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Title: The Art of Making Whiskey

Author: Anthony Boucherie

Release date: May 24, 2007 [eBook #21592]

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21592

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ART OF
MAKING WHISKEY ***

THE ART
OF

MAKING WHISKEY,

SO AS TO OBTAIN A BETTER, PURER, CHEAPER AND
GREATER
QUANTITY OF SPIRIT,

FROM A GIVEN QUANTITY OF GRAIN.

ALSO,

THE ART OF CONVERTING IT INTO GIN.
AFTER THE
PROCESS OF THE HOLLAND DISTILLERS,
WITHOUT ANY AUGMENTATION OF PRICE.

By ANTHONY BOUCHERIE,
OF LEXINGTON, KY.

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH

By C. M*******

LEXINGTON, KY.
PRINTED BY WORSLEY & SMITH.
1819

Transcriber's Note: This edition is from Microfiche. All
originals were marked "Photographed from an imperfect copy."
Printer errors have been left as is, but noted. The accuracy of
some of the numbers cannot be accounted for where the original
was exceptionally difficult to read. Where applicable, any
changes are noted with a mouse over Original Text. A table of
contents has been added to the HTML which is not present in the
text version. Any other inconsistencies were left as in the
original.

CONTENTS
PREFACE.5
CHAPTER I.7
CHAPTER II.8
CHAPTER III.11
CHAPTER IV.13
CHAPTER V.17
CHAPTER VI18
CHAPTER VII.21
CHAPTER VIII.22
CHAPTER IX.24
CHAPTER X.25
CHAPTER XI.26
CHAPTER XII.29
CHAPTER XIII.32
CHAPTER XIV.33
CHAPTER XV.36
THE ART OF MAKING GIN39

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

District
of Kentucky, to wit:
Be it remembered, That on the 10th day of December,
in the year of our Lord, 1818, and the forty-third year of
the Independence of the United States of America, came

Anthony Boucherie, of the said district, and deposited in
this office, a copy of the title of a book, the right whereof
he claims as author and proprietor, in the words and figures
following, viz:
"The Art of making Whiskey, so as to obtain a better,
purer, cheaper and greater quantity of Spirit from a given
quantity of Grain: Also, the art of converting it into Gin,
after the process of the Holland Distillers, without any
augmentation in the price.—By Anthony Boucherie:"
In conformity to the act of Congress of the United
States, entitled "An act for the encouragement of learning,
by securing the copies of maps, charts and books to the
authors and proprietors of such copies during the times
therein mentioned." And also to an act, entitled "An act
supplementary to an act, entitled an act for the
encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of
maps, charts and books to the authors and proprietors of
such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and
extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing and
etching historical and other prints."
JOHN
H. HANNA,

Clerk of the
District of Kentucky.

TO THE

HONOURABLE LEGISLATURE

OF THE

STATE OF KENTUCKY.
Gentlemen of the Senate,
and of the House of Representatives,

An immense and most fertile country, a republic where every
individual enjoys the most unbounded freedom; such are the
advantages which characterise the United States of America, and
render them the asylum of the oppressed Europeans. I was one of the
number, and as early as January, 1808, congress enacted a law
dispensing me with the usual term of two years residence, for
obtaining a patent.
It is the duty of every citizen to contribute to the progress of useful
knowledge, for the benefit and prosperity of his native or adopted
country. It is under that point of view that I now publish The Art of
Making Whiskey, so as to obtain a greater quantity of Spirit from a
given quantity of Grain; the spirit thus obtained being purer and
cheaper. Also, the Art of converting it into Gin, according to the
process of the Holland Distillers, without making it dearer.

This next Give me leave, gentlemen, to publish this little work
paragraph under the patronage of the enlightened Legislature of the
is
incomplet
state which I have chosen for my residence is undoubtedly of
e a general utility fo— but more particularly an agricultural
state, such as this, where every thing that contributes to the
success of agriculture, adds to the welfare of the commonwealth. It is
therefore to promote that desirable end, that I hereby renounce all the
privileges granted me eight years ago, for the distiller's apparatus, of
which I give here a description. I invite all distillers to use it the more
confidently, as a long experience has proved to me its utility. In
describing the art of converting Whiskey into Gin, according to the
process of the Holland Distillers, I flatter myself, that I give a greater
value to a national production usually neglected throughout the
continent, and which will be the principle of a considerable produce.
Henceforth the Gin of the United States will be an important article of
exportation for their outward trade, as well as for home consumption.

Receive, gentlemen, the
Assurances of my
Profound Respect,
A.
BOUCHERIE.

[Library stamp: IMPERFECT IN ORIGINAL]

PREFACE.
The most usual drink in the United States, is whiskey; other spirituous
liquors, such as peach and apple brandy, are only secondary, and from their
high price and their scarcity, they are not sufficient for the wants of an
already immense and increasing population. As to wine, in spite of all the
efforts and repeated trials made to propagate the grape-vine, there is as yet
no hopes, that it may in time become the principal drink of the Americans.
To turn our enquiries towards the means of bringing the art of making
whiskey to greater perfection, is therefore, to contribute to the welfare of
the United States, and even to the health of the Americans, and to the
prosperity of the distiller, as I will prove in the sequel.
The arts and sciences have made great progress; my aim is to diffuse
new light on every thing that relates to the formation of spirituous liquors
that may be obtained from grains. Most arts and trades are practised without
principles, perhaps from the want of the means of information. For the
advantage of the distillers of whiskey, I will collect and offer them the
means of obtaining from a given quantity of grain, the greatest possible
quantity of spirit, purer and cheaper than by the usual methods. I shall then
proceed to indicate the methods of converting whiskey into gin, according
to the process of the Holland Distillers, without heightening its price.
If the principles hereafter developed are followed, the trade of distiller
will acquire great advantages, that will spread their influence on agriculture,
and consequently on commerce in general.

THE ART
OF

MAKING WHISKEY, &c.

CHAPTER I.
OF SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS, OR SPIRITS.

Spirituous liquors are the produce of vinous ones, obtained by the
distillation of these last. The art of making wine is of the remotest antiquity,
since it is attributed to Noah; but that of distilling it, so as to extract its most
spirituous part, dates only from the year 1300. Arnand de Villeneuve was
the inventor of it, and the produce of his Still appeared so marvellous, that it
was named Aqua-Vitæ, or Water of Life, and has ever since continued under
that denomination in France; Voltaire and reason say that it might, with far
more propriety, be called Aqua-Mortis, or Water of Death.
This liquor, called in English, Brandy, received from the learned the
name of Spirit of Wine; time improved the art of making it still stronger by
concentration, and in that state it is called Alcohol.
All spirit is the distilled result of a wine, either of grapes, other fruits, or
grains; it is therefore necessary to have either wine, or any vinous liquor, in
order to obtain spirits.

