The French wine and liquor manufacturer : a practical guide and receipt book for the liquor merchant being a clear and comprehensive treatise on the manufacture and imitation of brandy, rum, gin and whiskey with practical observations and rules for the manufacture and management of all kinds of wine by mixing, boiling, and fermentation, as practiced in Europe including complete instructions for maufacturing champagne wine, and the most approved methods for making a variety of cordials, liqueurs, punch essences, bitters, and syrups ...

Front matter

u>

THE FRENCH

WINE AND LIQUOR

Introduction

Thertc have been several works published upon the manufacture of imitation or domestic Brandy, and other liquors. All of these have a certain degree of merit ; but they are incomplete and very erroneous. In some, the recipes are incorrect, either from the formula not being graduated to the result desired, or from a misconception of the effects of certain materials. Others are little liable to this charge, but leave important omissions. And a few, again, recommend the use of ingredients which are deleterious, if Dot poisonous. The author of this book, whose practical experience of twenty years on both continents is some warrant for his ability, has endeavored to prepare a work which shall avoid these errors and deficiencies, and be standard authority on the subjects of which it treats. He has availed himself, in addition to his own knowledge, of a reference to all reliable information upon collateral points, which are to be found here and there through numerous volumes, and brought to bear the results of the labors of the most conscientious and careful chemists

The manufacture of factitious liquors is, and will continue to be, practiced. It has its foundation in the impossibility, at limes, of obtaining the genuine article, and in the cupidity of iv

INTRODUCTION.

man. To prevent it is simply impossible. With this fact in mind, the author thinks that he does good service in pointing out clearly how an imitation may be made that will be no more injurious than the original, and in demonstrating that it is more profitable to make factitious liquor which shall contain the actual ingredients of the genuine, than to make it from noxious materials. It is well settled that, when an imitation of French Brandy is properly made, with pure alcohol for its basis, avoiding poi sons or poisonous compounds, and using only those materials found by analysis to exist in the liquor sought to be imitated, it is fully as wholesome as the liquor which it purports to be. Dr. Ure, the celebrated English chemist, from whom “ Recipe No. 13” is derived, says that “ Brand}7, made after that formula, will af ford a spirit free from the deleterious drugs too of tv./ used to disguise and increase the intoxicating power of domestic t randies ; one which may he reckoned as wholesome as alcohol , in gv, shape , can ever be.” — [ Vide “Brandt,” in Ure’s Dictioi / /t.] And Dr Cooley, the author of “ The Anatomy of Quacstryf says, “The only method to obtain perfectly pure Brandy either to take it direct from the bond-store, without allowing to enter a private cellar even for an hour, or to buy it of some known respectable party, and to pay a price that offers no inducement to dishonesty When this can not be done, domestic Brandy Lad better be at once purchased, by which money will be saved , and a more wholesome at tide obtained There is one thing moie in that connection. Dr. Cooley speaks of obtaining it “ direct from the bond-store.” Unfortunately, that is not a perfect guaranty Large quantities of corn whiskey are annually exported horn this county to

INTRODUCTION.

V

France, from vhence it returns as French Brandy ; and so close 13 the imitation as to deceive the best judges. But com whiskey contains large quantities of fusil or grain oil, which makes its use in that state improper. Brandy made with corn whiskey foi a basis is deleterious ; while Brandy made with pure alcohol for a base, after the recipes which follow, is as wholesome, in all respects, as that regularly made from the grape.

A word or so of caution may be inserted here, by way of emphasis, although it occurs in the body of the book. Be careful not to fall into the error of using too many kinds of flavor in making your Brandy , nor too much of any one kind. The novice is very apt to spoil good alcohol, through ignorance of the powerful aromatic qualities of Cognac and other essential oils. A good thing in excess may not be a good thing at all. Until long experience gives you the power of attaining tli e juste milieu , the operator had better trust implicitly in the exact proportions and combinations recommended by us in the work.

As even the most experienced may be deceived in regard to the purity of oils and other flavoring matters, it will be observed that, in the proper place, we give tests, to enable the detection of adulterations in these ingredients.

