STATE AND QUANTITY OF SPIRIT IN FERMENTED LIQUORS. wj. 



Sect. II. Having ascertained, that alcohol exists in Relative pro- 

 wine ready formed, and that it is not produced during die- ^°{jjj" °^. a ^ 

 dilation, I employed this process to discover the relative 

 proportion of alcohol contained in different wines. 



In the following experiments, the wine was distilled in Mode of con* 

 glass retorts, and the escape of any uncondensed vapour *" c £ f " g *J 

 was prevented by employing sufficiently capacious receivers, 

 well luted, and kept cold during the experiment. 



By a proper managemeut of the heat towards the end of 

 the process, I could distil over nearly the whole of the 

 wine without burning the residuary matter: thus, from a 

 pint of Port wine, of Madeira, of Sherry, &c., I distilled 

 off from fifteen fluid ounces, to fifteen fluid ounces and a 

 half: and from the same quantity of Malaga, and other 

 wines containing much saccharine matter, i could readily 

 distil from fourteen to fifteen fluid ounces. 



In order to ascertain the proportion of aiCohol with pre- 

 cision, pure water was added to the distilled wine, so as 

 nearly to make up the original measure of the wine, a very 

 small allowance being made for the space occupied by the 

 solid ingredients of the wine, and for the inevitable loss 

 during the experiments : thus, five fluid drachms and a 

 half of distilled water were added to fifteen fluid ounces and 

 a quarter of the liquor procured by the distillation of a pint 

 of port wine, and in other cases nearly the same proportions 

 were observed. This mixture of the distilled wine and 

 water was immediately transferred into a well stopped 

 phial, and having been thoroughly agitated, was allowed to 

 remain at rest for some hours ; its specific gravity (at the 

 temperature of 60 9 Fahrenheit), was then very carefully 

 ascertained, by weighing it in a bottle holding exactly one 

 thousand grains of distilled water at the above temperature, 

 and the proportion of alcohol per cent, by measure, was 

 estimated by a reference to Mr. Gilpin's tables*, the spe- 

 cific gravity of the standard alcohol being 0*82500 at 60°. 



As the most convenient mode of exhibiting the results of 

 these numerous experiments, I have thrown them into the 

 form of a table ; in the first column the wine is specified ; 

 the second containd its specific gravity after distillation, as 



♦.Phil. Trans. 1794. 



abpve 