CHAPTER II.
OF THE FORMATION OF VINOUS LIQUORS WITH
GRAINS, IN ORDER TO MAKE SPIRITS.

The art of extracting wine from the juice of the grape, not being the
object of this book, I shall confine myself to what is necessary and useful to
the distillers of whiskey; it is therefore of the vinous liquor extracted from
grains, that I am going to speak.
The formation of that kind of liquor is founded upon a faculty peculiar to
grains, which the learned chymist, Fourcroy, has called saccharine
fermentation. Sugar itself does not exist in gramineous substances; they
only contain its elements, or first principles, which produce it. The
saccharine fermentation converts those elements into sugar, or at least into a
saccharine matter; and when this is developed, it yields the eminent
principle of fermentation, without which there exists no wine, and
consequently no spirit.
Grains yield two kinds of vinous liquors, of which the distiller makes
spirit, and the brewer a sort of wine, called beer. From a comparison of the
processes employed to obtain these two results, it will be found that the
brewer's art has attained a higher degree of perfection than that of the
distiller. They both have for their object to obtain a vinous liquor; but that
of the brewer is, in reality, a sort of wine to which he gives, at pleasure,
different degrees of strength; while that of the distiller is scarcely vinous,
and cannot be made richer. I will give a succinct exposition of their two
processes in order that they may be compared.

OF THE ART OF BREWING.

The art of brewing consists:
1st. In the sprouting of a proportion of grain, chiefly barley. This
operation converts into a saccharine matter, the elements of that same

substance already existing in grains.
2dly. In preparing the wort. For that operation, the grain, having been
previously ground, is put into a vat, which is half filled up with water; the
rest is filled up at three different times with hot water—the first at 100°, the
second at 150°, and the third at 212°, which is boiling water. The mixture is
strongly stirred each time that it is immersed. By this infusion, the water
lays hold of the sweet principles contained in the grain.
3dly. The wort thus prepared, the liquor is filtrated, in order to separate it
from the grain, and then boiled until reduced to one half, in order to
concentrate it to the degree of strength desired. In that state, 40 gallons of
wort contain the saccharine principles of 200 wt. of grain.
4thly. The wort, thus concentrated, is drawn off in barrels, which are
kept in a temperature of 80° or 85°. The yeast is thrown into it to establish
the fermentation, and in a short time beer is made, more or less strong,
according to the degree of concentration, and more or less bitter, according
to the greater or lesser proportion of hops put into it.
Such are, in a concise view, the proceedings of the brewer. Let us
proceed to those of the distiller of whiskey.

OF THE DISTILLER OF WHISKEY.

Whiskey is made either with rye, barley, or Indian corn. One, or all those
kinds of grains is used, as they are more or less abundant in the country. I
do not know how far they are mixed in Kentucky; but Indian corn is here in
general the basis of whiskey, and more often employed alone.
I have ascertained, in the different distilleries which I have visited in the
United States—
1stly. That, in general, the grain is not sprouted. I have, however, seen
some distillers who put 10lbs. of malt into a hogshead of fermentation
containing 100 gallons, which reduces it to almost nothing.
2dly. That they put two bushels of ground grain into a hogshead of
fermentation containing 100 gallons, filled up with water.

3dly. They had a ferment to determine the fermentation, which, when
finished, yields two gallons of whiskey per bushel of grain, and sometimes
ten quarts, but very seldom. I do not know whether those results are exact;
but, supposing them to be so, they must be subject to great variations,
according to the quality of the grain, the season, the degree of heat, of the
atmosphere, and the manner of conducting the fermentation. From my
analysing the different sorts of grains, I know that Indian corn must yield
the most spirit.
From the above proportions, it results, that 100 gallons of the vinous
liquor of distillers yield only 4 gallons of whiskey, and very seldom 5; that
is, from a 25th to a 20th. It is easy to conceive how weak a mixture, 25
parts of water to one of whiskey, must be; thus the produce of the first
distillation is only at 11° or 12° by the areometer, the water being at 10°. It
is only by several subsequent distillations, that the necessary concentration
is obtained, to make saleable whiskey. These repeated operations are
attended with an increased expense of fuel, labor, and time.
Such are the usual methods of the whiskey distillers. Before we compare
them with those of the brewer, let us examine the nature of fermentation,
and what are the elements the most proper to form a good vinous liquor:
thence we shall judge with certainty, of those two ways of operating.

CHAPTER III.
OF FERMENTATION.

"Fermentation is a spontaneous and intestine motion,
which takes place amongst the principles of organic
substance deprived of life, the maximum of which always
tends to change the nature of bodies, and gives rise to the
formation of new productions."
Bouillon la Grange.—Manual of a Course of Chymistry.
Fermentation has long since been divided into spirituous, acid, and
putrid.
It is only since the revival or new epoch of chymistry, that the learned
have been occupied in researches on fermentation. I was the first who gave
a new hint on this important part of natural philosophy, in 1785. It was then
held as certain, that the saccharine substance was the principle of spirituous
fermentation. A series of experiments enabled me to demonstrate the
contrary, for I obtained a well crystallized sugar by the fermentation of a
substance which produces none by any other means.
In September, 1785, I read a memoir to the Academy of Sciences, at
Paris. In that memoir I developed my theory. That learned body nominated
four commissioners, for the purpose of examining my operations, and
sanctioned my discovery by a report, in which it was acknowledged that I
had discovered a new truth, and ordered the insertion of my memoir in the
collection of those of the Foreign Associates. I attributed the principle of the
spirituous fermentation to the mucilaginous substance. This has been since
demonstrated, by attentively observing that it always begins with a motion
of acid fermentation, which is produced by the mucilaginous substance. The
European chymists have since reasoned upon fermentation; each of them
has produced a new system; none have been able to bring it to a regular
demonstration; and the learned Gay Lussac has said, that fermentation is

one of the most mysterious operations of chymistry. Be that as it may, there
are facts that are ascertained: let us endeavor to investigate them, that we
may derive from them all the information which is necessary to us.
It is incontestable that spirits are produced by the saccharine substance.
Grains, however, supply it, although they are not sensibly sweet. This has
made me suspect that the fermentation is at first saccharine, which produces
the sweet substance that is necessary for the formation of spirit. It is thus
that, by a series of internal motions, the fermentation causes the formation
of the spirit to be preceded by a slight production of acid; that it transforms
the vinous liquor into vinegar, which the same fermentation changes in time
into an animal substance, destroyed in its turn by the putrid fermentation.
Such are the progressive changes operated by this all-disorganizing
phenomenon, and the unerring march of nature to bring back all substances
to their respective elements.
The necessary conditions for the formation of vinous fermentation, are—

1st. The presence of the saccharine substance.
2dly. That of a vegeto-animal substance, commonly called
ferment, and soluble in water.
3dly. A certain quantity of water.
4thly. A temperature of 70° to 75°.
5thly. A sufficient mass.