We call the especial attention of the reader to our article headed “ A New Process hy which to Make Cheap Wines, by Fermentation.'" This, we think, is one of the most valuable chapters in our book, as it contains the important secret, by the use of which several large manufacturers in this and other cities >re annually making large fortunes.

We also give some very valuable articles on the use of the vi

INTRODUCTION.

Hydrometer, with Tables on Distillation, on Infusion and Mace ration, on Filtering and Fining, with everything of interest oi use to the Liquor Merchant. All this is so arranged and classified as to enable the reader to obtain the information sought foi with the least possible trouble.

It is unnecessary to say anything in farther recommendation of the work. An experienced man will see, from a perusal, that it is written by one who is master of his subject ; an inexperienced one will discover its value by carefully following the instructions

it imparts.

THE FRENCH m\\u aiiir liquor Blanufaciuvfr

Part I

On Alcohol, Distillation, and the Still — On Clarification of Liquid* by Filtration and Fining, and on the Different Wats of Extracting the Flavor and Aroma from substances which cannot advantageously BE DISTILLED, BY THE PROCESS OF INFUSION, MACERATION, and Digestion.

Alcohol.

Pure alcohol is the basis of all manufactured liquors. It is a limpid, colorless liquid, of a hot pungent taste, and having a slight but agreeable smell. It is the characteristic ingredient of fermented drinks, and gives them their intoxicating quality. Dilute alcohol may be procured by the ordinary process of distillation, from all fermented liquors : when drawn from wine (as in France) it is called brandy, when from rice (as in the East Indies) it is called arrack or toddy , when from grain or malt (as in the United States or Great Britain) it is called whiskey, and when from molasses or the^juice of the sugar-cane (as in the West Indies) it is called rum. Thus we see, that ad spirituous liquors are identical, when the extraneous bodies from which such liquors are obtained have been removed, with this exception, that a variable amount of water is present in them ; they are more or less concentrated solutions of alcohol , whose properties have been fully given : thus, the alcohol from rum, wine, malt, po tails)

ALCOHOL.

toes, carrots, beets, grasses, and various oilier sources, is the same in quality, provided all the other solid and liquid impurities be removed. A single distillation of the spiriluous portions of those liquids will not effect their purifi* cation, and where volatile oils are present, distillation merely, how often soever repeated, will not separate them, for these volatile impurities pass over during distillation ; hence, the spirit procured from wines by simple distilla tion will have their peculiar flavor ; beer, when distilled, will, for the same reason, yield alcohol possessing the abominable taste of the yeast ; malt spirit will have the disagreeable qualities of faints from the presence of an oil of an acrid, bad taste ; and potatoe spirit the physical characteristics of fusil oil, or oil of potatoes. Thus, the disagreeableness or fragrancy of distilled products is, as in the case of malt and potatoe spirit, due to the presence of an essential oil, derived from the source of the alcoholic liquid. This and other impurities may be driven off by redistillation or by rectification through maple charcoal. (See article “ On Distillation.”) The chief object of the distiller in rectifying spirit is the removal of these oily bodies in order to procure a pure alcohol, from which, by the aid of other ingredients, he can fabricate liquors imitating those more costly products which are formed naturally, such as the better varieties of brandy, gin, whiskey, and all the other kinds of liquors and cordials which are in daily request as favorite beverages with the community. Common spirits, as brandy, gin, whiskey, etc., generally contain 50 or 52 per cent of alcohol, in other words, they are about half water and half absolute alcohol, and are associated with coloring matter, volatile oil, and various acids, salts, ethers, and other flavoring matter. Proof sjnrit, which is the standard by means

ALCOHOL.

of which all mixtures of alcohol and water are judged, contains 50 per cent by volume, and 42.52 per cent by weight of alcohol. The specific gravity of proof spirit is 0.933 and when a spirit is “ above proof f it denotes that it contains an excess of alcohol ; thus if 100 volumes of a spirit require 20 volumes of water to reduce it to “proof standard,” it is said to be “ 20 over proof,” while the term “ under proof has reference to a less strong spirit than the standard. Thus, if 100 volumes of a spirit require 20 volumes of spirit of a specific gravity of 0.825 to raise it to the “ proof” standard, the sample is said to be “ 20 under proof The manner of determining the strength of alcohol by the hydrometer is clearly described under the head of “ Alcoholometry and the Hydrometer

