276 INDIAN- CORN WHISKY. 



grain had hitherto been disposed of. Cincinnati, in 

 Ohio, of which I have spoken as the great centre of the 

 packing business, is also the great centre of the whisky 

 manufacture. It is the great whisky mart of the West, 

 and probably larger stocks of whisky are to be found at 

 one time in that city than in any other market in the 

 world. The whole quantity produced by the distilleries 

 of this city, or brought into it from more or less distant 

 distilleries, is about 1000 barrels, of forty gallons each, 

 per day, or 14,500,000 gallons in a year. The quantity 

 shipped off in the state of whisky — chiefly down the 

 Mississippi — is estimated at 11,000,000 of gallons, 

 while about 1,000,000 gallons more are converted into 

 alcohol, and disposed of to the Atlantic States. All 

 this whisky is manufactured from Indian corn ; and 

 even for the mashing, barley is not necessary, as 

 sprouted Indian corn makes a malt as serviceable to the 

 distiller as that from barley. 



In Canada, which is not so much of an Indian-com 

 country, this grain is also used in the distilleries, 

 although not so exclusively as in the Western States, 

 where this grain is a drug. I had the opportunity of 

 conversing with the intelligent and enterprising owner 

 of a large distillery in the neighbourhood of Kingston, 

 who informed me that he used chiefly rye and Indian 

 corn, but sometimes pease also — all ground up together. 

 Two bushels of barley malt were sufficient for a bushel 

 of crushed rye — Indian corn requires four bushels to one. 

 When barley is scarce, a larger proportion of rye can be 

 used. I was most interested in the use of pease, which, 

 from their composition, one would not expect to be well 

 fitted either to give a good sample or a large return of 

 spirit. He informed me, however, that the yield was 

 tolerably good, but the quality inferior to that from 

 Indian corn — the main objection being, that the spirit 

 carries the flavour of the pea along with it. 