When these are obtained, in a short time the liquor becomes turbid; it
bubbles, from the disengaging of the carbonic acid gaz, and the heat
increases considerably. After some days, these impetuous motions subside;
the fermentation ceases by degrees; the liquor clears up; then it emits a
vinous smell and taste. As soon as it ferments no more, it must be distilled.
However, some distillers have asserted that a greater quantity of spirit is
obtained when the liquor has acquired a certain degree of acidity. Others are
of opinion that it must be distilled as soon as it is calm. I am of this opinion,
because the acid can only be formed at the expense of a little of the spirit,
which is one of the principles of the acetous acid. Besides, the longer the
liquor remains in a mass, the more spirit is wasted by evaporation.

CHAPTER IV.
OF THE PROPORTIONS OF THE ELEMENTS
NECESSARY TO FORM A GOOD VINOUS LIQUOR.

What are the proportions of the elements necessary to form a good
vinous liquor?
We owe the important knowledge of those proportions to the celebrated
and unfortunate Lavoisier, who has proved, by the most accurate
experiments, that there must be

100 parts of dry sweet substance, or sugar
400 parts of water
10 parts of ferment, or liquid yeast, which is reduced
—— to 8 7-10ths of dry matter.

510 parts in the whole, which produce 57 parts of
dry alcohol; that is, containing no more water than is necessary to its
formation, and consequently as strong as it can be. Let us dwell for a
moment upon the proportions just pointed out, and especially upon their
result, which exceeds any thing that has ever been obtained. Supposing the
weight of each of those parts to be one pound, we shall have

100 lbs. of dry sweet Substance, or sugar
400 do. of water
10 do. of liquid ferment
——
510 pounds in the whole.
of sugar is the quantity required to make 12½
100 lbs. gallons of sirup, composed of 8lbs. of sugar and 12½ galls.
8lbs. of water per gallon,
400 lbs. of water, at 8lbs. per gall. make 50 "

The produce will be 57lbs. of dry alcohol.

TR: Poor A vessel containing one ounce of water, filled up with this
quality alcohol, weighs only 16dwts. and 16grs. From this report, it
made it
appears that the specific weight of the alcohol is, to the weight of
difficult to
the water, as 20 to 24; that is, that water weighs 1/5 more than
verify the
above alcohol. If the 57lbs. thus obtained were only water, it would only
numbers
and so
represent 7-1/8* gallons; but being alcohol, it weighs 1/6* less,
and consequently gives 7-1/8 gallons more, the sixth of this
noted with
quantity, (to wit:) 1-1/6* gallons, which, added to 7-1/8*, make
an asterisk
8-7/24 gallons.
But 1 gallon of dry alcohol, extended in 2 gallons of water, gives 3
gallons of liquor at 19°, which is called Holland, or first proof; a produce
surpassing all what has been hitherto known to the distillers. I will prove it
by an example: 1 gallon of molasses yields only 1 gallon of rum, at 19°, to
the rum distiller; still, molasses is a true sirup, composed of 8lbs. of sugar,
or sweet matter, more fermentable than sugar. 12½ gallons of molasses,
representing 100lbs. of dry sweet matter yield consequently 12½ galls. of
rum, Holland proof, which is only half the produce obtained by Lavoisier;
an immense difference capable of exciting the emulation of all distillers, as
it proves the imperfection of the art.
What are the causes of such a dissimilarity of product? We must seek for
them.
1st. In the difference of the strength of the vinous liquor. Lavoisier
employed only 4 parts of water to 1 part of dry sugar. The rum distiller
usually puts 10 gallons of molasses to 90 gallons of water, or the residue of
the preceding distillations.
10 galls. molasses contain
80 lbs. of sweet matter.
90 gallons of water weigh 720lbs.; therefore the proportion is, one part
of sweet matter to 9 parts of water—whilst that indicated by Lavoisier is
only 4 parts of water to 1 part of sugar.[a]

It is obvious how much richer this last must be, and that the fermentation
thus produced has an energy far superior to the other. Thence results a rapid
production of spirit, operated in a short time; whilst that of the rum distiller
languishes more or less, and a slow fermentation wastes part of the spirit
which it produces, even as it is forming.
2dly. Bodies evaporate in proportion to the extent of their surface. One
hogshead of 100 gallons, should contain, according to Lavoisier's
composition, the elements of 50 gallons of spirit, at 19°; whilst that of the
rum distiller contains only 12. Now, as every fermentable liquor requires
open vessels, the hogshead of the rum distiller loses as much spirit as that of
Lavoisier: hence it is plain how far the above proportion operates to the
disadvantage of the fermer.
3dly. Another source of loss arises in the distilling vessels themselves.
Nothing is more imperfect than the stills of a whiskey distillery. Lavoisier's
were so perfect, that he made the analysis and the synthesis in the most
delicate operations. [b] The vessels of the whiskey distillers, far from being
hermetically closed, allow the spirit to evaporate through every joint. And
this is not all: corroded by the acetous acid, they are full of small holes,
particularly in the cap, where all the vapors collect themselves, as in a
reservoir. It is easy to conceive with what rapidity they escape, which
occasions a considerable waste of liquor. In proof of the truth of this
observation, we may refer to the smell of whiskey, so strongly perceivable
on the roads leading to a distillery, and preceeding from no other cause than
that liquor wasting out of bad vessels, to the great loss of the distiller.
4thly. A fourth cause of loss arises from the worm of the still. However
careful in keeping the surrounding water cool, there is always one portion
of vapor not condensed. This is made more sensible in the winter, when the
cold of the atmosphere makes every vapor visible; upon examination, it will
be seen that the running stream of liquor is surrounded with it. In my
description of my apparatus, I give the means of obviating that evil.
To these several causes, may we not add another? May not the
production of spirit be in a ratio to the richness of the fermenting liquor? It
is certain, that in every spirituous fermentation there is a portion of the
sweet matter which remains undecomposed and in its original state.

Lavoisier found that it was 4.940; that is, nearly 5 parts in 100. It may
possibly be the same in a weaker liquor; which would increase the loss, in
the inverse ratio of the density of the liquor. Such are the causes to which I
attribute the great superiority of Lavoisier's products; and from those
observations I thought I could establish the fabrication of whiskey upon
new principles.

CHAPTER V.
A COMPARISON OF THE PROCESSES OF THE BREWER
WITH THOSE OF THE WHISKEY DISTILLER.