The great affinity of alcohol for water is the cause of its poisonous action on the system, since it destroys the vital functions of the tissues by abstracting their const! tutional moisture with avidity ; these violent effects are not produced when alcohol, in a diluted state, is taken in small quantities — only a pleasant hilarity follows, though larger draughts are succeeded by stupor and intoxication. Still, even a small quantity of alcohol when taken as a beverage tends to produce thirst, by absorbing some of the moisture of the tissues : this '«s the reason why persons who have been drinking any kind of alcoholic liquor, crave water afterwards.

Alcohol when thoroughly rectified and cleansed is called pure neutral spirit, and is the basis of all the domestic manufactured imitations of foreign brandies, gins, cordials, etc.

The high wine, or neutral spirit, distilled and rectified in the United States, and sold as French Pure Spirit, is free from all deleterious substances, and when sweetened,

FUSIL OIL IN LIQUORS.

colored, and properly flavored, will compete favorably «vith imported brandy or gin.

For numerous important facts and hints about alcoaol, see articles headed, “ The Art of Imitating and Manufacturing Brandy without Distillation ‘‘ Alcoholometry and the Hydrometer “ IIow to make Gin “ Useful Rules for Liquor Merchants and 11 On Distil lation and the Still!

Fusil Oil in Liquors.

An East Method to discover the Presence of Fusil Oil in Alcohol

and Liquors.

As it is absolutely necessary to use pure rectified spirit as a basis for imitating brandy and gin, and making fine cordials, it is very often requisite to employ some unerring test to determine the presence of fusil or grain oil. In order to accomplish this result, the following simple experiment may be tried with success : — Dissolve ten grains of nitrate of silver in one ounce of pure distilled water. Then take half a tumblerful of the suspected liquor and drop into it twenty-five drops of the above solution ; and if the liquid should contain any grain oil, it will assume the form of a black powder and float on the surface. The action of this test is not always immediate, for it is sometime necessary to wait from one to thirty hours when testing a sample of alcohol which has been well rectified, before any evidence of the oil or powder can be perceived floating on the liquid, and even then it is necessary to expose the glass to a strong light before the powder can be discovered.

On Distillation and the Still.— (See Appendix.)

The Alembic, or still, is one of the most ancient of

Ojr DISTILLATION AND TIIE STILL.

chemical instruments ; so old is it, that the name of its inventor is lost in the lapse of time. Our word “ still” is given to the instrument from the Latin stillare , to drop, to trickle down, to distill.

The principle of action of the still, whether of the oldest or most modern form, is identically the same ; but the development of its use is ever progressive from age to age, and in our day it is utterly impossible to set a limit to its value as an instrument of progress and civilization.

The vapor of water rises from the earth during the warmth of the day, and is condensed during the cold of the night upon the surrounding plants and flowers ; these are the dewdrops that sparkle in the morning. This is a process of Nature’s distillation.

The object of distillation is to separate one substance from others with which it may be mixed. For example, as alcohol is transformed into vapor at the temperature of 176°, while water remains, at this temperature, in a liquid state, it is only necessary to heat the mixed liquids to 176°, when the alcohol rises in vapor, and the water is left behind. The vessel in which the liquids are heated is closed by an air-tight cover, and from this cover a pipe is led and coiled through a cask of cold water ; as the alcoholic vapor enters this cold pipe it is condensed to the liquid form. This process of evaporating and condensing a liquid is called distillation ; the apparatus is called a still, and the coiled pipe is the “ worm of the still.”

It is not possible by this process to completely separate the alcohol and water, for, though water is wholly converted into steam only at the temperature of 212°, it is partially volatile at lower temperatures, and a port 'on of it is consequently carried over with the alcohol.

ON DISTILLATION AND THE STILL.

