MAIN L.IV1
.^ S. DEPARTMENT OF AG
BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY- BULLETIN No. 102.
11. \V. \\ll.KY, Chief of Huivaii.
FOREIGN TRADE PR ACTISGS
MANUFACTURE AND EXPORTATION OF ALCOHOLIC
BEVERAGES AND CANNED GOODS.
SUMMARY OF AX INVKSTKiATIOX MADE IN (IKKAT IJIHTAIN
AND IRELAND, OKRMANV, AND FHANCK,
BY
J I. W. AVILK Y,
Chief of the Bureau of Chemistry.
WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT P R I N T I X < ; < ) F F I (' K .
1906.
Bui. 102, Bureau of Chemistry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.
PLATE I.
FIG. 1. VINTAGE SCENE, COGNAC.
FIG. 2. VERY OLD DISTILLERY, COGNAC.
Iwued December 20, 1906.
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY BULLETIN No. 102.
H. W. WILEY, Chief of Hurniu.
FOREIGN TRADE PRACTISES
IN THE
MANUFACTURE AND EXPORTATION OF ALCOHOLIC
BEVERAGES AND CANNED GOODS.
SUMMARY OF AN INVESTIGATION MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN
AND IRELAND, GERMANY, AND FRANCE.
BY
H. W. WILEY,
Chief of the Bureau of Chemistry.
WASHINGTON :
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
190G.
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY,
Washington, D. C., May 12, 1906.
SIR: Many inquiries have been received as to the findings of a re-
cent inspection of the existing conditions of trade in Scotch and Irish
whiskies, German and French wines, and French brandies. Inci-
dentally, the preparation of canned goods, especially vegetables, sar-
dines, and mushrooms, was inspected as opportunity offered. This
investigation was considered necessary to the just and effective
inspection of imported food products authorized by Congress to he
made by the Secretary of Agriculture. Much of the information
obtained was of a confidential nature, but I transmit herewith for
your approval a summary of the investigation, which it is believed
will be of interest both to the trade and to the consuming public. It
is recommended that this report be published as Bulletin No. 10*J of
the Bureau of Chemistry.
Respectfully, II. W. WILEY,
Chief of Bureau.
Hon. JAMES WILSON,
Secretary of Agriculture.
2
INTRODUCTION.
In harmony with the instructions of the Secretary of Agriculture,
I visited, during July, August, and September, 1905, some of the
principal regions in Great Britain and Ireland, Germany, and France,
where whisky, wine, and brandy are produced. The chief object kept
in view in these investigations was to study the preparation, preserva-
tion, and character of the products above mentioned as offered for
importation into the United States, in order that just and effective
standards and regulations might be adopted for their inspection on
arrival at our ports. Special attention was given to the disputed
questions which have arisen as to the use of sulfurous acid in wines,
the definitions of whiskies (Scotch, Irish, "blended," and "mixt"),
etc. ; and the conclusions reached, based on these investigations, fur-
nish important data for the conduct of the imported-food inspection
work of this Bureau.
It is desired to acknowledge the uniform courtesy received from
manufacturers, agents, merchants, officials of the several govern-
ments, and our own consuls. m P^verywhere the greatest liberty for
inspection was allowed and the most cordial assistance given. Even
the books relating to prices, ages, and character of blends were freely
shown, and the methods of conducting warehouse operations fully
explained. I have reason to believe, therefore, that the information
obtained is credible and representative of the true state of the legiti-
mate trade.
H. W. WILEY,
Chief, Bureau of Chemistry.
WASHINGTON, D. C., May 5, 1906,
3
CONTENTS.
Pare.
Tho whiskies of Great Britain and Ireland 7
Scotch whisky 7
Malted barley distilleries__ 7
Grain spirit distilleries _. 12
Irish whisky 1 \
Warehousing 17
Bottling in warehouses 10
Official definitions 20
Summary of trade practises L'1
The English test case relative to Scotch and Irish whiskies 22
iGerinan wines , 29
Method of manufacture 29
Classification _' ::<>
Smrared wines ">!
Conclusions 33
'French wines and brandies
Bordeaux wines ""
General discussion
Thevhite wines of Graves and Sauternais -"-T
The red wines of the Medoc 38
Cognac brandies 39
[Execution of the imported food law 41
French canned vegetables 1
French sardines 43
Governmental certificates for exported food products... 44
5
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PLATES.