From the experiments of one of the most learned chymists of Europe, it
has been demonstrated, that the proportions the most advantageous to the
formation of a good vinous liquor, are, one part of dry sweet substance to
four parts of water; that is, that the sugar must form one fifth of the whole.
We have, moreover, seen that 100lbs. of dry sweet matter gave 25 gallons
of spirit 19°, which comes to 4lbs. of sugar per gallon.
We shall make use of that scale in comparing the processes of the brewer
with those of the whiskey distiller.
Supposing the bushel of grain to weigh 50 pounds, and that it gives 2
gallons of whiskey at 19°, each of which gallons is the product of 4lbs. of
sugar; then the strong beer which contains in 40 gallons the sweet matter of
200lbs. of grain, contains the elements of 8 gallons of spirit, or 32lbs. of dry
sweet substance; and as the 40 gallons of this beer weigh 320lbs. the 32lbs.
of sugar form only one-tenth of it, which is one half of Lavoisier's
proportions.
Those of the distiller of whiskey are 100lbs. of grain to 100 gallons of
water, or thereabouts: 100lbs. of grain contain only 16lbs. of dry sweet
matter: therefore, as the 100 gallons of vinous liquor weigh 800lbs. the
16lbs. of sugar form only its fiftieth part.
Thence is seen how inferior the proportions of the whiskey distiller are
to those of the brewer, and how far they are from good theory. But the
brewer aims only at producing a sort of wine, and succeeds; while, the
distiller wants to make spirit, and only obtains it in the manner the most
expensive, and opposed to his own interest.

CHAPTER VI
DEFECTS IN THE USUAL METHOD OF MAKING
WHISKEY.

1st. The most hurtful of all for the interests of the distillers, is
undoubtedly the weakness of the vinous liquor. We have seen that the
proportion of spirit is in a ratio to the richness of the fermenting liquor; that
Lavoisier, by putting one-fifth of the mass of dry sugar, obtained twice as
much spirit as the rum distiller, who puts in the same quantity, but drowns it
in water. From those principles, which are not contested, the distiller, whose
vinous liquor contains only one-fiftieth part of sweet matter, obtains the less
spirit, and loses as much of it as he gets.
2dly. Another defect is joined to this: bodies are dissolved by reason of
their affinity with the dissolving principle; the mucilaginous substance is as
soluble in water as the saccharine substance. A mass of 100 gallons of water
having only 16lbs. of sugar to dissolve, exerts it's dissolving powers upon
the mucilaginous part which abounds in grains, and dissolves a great
quantity of it. There results from that mixture, a fermentation partaking of
the spirit and the acid, and if the temperature of the atmosphere is moderate,
the acid invades the spirit, which is one of its principles: nothing remains
but vinegar, and the hopes of the distiller are deceived.
Some distillers have been induced, by the smallness of their products, to
put in their stills, not only the fluid of the liquor, but the flour itself. Hence
result two important defects. 1st. The solid matter precipitates itself to the
bottom of the still, where it burns, and gives a very bad taste to the whiskey.
In order to remedy this inconvenience, it has been imagined to stir the flour
incessantly, by means of a chain dragged at the bottom of the still, and put
in motion by an axis passing through the cap, and turned by a workman
until the ebullition takes place. This axis, however well fitted to the
aperture, leaves an empty space, and gives an issue to the spirituous vapors,
which escaping with rapidity, thereby occasion a considerable loss of spirit.

3dly. The presence of the grain in the still, converted into meal, is not
otherwise indifferent. It contains a kind of essential oil, more or less
disagreeable, according to its nature; which distils with the spirit. That of
Indian corn, in particular, is more noxious than that of any other grain; and
it is the presence of meal in the stills, which causes the liquors obtained
from grains to be so much inferior to that of fruits.
4thly. There is a fourth defect, at which humanity shudders, and which
the laws ought to repress. Vinous liquors are more or less accompanied with
acetone acid, or vinegar; but those proceeding from grain contain still more
of this acid. The stills are generally made of naked copper; the acid works
upon that metal, and forms with it the acetate of copper, or verdigrise, part
of which passes with the whiskey. There is no distiller, who, with a little
attention, has not observed it. I have always discovered it in my numerous
rectifications, and at the end of the operation, when nothing more comes
from the still but what is called the sweet oil of wine. An incontestable
proof of this truth is, that as the stills of the distillers are of a green color in
their interior part; that they are corroded with the acid, and pierced with
numberless little holes, which render them unfit for use in a very short time.
It is easy to conceive how hurtful must be the presence of verdigrise to
those who make use of whiskey as a constant drink: even those who use it
soberly, swallow a slow poison, destructive of their stomach; while to those
who abuse it, it produces a rapid death, which would still be the
consequence of abuse, if the liquor was pure, but is doubly accelerated by
the poison contained in the whiskey. It is easy to remedy so terrible an evil.
The acetous acid has no action upon tin. By tinning the stills, the purity of
the liquor will be augmented, and the distilling vessels, already so
expensive, will be longer preserved. This operation must be renewed every
year. The worms must likewise be tinned, if they are copper; but they are
better of tin, or of the purest pewter.
Such are the defects of the present method of distilling whiskey. Having
exposed them, I must present the means of bringing to perfection the
fabrication of a liquor of such general use.

CHAPTER VII.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS THE MOST
ADVANTAGEOUS TO MAKE WHISKEY.

TR: The As it is demonstrated that the spirit is the more abundant in
next 2 proportion to the richness of the vinous liquor,* it is therefore
paragraphs
were cut necessary to enrich that of the distillery* which is so deficient in
short, that respect. An exposition of* my processes will point out the
noted with means I employ to attain* that end. A large whiskey distillery
[*]
should be* able to make 100 gallons per day, or three barrels*
making altogether that quantity.
One gallon of spirit being the produce of 4 pounds* of dry saccharine
matter, we must therefore have 400 pounds of this substance for the 100
gallons we wish to obtain.
If 1 bushel of grain gives 2 gallons of whiskey, there must be 50 to
obtain a daily result of 100 gallons. I take Indian corn as the basis of the
fabrication, as that of all the grains which yields the most. For, from my
method, whatever grain is employed, the spirit is equally pure.
I divide the still house into three different rooms, to wit:
One for Infusion;
One for Fermentation;
One for Distillation.

CHAPTER VIII.
THE ROOM OF INFUSION.