There is also mingled with the alcohol another ingr> dient which for some purposes it is desirable to remove. This is properly an ether, though it is called by some chemists and by most distillers an essential oil, which gives the peculiar flavor to the different kinds of spirit ; one oil being produced from sugar and giving the flavor to rum ; another from corn and giving the flavor to corn whiskey ; another from rye and giving the flavor to rye whiskey — each kind of spirit deriving its flavor from its peculiar ether. It so happens that charcoal has the property of absorbing all of these ethers (the quantity of which bears a very small proportion to that of the spirits), and consequently they are eliminated by simply leaching the spirits through charcoal. This process is called rectifying.

In practice, it is customary for distillers in the gramgrowing regions of the West to manufacture an article called “ high wines,” which is alcohol mingled with considerable water and with ethers. This article is sold to refiners — located in New York and other places — who redistill it to separate it from a portion of the water and leach it through charred bone-dust to eliminate tho essential oil.

In distilling cordials, the object is to extract or separate the odorous and aromatic principle from the roots, flowers, seed, or spices used to impart the characteristic taste to the liquor, and it is usual to macerate such ingredients in strong alcohol several days before distillation. (See “ Infusion , Maceration , and Digestion page 28.)

With respect to the practical part of distilling cordials, we shall observe that the heat should , in all cases, he as yen tie and uniform as possible. Accidents may be effect

DESCRIPTION OF THE STILL AND WATER-BATH. 21

nally prevented by distilling spirits in a water bath, which, if sufficiently large, will perform the operation with all the dispatch requisite for the most extensive bus!ness. The vessel in which the distillation is effected ought to be immersed in another filled with water up to the neck. The process will thus be managed as expeditiously as if the vessel were placed over an open fire, and without the apprehension -of being disappointed by having your spirits burned ; nor will it be necessary at any time to raise the water in the bath to a boiling heat. As distillation is only recommended in this book for some few cordials, we shall simply describe a small still suited to that purpose.

Description of the Still and Water-Bath.

A still is an apparatus used in distilling, usually composed of metal, the form of which, together with the number of parts of which it is composed, and their relative proportions, may vary considerably. The still in general use may, however, be considered as composed of three or four parts :

1st. The cucurbit or body of the still, A. This portion of the apparatus receives the direct action of the fire, and contains the liquid to be distilled when the process is to be conducted by a naked fire. It is in the form of a truncated reversed cone, A, mounted on a rounded portion, a a , which rests on the furnace, X X, and terminated at the top by a collar of somewhat smaller diameter than the lower part.

C is a hole, by which the liquid is introduced into the body of the apparatus : d d are the handles.

2d. The water-bath, B, a cylindrical vessel of tin or tinned copper, which is placed in the cucurbit, A, closing

22 DESCRIPTION OF THE STII.!. AND WATER-BATH.

it lightly by means of the collar, m, which rests on the collar, b b.

When, instead of distilling by the naked fire, the water-bath is employed, water only is put into the cucurbit, in which the water-bath is placed containing the liquid to be distilled.

3d. The head of the capital, (x. This part may be placed either on the cucurbit, or on the water-bath, care having been taken to make both openings of the same size ; it is very nearly the shape of the upper part of a retort, and is furnished with a large pipe by which the vapor is to be carried off to the worm or cooler.

DESCRIPTION OF TIIE STILL AND WATER-BATH.

ft. A hole, which during the operation is kept closed by a screw top, and its use is to introduce fresh liquid into the water-bath without having to disconnect the apparatus.

4th. The cooler or worm, D. This is a long tin pipe, bent in the form of a screw, and enclosed in a copper or wooden vessel full of cold water. The upper part of the pipe, which is often enlarged in a globular form, receive? from the beak of the capital the vapors arising from the cucurbit, or water-bath, and the lower portion which opens below the vessel; the condensed liquid flows into a vessel placed underneath.

All the joints of the apparatus are to be luted with bands of paper soaked in paste, except the joint of the cucurbit or water-bath, which must not be tight, in order to allow of the escape of the steam from the boiling water.

g g. Tin rests for supporting and fixing the worm in the vessel.

h. A vertical pipe fixed to the side of the vessel, opeu at both ends and terminated at the top by a funnel.