Page.
PLATE I. Fig. 1. Vintage scene, Cognac. Fig. 2. Very old distillery,
Cognac Frontispiece.
II. Fig. 1. Wine press in operation, Cognac. Fig. 2. A Cognac
brandy distillery 40
TEXT FIGURES.
FIG. 1. Four types of pot stills used in the north of Scotland
2. A modern form of condenser, Scotland 10
3. Scotch pot stills, showing instalment 11
4. Two types of Irish pot stills 14
5. Irish pot stills, showing attachments . 15
FOREIGN TRADE PRACTISES IN THE MANUFACTURE AND EXPOR-
TATION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND CANNED GOODS.
THE WHISKIES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
SCOTCH WHISKY.
MALTED BARLEY DISTILLERIES.
There are two kinds of distilleries found in Scotland those pro-
ducing grain spirits and those using malted barley only but by far
the greater number belong to the latter class. These distilleries are
divided into four groups, according to location, and the number of
distilleries in each group is about as follows : Highland and not clas-
sified, 108; Lowland, 33; Campbelltown (island of Kintyre), 21,
and Islay, 9. This is only an approximate classification. Many
changes take place in the number of distilleries in active service, and
the classification is by no means perfect. These figures, however,
give a general idea of the distribution of the distilleries.
Much of the barley used is home grown, but the amount available
is insufficient, and considerable quantities are imported from Den-
mark, Hungary, and the United States. The California barleys are
highly prized because they can be used in the early part of the dis-
tilling season that is, in September before the home-grown barley-
are sufficiently dry. Often the barley in the north of Scotland is
not all harvested until late in August.
Malting is generally conducted in the old-fashioned way, by steep-
ing the grain until thoroly moist and spreading it on cemented floors
well protected by heavy walls against the cold. Even in winter the
malting takes place without any artificial heat. In very cold weather
the layers of grain are made thicker on the floor and the heat of
germination prevents freezing. The lower the temperature at which
the malting takes place the better the product, tho the time required
is longer. From ten to sixteen days are usually required to complete
the germination. In some cases the malting is accomplished by the
so-called pneumatic process, in revolving drums which move very
7
FOREIGN PRACTISES IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
slowly, so as to keep the sprouting grain gently stirred. A current of
air is dra\^i thru the apparatus and this air is warmed or cooled and
made wet or dry according to the indications of the thermometer and
hygrometer. This method was found in use in only one of the dis-
tilleries.
After the germination is completed the malt is dried by being
spread on a perforated tile or wire floor over an open fire fed by peat
and anthracite coal or coke. The peat is specially prepared and is
kept dry for a year or more before using. The older peats are said
to give the finest flavors to the product. The empyreumatic emana-
tions from the smoldering peat are absorbed by the malt, subse-
quently dissolved in the mash, and pass over into the distillate, impart-
ing thereto the much-prized smoky flavor so well known in Scotch
whisky. The use of water which has filtered thru the peat bogs is
also deemed of great efficacy in distilling the finest Scotch and Irish
whiskies. Some of the kilns are made with double floors, the second
placed about 5 feet above the first. The green malt is placed on the
upper floor and let down to the lower as soon as the charge thereon
is removed. This practise, however, is by no means general. The
malt is dried until the moisture is reduced to 2 per cent or less, care
being exercised to avoid any burning. To this end the layer of malt
is frequently turned during the process. Considerable quantities of
malt are kept in store, and it is generally believed that old malt makes
a better product than new.
After grinding, the malt is mashed in large vats furnished with
stirring machinery, which keeps the mass in constant motion. The
mass is gradually heated, but not above the point of the activity of
the diastase, 140 F., at least until the starch is all converted. The
bottom of the mash tun is finely perforated, so that when this opera-!
tion is completed the liquid part of the contents may be drawn off
to the coolers and the residual grains separated for cattle food.
These grains are sold in a moist state for neighborhood consumption
or dried for shipment to a distance. The hot wort is past over
coolers and run into the fermentation vats, called " wash backs.
To the cooled wort the yeast is added and the fermentation conducted
at ordinary temperatures. The fermentations are finished in from
forty-eight to seventy-two hours and the beer is then ready for dis-
tillation.