It is here that the liquor destined to make whiskey, should be prepared,
and made rich enough to procure a good fermentation. To this effect, there
must be a mill with a vertical stone, moved by a horse, or any other means
of motion. Those mills are too well known for me to describe them more
amply. The corn must be coarsely ground, so as scarcely to be broke into
three or four pieces: consequently the stone must not be too heavy, for, at all
events, the grain had better be too coarse than too fine. That mill should be
placed in the infusion room, so as not to keep it dirty, nor to be too much in
the way. It must grind, or rather break, 50 bushels per day.
There must be a square kettle, 4 feet broad, 5 feet long, 1 foot deep. The
kettle must be made in sheets of copper, one line thick, at least: the bottom,
although flat, should have a slight swell inside, so as to avoid the expansion
of the metal outside, from the action of the fire. This kettle must be placed
upon a brick furnace, so that the longest parts should bear forwards, and the
other against the chimney, from which it must be separated by a brick wall
eight or nine inches. The sides, around which there must be a space to walk
freely, should be supported by a wall 1½ feet deep; the fore part upon such
a wall, in the middle of which is an iron door, fifteen inches square, in an
iron frame, through which the fuel is introduced.
The kettle is mounted upon the furnace, so as to bear upon the four walls
about 4 inches, and rests upon a bed of clay, which must leave no passage to
the action of the fire; it is lined externally with bricks, and must have a pipe
on one of its sides, to draw off the liquor.
Under the kettle, 15 inches from the bottom, is a flue for the heat,
running through all its length. It is 2½ feet wide at bottom, extending like a
fan at the top, about 6 inches on each side, so that the flame may circulate
in all the breadth of the kettle.

On the fore part of this flue, facing the door, is a hearth, occupying all its
breadth, and 2 feet long. The rest of the flue is paved with bricks, and rises
insensibly 4 inches towards the chimney, in which it opens by two holes,
1½ inches wide, 8 or 9 inches high.
Immediately under the hearth, is a mash hole 4 feet deep, occupying all
its capacity, and projecting 2 feet forward. This opening is necessary to
keep up a free circulation of air, and to take up the ashes. It should be
covered with strong boards, not to hinder the service of the kettle. The
hearth is made with an iron grate, more or less close, according to the
nature of the fuel; if for wood, the bars must be about two inches apart; if
for coals, half an inch is sufficient. The furnace must be built with care. The
parts most exposed to the action of the fire must be built with soft bricks
and potters' clay: soap stone would be preferable, if easy to procure. The
brick separating the kettle and chimney, must be supported with flat bars of
iron, as well as the part over the door.

CHAPTER IX.
USE OF THE KETTLE.

The kettle is destined to make the infusion of the grain, and boil it so as
to convert it into wort. By that operation I make the liquor richer, which I
intend for fermentation, and bring it to divers degrees of strength.
I put into the kettle 100 gallons of water, and 4 bushels of corn, broken,
as I said before, at the mill. I light a small fire, which I increase gradually,
until the water begins to boil; during that time, the grain is stirred with a
paddle. As soon as the ebullition is established, the grain is taken up with a
large skimmer, and put to drain into a large basket hanging over the kettle;
and when the grain has been totally taken up, the fire is increased so as to
bring the water to boil again, until reduced to two-fifths, which degree of
concentration is not rigorous, and the distiller may augment it as his
experience shall direct. When thus concentrated, the liquor is drawn off
through the pipe, and received into a tub or vat containing 130 or 140 galls.
100 gallons more of water are put into the kettle, with 4 bushels of corn;
the fire conducted slowly, as before, until the degree of ebullition; the corn
is taken off, and the liquor concentrated in the same proportions; then
drawn off as above, in the same tub.
The same operation is repeated for the third time; the three united liquors
are slightly stirred, and, still warm, transported into one of the hogsheads of
fermentation, which it nearly fills up.
As there must be four of these hogsheads filled up daily, the work at the
kettle must be kept going on, without interruption, until that quantity is
obtained, which may be done in about twelve hours. The grain which has
been drained is carried to dry, either in the open air, or in a granary, and
spread thin. When dry, it is excellent food for cattle, and highly preferable
to the acid and fermented mash, usually used by distillers to feed cattle and

hogs: they eat the corn dried in the above manner as if it had lost nothing of
its primitive qualities and flavor.

CHAPTER X.
THE ROOM FOR FERMENTATION.

The room destined to the fermentation must be close, lighted by two or
three windows, and large enough to contain a number of hogsheads
sufficient for the distillery. It may be determined by the number of days
necessary for the fermentation; 30 or 40 hogsheads may suffice, each of 120
or 130 gallons.
In the middle of the room must be a stove, large enough to keep up a
heat of 75° to 80°, even in winter. A thermometer placed at one end of the
room, serves to regulate the heat.
As soon as the liquor is in the hogshead, the yeast, or fermenting
principle, is put into it, stirred for some moments, and then left to itself. A
liquor as rich as the above described ferments with force, and runs with
rapidity through all the periods of fermentation. It is fit to distil as soon as
that tumultuous state has subsided and the liquor is calm.
The essential character of the spirituous fermentation, is to exhale the
carbonic acid gaz in great quantity. This gaz is mortal to mankind, and to all
the living creation. Thirty hogsheads of fermenting liquor producing a great
deal of this gaz, the room should be purified of it by opening two opposite
windows several times a day. This is the more essential, as the pure air, or
oxigen, contributes to the formation of the spirit, of which it is one of the
constituting principles. A short time, however, suffices to renew the air of
the room.
It is useless to remark, that the hogsheads must be open at one end, and
rest upon pieces of wood elevating them some inches from the ground.
They must remain uncovered during the fermentation; and afterwards be
covered with a flying lid, when the liquor is calm.

CHAPTER XI.
OF THE ROOM FOR DISTILLATION.

We have hitherto considered the liquor as containing only principles
upon which the air has no action, and from which it can only extract some
watery vapors; and, in fact, all those principles contained in the liquor are
fixed. The action of the fire may concentrate, but not volatilize them.
The liquor is now changed by the fermentation; it contains no longer the
same principles, but has acquired those which it had not, which are volatile,
and evaporate easily. They must therefore be managed carefully, in order
not to lose the fruits of an already tedious labor. The spirit already created
in the fermented liquor, must be collected by the distillation; but in
transporting it to the still, the action of the external air must be carefully
avoided, as it would cause the evaporation of some of the spirit. A pump to
empty the hogsheads, and covered pipes to conduct the liquor into the still,
is what has been found to answer that purpose. A good distilling apparatus
is undoubtedly the most important part of a distillery. It must unite solidity,
perfection in its joints, economy of fuel, rapidity of distillation, to the
faculty of concentrating the spirit. Such are the ends I have proposed to
myself in the following apparatus.
The usual shape of stills is defective; they are too deep, and do not
present enough of surface for their contents. They require a violent fire to
bring them to ebullition; the liquor at bottom burns before it is warm at the
top.
My still is made upon different principles, and composed of two pieces,
viz. the kettle, and its lid. The kettle, forming a long square, is like the kettle
of infusion, already described, and only differs from it in being one foot
deeper. The lid is in shape like an ancient bed tester; that is to say, its four
corners rise into a sharp angle, and come to support a circle 16 inches
diameter, bearing a vertical collar of about two inches. This collar comes to
the middle of the kettle, and is elevated about 4 feet from the bottom. The