The pipe serves to renew the water in the cooler ; cold water is poured in at the top which flows to the bottom of the vessel, and being of a lower specific gravity than the hot water, forces it out at the escape pipe, i.

k. A tap, by which all the water in the worm tub can be discharged.

/. The end of the connecting pipe between the beak of the capital and the collar of the still. This pipe ic of precisely the same height as the collar of the water-bath, m. It is only used in distilling by 'J.e water-bath : when a naked fire is used this pipe is dispensed with, in order to avoid raising and lowering worm, which always remains on the same support, E.

24 THE CLARIFICATION OF LIQUIDS BY FILTRATION.

F, the recipient.

The French term, u bain-marie” meaning water-bath, is a corrupted translation, sanctioned by use, of the Latin words balneum mavis f sea bath, the ancients expressing, figuratively, water by the sea, in the same way as they indicated by the expression balneum ventres equini , the method of conducting digestions by the heat of stable litter.

On the Clarification of Liquids by Filtration.

The object of filtration is to clarify liquids, and especially those made without the aid of heat. No better way has been found than to make the liquid pass as often as may be necessary through the pores of some substance sufficiently close or impervious to allow the most fluid portion to run through clear and retain the coarser particles or substances, which occasion the cloudy appearance of the liquid.

The filters in most general use, are made of flannel, felt, Canton flannel, and cotton serge.

The article to be employed should be adapted to the kind of liquid to be purified, for if too coarse a tissue be used, the filtration would be too rapid, and therefore imperfect, while on the other hand it would be exceedingly difficult to filter a liquid, highly charged with sugar, through a fine cloth.

When large quantities of liquids are to be filtered, such as brandy, port wine, bitters, etc., wooden vessels, or old casks are used, in which are arranged, layers of sand, charcoal, or cotton, according to the kind of liquors to be filtered. See prepara+’on and arrangement of filters for brandy, port wine, and bitters, etc., pages

Filtering bags and filtering paper for cordials ar«

THE CLARIFICATION OF LIQUIDS BY FINING. 25

noticed in other parts of this work. Agitation or vibration is of great efficacy in quickening percolation, or straining, as it displaces the particles which clog the filter, and opens the pores which have become closed. It is convenient to render the filter self-acting, by ao commodating the supply of liquid to the rate of percolation, or trickling, so that the pressure upon the porous surface may be always equally great.

The celerity with which any fluid passes through the filter depends, — 1st, upon the porosity of the filtering substance ; 2d, upon the pressure exercised upon it ; and 3d, upon the extent of the filtering surface. The enlargement of the surface is, generally speaking, the safest and most efficacious plan for increasing the rapidity of filtration, especially for liquids containing much sugar.

We will hereafter show that fermented liquors clarify themselves in course of time.

In order, however, to hasten the process of clarifica tion, white of eggs, isinglass, milk, blood, etc., aro occasionally used. See “ Fining” page 26.

On the Clarification of Liquids by Fining.

• Good wines, or any fermented liquors, need no artificial “fining,'1 as they always clarify themselves by repose. With those, however, which are “ out of condition,” or of inferior quality, it is often necessary,. as without such a proceeding, they remain unsaleable. The d sadvantages resulting from the artificial clarification ol fermented liquors are — that they do not afterwards “ stand well on draught,” that much of the conservative astringent matter which they contain is precipitated with the “ finings,” that their piquancy and flavor is more or less diminished, and that hey are more than usually 2

