Philip Schidrowitz

“ In the case of the production of potable spirits such as whisky, where the alcohol yield is not the only object, and the conservation of a specific flavour is desired, it is doubtful whether any material improvement can be made in this connexion, as it seems probable that part of the flavour may be due to some of the circumstances which from the point of view of alcoholic yield alone are most undesirable. ”

“ Brandy, as is well known, improves very much with age (for chemical aspects of maturation see Spirits) , but this only holds good when the spirit is in wood, for there is no material appreciation in quality after bottling. It is a mistake to believe, however, that brandy improves indefinitely, even when kept in wood, for, as a matter of fact, after a certain time—which varies considerably according to the type of brandy, the vintage, &c.—there is so much evaporation of alcohol that a number of undesirable changes come about. ”

“ The climate is essentially of a moderate character; the winters are rarely very cold, and the summers are seldom of the intensely hot and dry nature which is characteristic of most southerly wine countries. There are large tracts of gently undulating or relatively flat country which is, inasmuch as it ensures effective exposal of the vines to the sun, of a type particularly suited to viticulture. There is almost everywhere an efficient supply of water, and lastly the character of the soil is in many parts an ideal one for the production of wine high in quality and abundant in quantity. ”

“ So exquisite is the cunning of mankind in gratifying their vicious appetites that they have thus invented a method to make water itself produce intoxication.” The knowledge of the preparation of a fermented beverage from cereals in early times was not confined to Europe. Thus, according to Dr H. H. Mann, the Kaffir races of South Africa have made for ages—and still make—a kind of beer from millet, and similarly the natives of Nubia, Abyssinia and other parts of Africa prepare an intoxicating beverage, generally called bousa, from a variety of cereal grains. ”

“ Having described the nature and effects of spirit by-products, and the changes occurring in them during storage, the question that arises is: How is the knowledge gained by scientific research in this direction applied in practice? It may be said that the old adage " prevention is better than cure " holds good in the spirit industry as elsewhere, and the distiller, therefore, tries as far as possible to avoid the formation of those by-products which are objectionable, or at any rate to remove them during the course of manufacture. ”

“ One method of assisting nature in wine-making, which is, in the opinion of the author, not justifiable if the resulting product is sold as wine or in such a manner as to indicate that it is natural wine, is the process termed “gallisizing,” so called from its inventor H. L. L. Gall, which has been largely practised, particularly on the Rhine. The process of Gall consists in adding sugar and water in sufficient quantity to establish the percentages of free acid and sugar which are characteristic of the best years in the must obtained in inferior years. ”

“ Very little of the brandy of commerce corresponds exactly to the former definition of the British Pharmacopoeia as regards colouring matter, inasmuch as trade requirements necessitate the addition of a small quantity of caramel (burnt sugar) colouring to the spirit in the majority of cases. The object of this is, as a rule, not that of deceiving the consumer as to the apparent age of the brandy, but that of keeping a standard article of commerce at a standard level of colour. ”

“ New friends are like new wine: when it is old, thou shalt drink it with pleasure." There is little doubt that the beneficial effect of age on the character of spirits is due to the changes effected in the character and quantity of the by-products, but the exact nature of these changes is by no means clear. ”

“ In view of the fact that fresh grape juice contains innumerable bacteria and moulds, in addition to the yeast cells which bring about the alcoholic fermentation, and that the means which are adopted by the brewer and the distiller for checking the action of these undesirable organisms cannot be employed by the wine-maker, it is no doubt remarkable that the natural wine yeast so seldom fails to assert a preponderating action, particularly as the number of yeast cells at the beginning of fermentation is relatively small. ”

“ American whiskies are almost invariably stored in very heavily charred ban-els, which, while it very appreciably affects the flavour, is necessary, inasmuch as it is doubtful whether it would be possible to mature these exceedingly heavy whiskies within a commercially reasonable time without the cleansing and purifying effect of the charcoal formed by the burning of the cask. Even with the aid of the charred cask, the average maturation time of the American pot-still whiskies is certainly two or three years longer than that of Scotch and Irish whiskies. ”

“ Fermentation is carried on until practically all the saccharine matter is converted into alcohol; and when this is the case, the gravity of the mash is about equal to, or even a little below, that of water. In malt whisky distilleries the original gravity of the wort is usually from 1.050 to 1.060, occasionally lower, but in grain and potato distilleries the worts are often made up to a higher gravity. In Germany gravities as high as 1.11 are employed; but in that country "thick" mashes, owing to the method employed to raise the duty, are a matter of necessity rather than of choice. ”

“ Médoc.—The most important subdivision of the Gironde district is that of the Médoc. It is here that the wine which is known to us as claret is produced in greatest excellence and variety. The Médoc consists of a tongue of land to the north of Bordeaux, bounded by the Garonne and Gironde on the east, and by the sea on the west and north. It is, roughly, 59 m. long by 6 to 10 m. broad. The soil varies considerably in nature, but consists mostly of gravel, quartz, limestone and sand on the surface, and of clay and alios beneath. ”

“ It is to this peat drying that the so-called smoky flavour of most Scotch pot-still whisky is due. The malt is mashed in a mash-tun on lines similar to those obtaining in the brewery, except that the mashing heats are somewhat different. They should be so regulated as to obtain the maximum yield consistent with the preservation of the proper flavour. In order to obtain as high a yield as possible four separate mashes are as a rule made with the same lot of grist, the temperature of each successive mash being somewhat higher than that preceding it. ”

“ In a sense, therefore, England may still claim pre-eminence as a beer-producing nation. Large as the per capita consumption in the United Kingdom may seem, it is considerably less than is the case in Bavaria, which stands at the head of the list with over 50 gallons, and in Belgium, which comes second with 47·7 gallons. In the city of Munich the consumption is actually over 70 gallons, that is to say, about 11/2 pints a day for every man, woman and child. ”

“ At the same time, there is no doubt that much of the wine produced in the United States is of very fair quality, and this is largely due to the fact that the Americans have been at great pains to introduce the latest scientific methods in regard to the vine and wine-making. Thus in parts of California, where high temperatures are liable to prevail during the vintage, the system—first employed in Algeria—of cooling the must during fermentation to the proper temperature by means of a series of pipes in which iced water circulates is now largely employed. ”