lid is fastened to the kettle. The collar receives a pewter cap, to which is
joined a pipe of the same metal, the diameter of which decreases
progressively to a little less than 3 inches: this pipe, the direction of which
is almost horizontal, is 5 feet long.
My still, thus constructed, is established upon a furnace like that of the
infusion room. I observe that the side walls are only raised to the half of the
height of the kettle. A vertical pipe is placed on the side opposite to the
pewter one, and serves to fill up the still: it is almost at the height of the
fastening of the lid, but a little above. On the same side, on a level with the
bottom, is a pipe of discharge, passing across the furnace: this pipe must
project enough to help to receive or to direct the fluid residue of the
distillation; its diameter must be such as to operate a prompt discharge of
the still.

OF THE URNS.

These are copper vessels, thus called from their resembling those funeral
vases of the ancients. Mine have a bottom of about 18 inches diameter; they
are two feet high, have a bulge of 6 inches near the top, and then draw in to
form an overture of about 8 inches.
On one side, towards the top, there is a copper pipe 2 inches diameter,
projecting externally 2 or 3 inches, and bent in an elbow: it enters the
internal part of the urn, and descends towards the bottom, without touching
it; there it is only a slight curve, and remains open.
The external part of that pipe is fitted to receive the pewter pipe of the
still; they are made so as to enter into one another, and must fit exactly. The
round opening at the top of the urn receives a cap with a pewter pipe, made
like that of the still. It is likewise five feet long, and its size in proportion to
the opening: this goes and joins itself to the second urn, as the still does to
the first. The pipe of this second goes to a third, and the pipe of this last to
the worm. The three urns bear each a small pipe of discharge towards the
bottom.
This apparatus must be made with the greatest care. Neither the joints,
the different pipes of communication, nor the nailings, must leave the

smallest passage to the vapors. The workman must pay the greatest
attention to his work, and the distiller must lute exactly all the parts of the
apparatus that are susceptible of it: he must be the more careful as to luting
it, as this operation is only performed once a week, when the apparatus is
cleaned. At the moment of the distillation, the master or his foreman must
carefully observe whether there is any waste of vapors, and remedy it
instantly. The still and urns ought to be well tinned.

CHAPTER XII.
EFFECTS OF THIS APPARATUS.

Although the still might contain 400 gallons, there must be only 200
gallons put into it: the rest remaining empty, the vapors develops
themselves, and rise. In that state, the vinous liquor is about one foot deep,
on a surface of 20 feet square: hence two advantages—the first, that being
so shallow, it requires but little fuel to boil; the second, that the extent of
surface gives rise to a rapid evaporation, which accelerates the work. This
acceleration is such, that six distillations might be obtained in one day. The
spirit contained in the vinous liquor rises in vapors to the lid of the still,
there find the cap and its pipe, through which they escape into the first urn,
by the side pipe above described, which conducts them to the bottom,
where they are condensed immediately.
But the vapors, continuing to come into the urn, heat it progressively: the
spirituous liquor that it contains rises anew into vapors, escapes through the
cap and pipe, and arrives into the second urn, where it is condensed as in
the first. Here again, the same cause produces the same effect: the affluence
of the heat drawn with the vapors, carries them successively into the third
urn, and from thence into the worm, which condenses them by the effects of
the cold water in which it is immersed.
The urns, receiving no other heat than that which the vapors coming out
of the still can transmit to them, raise the spirit; the water, at least the
greatest part of it, remains at the bottom: hence, what runs from the worm is
alcohol; that is, spirit at 35°. It is easily understood how the vapors coming
out of the still are rectified in the urns, and that three successive
rectifications bring the spirit to a high degree of concentration: it gets lower
only when the vinous liquor draws towards the end of the distillation. As
soon as it yields no more spirit, the fire is stopped, and the still is emptied in
order to fill it up again, to begin a new distillation.

Each time that the vinous liquor is renewed in the still, the water
contained in the urns must be emptied, through the pipes of discharge at the
bottom.
Metals are conductors of the caloric. The heat accumulated in the still,
rises to the cap, from whence it runs into the urns: with this difference—that
the pewter, of which the cap and pipes are made, transmits less caloric than
copper, because it is less dense: and that bodies are only heated in reason of
their density.
However, a great deal of heat is still communicated to the worm, and
heats the water in which it is immersed. I diminish this inconvenience by
putting a wooden pipe between the worm and the pipe of the third urn.
Wood being a bad conductor of caloric, produces a solution of continuity, or
interruption between the metals. The wood of this pipe must be soft and
porous, and not apt to work by the action of the fire: however, to avoid its
splitting, I wrap it up in two or three doubles of good paper, well pasted,
and dried slowly. This pipe is one foot long, and hollowed in its length, so
as to receive the pewter pipe of the third urn at one end, and to enter the
worm at the other; thereby the worm is not as hot, since it only receives the
heat of the vapors which it condenses.
Notwithstanding all these precautions, it heats the water in which it is
immersed after a length of time; and whatever care may be taken to renew
it, all the vapors are not condensed, and this occasions a loss of spirit. I
obviate this accident, by adding a second worm to the first: they
communicate by means of a wooden pipe like the above. The effect of this
second worm, rather smaller than the first, is such, that the water in which it
is plunged remains cold, while that of the first must be renewed very often.
By these means, no portion of vapors escape condensation. The liquor
running from the worm is received into a small barrel, care being taken that
it may not lose by the contact of the air producing evaporation.

CHAPTER XIII.
OF FERMENTS.