In all of the distilleries inspected the distillation is conducted inJ
pot stills heated over an open fire. The stills have necks of various
shapes and sizes. In some cases the neck passes in a horizontal
position to the worm, immersed in flowing water, and the products
of any condensation in this horizontal section are returned by an
attached pipe to the still. This is by no means a universal arrange-
ment, however. The stills are usually arranged in sets of three, one
WHISKIES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
9
largo boor still for making low winos and two smaller low-wino
-till- for making the high wines or crude whisky. In the beer or
wash still is found a scraper, usually in the form <>f a chain, properly
!i\t to revolving arms which fit the convex inner surface of the
bottom of the still and prevent the deposit and burning of solid
matter during the distillation. This scraper is operated bv a
FIG. 1. Four types of pot stills used in the north of Scotland.
pendicular shaft passing into the center of the still, usually with an
.iir-tight journal in the top of the neck.
The aoompanying illustrations (fig. 1) show some of the varia-
tions in the form of the stills used at the different distilleries in the
north of Scotland. Much stress is justly laid by all distillers on the
shape of the still, and it seems very probable that the character of
the whisky is markedly affected by its form and the length of the
11250 No. 10206 2
10
FOREIGN PRACTISES IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
neck, controlling as these factors do the incidental rectification which
takes place during the distillation.
The still shown as figure 1, No. 1, is covered with a nonconducting
material said to effect a considerable reduction in the quantity of
coal used. There are two sets of these stills, heated over an open
fire, a wash still and two low-wine stills comprizing each set. The
neck of the still has an enlargement near the bottom, instead of being
regular!} 7 horn shaped, as were those in Glasgow, and
the horizontal portion of the neck is provided with a
condensing jacket.
The type shown as No. 2 in figure 1 has no covering,
tho heated over an open fire, and no condenser in the
horizontal part of the neck. The neck is peculiar in
shape, having straight conical sides until it assumes a
horizontal position, and is rather shorter than usual,
not exceeding 10 feet. There are two sets of stills, of
which the wash still holds a little over 6,000 gallons
and the low-wine stills half that amount.
Another modification is shown as Nos. 3 and 4, fig-
ure 1. Instead of the horizontal jacketed neck piece,
the very large neck ends in a vessel which acts as a
condenser, being surrounded by a jacket containing
water, and from which the products of condensation
return directly to the still. The low- wine still differs
slightly in shape from the wash still, but is constructed
on the same principle. The stills are heated over an
P 6n fire > as in tlle otner C ' :lsOS - Tne neWCl' Set of
stills at this distillery have a condenser composed of a
large number of small copper tubes placed in a cylindrical vessel
thru which alcohol flows (fig. '2). This form of condenser takes up
much less space than the old form and is considered quite an improve-
ment.
The distillation is carried on until the alcoholic content of the
distillate becomes too low for use as low wine. The residue is then
di>tilled until the alcohoi is all run oil', and this portion of the dis-
tillate is added to the next charge of beer. The spent beer is dis-
posed of in various ways. It is not permitted to discharge this by-
product into running streams because of the pollution which is
caused thereby. If possible, it is sold for cattle food, but it is not
highly -prized for this purpose. Sometimes it is settled in cement
tanks sunk in the earth and the -olid matter is used as manure. In
some distilleries it is put into septic tanks and destroyed by bacterial
action; in others furnaces are erected in which the spent beer is
burned.
Scotland.
WHISKIES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRKLAND.
11
The low wines are conducted to the small stills and subjoctod to a
second distillation for the purpose of bringing them to an almlmlir
suitable for bonding, namely, from 55 to CO per cent l.\
PIG. 3. Scotch pot stills, showing instalment.
volume of alcohol. The first parts that come over are very rich in
alcohol, and as the distillation proceeds the alcoholic strength falls.
When the distillate, after mixing, reaches the strength desired, as
12 FOREIGN PRACTISES IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
given above, the remainder of the distillate is collected in a separate
vessel and mixt with the low wines of the next charge. When the
alcohol is all over, or nearly so, the lees are drawn off, treated as
spent beer, and the still recharged with low wines plus the low alco-
holic residues from the previous distillation. Thus practically all
the volatile matters pre finally collected into a spirit of from 55 to
60 per cent by volume of ethyl alcohol. The lees and spent beer
of course contain more or less of the alcohols and other bodies of high
boiling points and in this way a portion of such bodies is removed.