20 THE CLARIFICATION OF LIQUIDS BY FINING.

liable to become flu and vapid, whether in cask or bottle. The larger the proportion of “ finings” used, tha more marked are their injurious effects, and the shorter the interval which elapses before the accession of the several symptoms referred to. We have seen the most disastrous consequences follow the injudicious use of “ linings,” more especially in respect to those liquors in which a certain amount of piquancy, astringency, and briskness is an essential condition. Wines which “ refuse” to “fine” or become clear, when treated with “ finings” in the usual manner, are called “ stubborn” by wine dealers. The substances employed in the clarification of liquids, operate by either mechanically embracing the feculous matter, and subsiding with it to the bottom of the vessel, or by inducing such a change in its nature or bulk, that it subsides by its own density, in each case, leaving the wine or other liquid transparent. Albumen, gelatine, milk, the acids, certain salts, blood, lime, plaster of Paris, gum arabic, alum, heat, alcohol, etc., serve in many cases for this purpose. The first is used under the form of white of egg, for the clarification of syrups, as it combines with the liquid when cold, but on the application of heat rapidly coagulates and rises to the surface, carrying the impurities with it, forming a scum which is easily removed with a skimmer. It is also much used for fining wines and cordials, particularly the red ivvie-s and more limpid cordials. Gelatine, under the form of isinglass, dissolved in water, or some of the liqui I to be “ fined,” is used to fine white wines, cider, beer, and similar liquors, that contain a sufficient quantity of either spirit or astringent (tannin), to induce its precipitation. Fining with isinglass is, as it were, a mechanical process, in this sense, that the isinglass in precipitating forms a

THE CLARIFICATION ON LIQUIDS BY FINING.

kind of cloth which carries down with it all the impurities suspended in the wine. Sulphuric acid is frequently added to weak liquors for a similar purpose, either alone, or after the addition of white of egg, or isinglass, both of which it rapidly throws down in an insoluble form. A pernicious practice exists among some unprincipled parties of using certain salts of lead and potasli to clear their liquors ; especially those that are expected to sparkle in the glass, as cordial gin and hock wine. For this purpose, a little sugar of lead, dissolved in water, is first mixed up with the fluid, and afterwards a little more than one half its weight of sulphate of potash, also dissolved in water, is added, and the liquor is again “ roused up.” By standing, the sulphate of lead, formed by this mixture, subsides and leaves the liquor clear. No person should attempt to fine by this process, as the ingredients used are pernicious poisons. Bullock’s and sheep’s blood is used in the same way a,s isinglass or white of eggs, for fining red wines, beer and porter. Blood, however, is very apt to communicate a slightly unpleasant odor or flavor to wine. Lime, alum, alcohol, the acids, and heat, act by curdling or coagulating the feculencies or impurities, and thus, by increasing their density, induce their subsidence. Plaster of Paris acts partly like the above, and partly like albumen or gelatine, by enveloping and forcing down the suspended mattei . Gum arabic has this advantage ovei most ingredients used for fining,— it is not liable to pu • refaction. Ropy, stringy wine can only be clarified bv the addition of tannin, as specially directed in another place. (See “ To Remedy Ropiness in Wine'')

Infusion, Maceration, and Digestion.

In order to extract the soluble principles in substances which cannot be advantageously distilled, liquor dealers are often obliged to resort to infusion. This consists in submitting them for a greater or less period of time to the action of any liquid, with or without the aid of heat.

This is known by the name of infusion, digestion, or maceration, terms all signifying the same process with different modifications in the way of conducting it.

When the principles to be extracted are soluble in water, and at the same time but slightly volatile, boiling water is poured on the substance of which the infusion is required, the vessel is carefully covered, and the whole allowed to remain untouched for some minutes or even some hours, according to the greater or less penetrability of the substance, and the required strength of the infusion ; the result is an infusion, properly so called.

If an infusion is required of dried leaves or flowers, they are first moistened with a little boiling water, and a little time allowed for them to swell and soften before adding the rest of the water. Infusions made by adding all the water at once, as is still frequently practiced, are deficieni both in flavor and perfume.

Maceration. — When an infusion is made without the iid of heat, it is termed maceration. This takes a much jonger time than an infusion, properly so called ; it rarel) requires less than a day, sometimes several weeks Those substances to which heat would be injurious, oi which are easily soluble, are treated in this way. In many distillations this method is made use of to softer the substances before putting into the still ; and, to facilitate the extraction of their odorous principle, liquor manu factnrers macerate in pure alcohol the plants whose odorous principles they wish to extract, it order to preserve them till they are required for distillation. Compound wines and toilet and table vinegar are prepared by maceration, these liquors being readily decomposed by heat ; any other method would be ineffectual.