They are of two kinds; the very putrescent bodies, and those supplied by
the oxigen. Animal substances are of the first kind: acids, neutral salts,
rancid oils, and metallic oxids, are of the second.
Were I obliged to make use of a ferment of the first class, I would
choose the glutinous part of wheat flour. This vegeto-animal substance is
formed in the following manner:—A certain quantity of flour is made into a
solid dough, with a little water. It is then taken into the hands, and water
slowly poured over it, while it is kneaded again. The water runs white,
because it carries off the starchy part of the flour; it runs clear after it is
washed sufficiently. There remains in the hands of the operator a dough,
compact, solid, elastic, and reduced to nearly the half of the flour employed.
This dough, a little diluted with water, and kept in the temperature indicated
for the room of fermentation, passes to the putrid state, and contracts the
smell of spoiled meat. Four pounds of this dough per hogshead, seem to me
to be sufficient to establish a good fermentation. A small quantity of good
vinegar would answer the same purpose, and is a ferment of the second
class.
But are those means indispensable with my process? I do not think so.
1st. The richness of my vinous liquor, and the degree of heat to which I
keep it, tend strongly to make it ferment. In fact, the infusion of the grain,
by taking from it its saccharine part, takes likewise part of its mucilaginous
substance, which is the principle of the spirituous fermentation, which it
establishes whenever it meets with the other substance.
2dly. The hogsheads themselves are soon impregnated with a fermenting
principle, and communicate it to the liquor that is put into them.
3dly. The rum distiller employs advantageously the residue of his
preceding distillation, to give a fermentation to his new molasses: this

residue has within itself enough of acidity for that purpose. Might not the
residue of the distillation of my vinous liquor have the same acidity? It
contains only the mucilaginous substance already acidulated. Some gallons
of that residue to every hogshead, would, I think, be a very good ferment.
Lastly. Here is another means which will certainly succeed: it is to leave
at the bottom of each hogshead three or four inches of the vinous liquor,
when transported into the still for distilling. This rising, which will rapidly
turn sour, will form a ferment sufficient to establish a good fermentation.
The intelligent manager of a distillery must conduct the means I indicate,
towards the end which he proposes to himself, and must carefully avoid to
employ as ferments, those disgusting substances which cannot fail to bring
a discredit on the liquor in which they are known to be employed.

CHAPTER XIV.
OF THE AREOMETER, OR PROOF BOTTLE.

This instrument is indispensable to the distiller: it ascertains the value of
his spirits, since it shows the result of their different degrees of
concentration. I will give the theory of this useful instrument, as it may be
acceptable to those who do not know it.
Bodies sink in fluids, in a compound ratio to the volume and the density
of those fluids, which they displace. It is from that law of nature, that a ship
sinks 20 feet in fresh water, while it sinks only about 18 feet in sea water,
which has more density on account of the salt dissolved therein.
The reverse of this effect takes place in fluids lighter than water, as
bodies floating in them sink the more, as the liquor has less density. Upon
those principles are made two kinds of areometers—one for fluids denser
than water; the other for those that are lighter: the first are called salt proof;
the second spirit proof. Distilled water is the basis of those two scales: it is
at the top for the salt proof, and at the bottom for the spirit proof; because
the first is ascending, and the other descending; but by a useless singularity,
the distilled water has been graduated at 10° for the spirit proof bottle, and
at 0 for the salt proof. We shall only dwell upon the first, because it is the
only one interesting to the distiller.
Water being graduated at 10° in the areometer, it results from thence that
the spirit going to 20°, is in reality only 10° lighter than water; and the
alcohol graduated at 35°, is only 25° above distilled water.
The areometer can only be just, when the atmosphere is temperate; that
is, at 55° Fahrenheit, or 10° Reaumur. The variations in cold or heat
influence liquors; they acquire density in the cold, and lose it in the heat:
hence follows that the areometer does not sink enough in the winter, and
sinks too much in the summer.

Naturalists have observed that variation, and regulated it. They have
ascertained that 1° of heat above temperate, according to the scale of
Reaumur, sinks the areometer 1/8 of a degree more; and that 1° less of heat,
had the contrary effect: thus the heat being at 18° of Reaumur, the spirit
marking 21° by the areometer, is really only at 20°. The cold being at 8°
below temperate, the spirit marking only 19° by the areometer, is in reality
at 20°. 2¼ of Fahrenheit corresponding to 1° of Reaumur, occasion in like
manner a variation of 1/8 of a degree: thus, the heat being at 78½°, the spirit
thus marking 21°, is only at 20; and the cold being at 87°, the spirit marking
only 19° by the areometer, is in reality at 20°.
It is easily conceived, that extreme cold or extreme heat occasion
important variations. For that reason, there are in Europe inspectors, whose
duty it is to weigh spirits, particularly brandy: for that purpose they make
use of the areometer and the thermometer. An areometer, to be good, must
be proved with distilled water, at the temperature of 55°. Areometers, being
made of glass, are brittle, and must be used with great care. This
inconvenience might be remedied, by making them of silver; I have seen
several of this metal. A good silversmith could easily make them; I invite
those artists to attend to that branch of business; it might become valuable,
as the distillers will be more enlightened.

CHAPTER XV.
ADVANTAGES OF MY METHOD.

The first of all, is derived from the composition of a vinous liquor,
richer, and more proper to raise a vigorous fermentation, than that which is
obtained by the usual method. Now, as it is proved that the quantity of spirit
is in proportion to the richness of the fermenting liquor, mine therefore
yields a great deal more spirit than any other.
2dly. We have seen that a heat of 75° or 80° must be kept up in the
fermenting room: this being summer heat, proves that such a rich vinous
liquor runs no risk of passing to the acid state with as much rapidity as that
of the common distillers; and, consequently, that he who will follow my
method can work all the year round without fear of losing the fruits of his
labor, as it often happens—an advantage precious for him who makes it his
sole business. The only change he has to make, is to suppress the heat of the
stove, when the temperature of the atmosphere is sufficient to keep up a
good fermentation in the liquor.
As to my distilling apparatus, this is not a new idea. I present it to the
public under the sanction of experience. I had it executed in Philadelphia
eight years ago, after having obtained a patent. It was made for a rum
distillery, where they still continue to use it. It presents the greatest
advantages.
The first is, that with a single fire, and a single workman, I distil and
rectify the spirit three times, and bring it to the degree of alcohol; that is, to
the greatest purity, and almost to the highest degree of concentration.
2dly. It lowers the cost of transportation, by two-thirds; because one
gallon at 35° represents three gallons at the usual degree. The merchant,
being arrived at the place of his destination, has only to add 2 gallons of
water to 1 gallon of this alcohol, in order to have 3 gallons of whiskey;
which is of a considerable advantage, either for land or sea carriage.

3dly. As the price of spirits is, in trade, in proportion to their degree of
concentration, those made with my apparatus being at a very high degree,
need no more rectifying, either for the retailer, the apothecary, or the
painter; and the considerable expenses of that operation turn entirely to the
profit of the distiller, as they are totally suppressed. Distillers may hereafter
sell spirits of all degrees of concentration.
Such are the advantages of my processes. I offer them the more willingly
to the public, as they are founded upon the most approved principles of
natural philosophy: by reflecting upon them, distillers will be easily
convinced of it.

