a mortar, and by this means they would considerably 

 retard the fernientatiou ; but the use thereof, ii> order to 

 derive, from them all possible profit, requires a peculiar 

 mode of conducting the vinous fermentation. When the di- 

 stillers wish to give their spirits a vinous taste, they digest 

 stroni; nitric acid with alcohol for some time, and distil it 

 after\\ards, which produces a dulcified nitrous acid, and mix 

 a little of this acid with their spirit, which gives it a flavour 

 resembling that of French spirit of wine. 



These are the principal means which the distillers gene- 

 ral!'/ make use of: thev are very seldom employed in Hol- 

 land, and by no means necessary for the interest of the di- 

 stiller. Their mode of proceeding yields spirit of a pleasant 

 and agreeable flavour, and in great tjuantity ; and no artifice 

 can ever equal the taste and flavour which a slow operation, 

 in every stage and part of the process, naturally imparts to 

 the spirit. I must suppose that these practices are more 

 common, if not generally resorted to, in this country ; but 

 as chemistry furnishes a great many simple means to dis- 

 cover the alkali and acids in the liquor, the oiflcer whom, 

 government employs for the purpose cannot but find it a 

 very easy task to detect the fraud ; for example, solutions 

 of bodies precipitated by alkalis, such as vitriol of iron, but 



chiefly 