However perfect the description of a new thing may be, our ideas of it
are always defective, until we have seen it put into practical use. Few men
have the means of establishing a distillery on a new plan, and even the most
enlightened may make notable errors. Few, besides, are bold enough to
undertake, at their own risks, the trial of a new fabrication: they are afraid
of losing, and of being blamed for having too lightly yielded to the
persuasion of new projectors. Hence it follows that a useful discovery falls
into oblivion, instead of doing any good.
But no discovery of general utility ought to experience that fate in a
republic. Government itself ought to promote the first undertaking, or a
certain number of citizens ought to join in order to give it a start. It is the
more easy in this case, as my apparatus requires very little expense.
If a distillery according to my directions, was established in some of the
principal towns of the state, my method would then make rapid progress,
and thus prove the truth of the principle which I have advanced; and the
distillers, after having meditated upon my method in this book, would come
and satisfy themselves of its goodness, by seeing it put into practice, and
yielding the most perfect results, with all the advantages for trade that may
be expected: hence would naturally ensue the rapid increase of distillation,
and consequently that of agriculture and commerce.

THE ART OF
MAKING GIN,
AFTER THE PROCESS OF THE
HOLLAND DISTILLERS.
Having indicated the most proper means of obtaining spirits, I will now
offer to the public the manner of making Gin, according to the methods
used by the distillers in Holland. It may be more properly joined to the art
of making whiskey, as it adds only to the price of the liquor, that of the
juniper berries, the product of which will amply repay its cost. Many
distillers in the United States have tried to imitate the excellent liquor
coming from Holland, under the name gin. They have imagined different
methods of proceeding, and have more or less attained their end. I have
myself tried it, and my method is consigned in a patent.
But those imitations are far from the degree of perfection of the Holland
gin: they want that unity of taste, which is the result of a single creation;
they are visibly compounds, more or less well combined, and not the result
of a spontaneous production.
To this capital defect, which makes those imitations so widely different
from their original, is joined their high price, which prevents its general
consumption. In fact, it is made at a considerable expense: the whiskey
must be purchased, rectified and distilled over again with the berries. These
expenses are increased by the waste of spirit occasioned by those reiterated
distillations. This brings the price of this false gin to three times that of the
whiskey: consequently the poorer sort of people, whose number is always
considerable, are deprived of the benefits of a wholesome liquor, and
restrained to whiskey, which is commonly not so.
The methods used in Holland, have reduced gin to the lowest price; that
of the juniper berries being there very trifling, and increasing but little the
price of whiskey: still that small addition is almost reduced to nothing, as
will be seen hereafter.

The United States are, in some parts, almost covered with the tree called
here cedar; which tree is no other than the juniper, and grows almost every
where, and bears yearly a berry, which is in reality the juniper berry. Some
Hollanders knew it at Boston, collected considerable quantities of it in
Massachusetts, and shipping it to some of the eastern harbors, sold it as
coming from Holland. I have seen some at Philadelphia ten years ago, at the
house of a Hollander, who received it from Massachusetts in hogsheads of
about ten hundred weight, and sold as the produce of his own country, what
was really that of the United States.
I collected myself a great quantity of those berries, at Norfolk, Va. by
means of negroes, to whom I paid one dollar per bushel of 40 lbs. being 2½
cts. per pound. Two years ago, it sold for 6 cents in Philadelphia, and bore
the same price at Pittsburgh.
There is a great deal of cedar in Kentucky, and consequently of berries. I
have seen them at Blue Licks, and they abound near the Kentucky river.
Although an incredible number of those trees is cut down daily, there is
still a greater number standing, in the United States; and millions of bushels
of berries are lost every year, while only skilful hands are wanted, to make
them useful to mankind. The juniper berry has many medical properties: it
is a delightful aromatic, and contains an oil essential, and a sweet extract,
which by the fermentation yields a vinous liquor, made into a sort of wine
in some countries; that is called wine for the poor: it strengthens the
stomach, when debilitated by bad food or too hard labor.
The Hollanders, who have long had the art of trading upon every thing,
have constantly turned even their poverty to account. They have immense
fabrications of gin, and scarcely any juniper trees. They only collect the
berry in those countries where it is neglected as useless, as in France and
Tyrol, which produce a great deal of it. The United States need have no
recourse to Europe, in order to get the juniper berries: they have in
abundance at home, what the Hollanders can only procure with trouble and
money. They can therefore rival them with great advantage; but they must
follow the same methods employed in the Holland distilleries.
The juniper berry contains the sweet mucous extract, in a great
proportion: it has therefore the principle necessary to the spirituous

fermentation; and, indeed, it ferments spontaneously. When fresh, and
heaped up, it acquires a degree of heat, but not enough to burn, as I have
ascertained: it is therefore safely transported in hogsheads. From that
facility of fermenting, it must be considered as a good ferment, and as
increasing the quantity of spirit, when joined to a fermentable liquor.
A distiller may at pleasure convert his whiskey into gin. He needs only
to perfume the wort which he puts in fermentation, by adding a certain
quantity of the berries, slightly broken: the fermentation is then common to
both; their sweet mucosity enriches that of the wort, and increases the spirit,
while at the same time the soapy extract, which is the proximate principle
of vegetation, yields the essential oil, which perfumes the liquor.[c]
The fermentation being common to both substances, unites them
intimately; and when, by the distillation, the spirit is separated from the
water, there remains an homogenous liquor, resulting from a single creation,
and having that unity of taste, and all the properties of Holland gin, because
obtained by the same means.
One single and same distillation can therefore yield to the distiller either
gin or whiskey, as it requires no more labor, and its conversion into gin
costs only the price of the berries, which repays him amply, either by the
spirit it yields, or by its essential oil, which, floating on the surface, may be
easily collected. This oil bears a great price, and the Hollanders sell much
of it.
We have seen, in the 10th chapter of this work, that my hogsheads for
the fermentation, contain about 120 gallons of wort, being the production of
the saccharine extract of 12 bushels of grain. The intelligent distiller will
himself determine the quantity of berries necessary for each hogshead to
have a good aromatic perfume. He may begin with 10 lbs. per hogshead;
and will, upon trial, judge whether or not this quantity is sufficient, or must
be increased. At any rate, economy should not be consulted in the use of the
berries, since their price does not increase that of the whiskey. This low
price must naturally become the principle of an immense fabrication of gin;
and henceforth it will be an important article of exportation for the United
States, as well as a considerable and wholesome object of home
consumption.

Footnotes:
[a] Some rum distillers make a stronger vinous liquor, but it is still
very far from Lavoisier's proportions. Others add successively new
molasses to their vinous liquor, and thus prolong their fermentation,
without making their liquor stronger, and consequently without
obtaining more spirit. This is absolutely contrary to the true principles
of distillation.
[b] See his beautified operation on the decomposition of water.
[c] I must here observe, that the juniper berry, as well as several
other fruits, contains two kinds of essential oil: one is the proximate
principle of vegetation, and the other is the superabundant oil: the first
is combined with the soapy extract, and dissolves in water; while the
second does not unite with it, and floats on the surface.

END

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