There is always enough of them, however, to give character and flavor
to the distillate and provide those bodies which in the process of
aging give the distinctive flavor and value to the product. Every
part of the process is controlled and checked by the excise officers,
whose lock and seal are kept on every valve and other opening whence
any of the spirits might be surreptitiously withdrawn. Figure 3
gives a general view of the instalment of two Scotch pot stills.
The spirit is stored in oak casks, and those in which sherry wine
has been matured are particularly sought after. A good sherry
cask often sells for as much as 50 shillings. The sherry wood is said
to yield a peculiar and desirable flavor to the whisky and also to
impart a deeper color thereto than is given by the plain wood.
Previous charring of the inside of the plain wood barrels is not prac-
tised, and these casks color the spirit very little even after the lapse
of five years.
Whisky made in the manner just described is genuine Scotch
whisky, and it is doubtful if any other product, without some quali-
fying word, is entitled to bear that name.
GRAIN SPIRIT DISTILLERIES.
The grain spirit, or silent spirit, distilleries, while not numerous,
are of very large capacity and without doubt make more gallons of
spirit than are produced by the hundred and more malt distilleries.
The grain spirit distilleries are by no means all in Scotland. Many
of them are in England and Ireland, and the products are used for
limiting with malt whisky.
'The, grain. used in these distilleries, as far as could be ascertained,
M'M.'I.I Cxc( pi'mii 'Indian corn imported from the United States,
'fhe process employed is extremely simple. The Indian corn is
ground, mashed with Mifficient malt to convert the starch into sugar,
fermented in the usual way, and the beer thus produced is run
at once into a so-called patent still. The patent still is com-
posed of two parts, the first a complex system of copper pipe 6
WHISKIES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRKLANh. 13
inches or more in diameter, and in a still of moderate H/C a mile or
nmiv in length (5,000 to 6,000 feet), built up in parallel layci^ into
a column 50 feet or more in height. The tubes are immersed in an
atmosphere of steam, and in these tubes the rectification is accom
plished, the greater part of all the congeners of fermentation except
ethyl alcohol being separated by passing thru these luU-s.
The fusel oils are collected and utilized m commerce for making
amylacetate, etc. The ethyl alcohol coming from the rectifying
part of the still enters the second part, called the analy/er, which i
a common chambered still in which the ethyl alcohol is condensed to
about D4 per cent, by volume, pure alcohol. There is, of mur-e. an
incidental rectification due to this concentration, but the product- of
this rectification are not collected. The resulting product is an alco-
hol (ethyl) of high strength and purity. It is not a perfectly pure
alcohol, but one of approximate purity, having left in it only a small
part of those congeners of fermentation which give bouquet and flavor
to pure whisky.
This product is also stored in wood, as was described in the case
of malt whisky. It is the grain or silent spirit which is so abun-
dantly used for mixing with malt whisky to produce the " Scotch
whisky-' usually met with in commerce. In respect of price the
grain spirit, as described above, is much cheaper per proof gallon
when first made than malt whisky of the same alcoholic strength.
For instance, a proof gallon (English) of grain spirit is worth, when
made, say, 30 cents. A gallon of malt whisky of the same strength
is worth 50 cents. The commercial advantage of using large quan-
tities of grain spirit in the preparation of the whiskies of commerce
is at once apparent. The manufacture of grain spirit is conducted
under the same excise supervision and regulations as are applied to
malt whisky. It follows that it is possible for the excise official^ to
follow each package of such spirit from the time it is made until it
is delivered for domestic consumption or for export.
A mixture of yellow and white maize is used in the manufacture
of this grain spirit. Inspection of the maize used showed it to be of
fair average quality. The amount of malt employed, aside from the
quantity necessary to convert the starch, is optional with the manu-
facturer. Since the distillate is rectified, there is no advantage,
in so far as the subsequent use of the product for mixing is concerned,
in using a larger quantity of malt than is required to furnish the
requisite vigor of diastatic action. Samples of malt whisky and of
grain spirit were secured under careful supervision in many distil-
leries, sealed, and forwarded to the Bureau of Chemistry for analysis.
14
FOREIGN PRACTISES IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
IRISH WHISKY.
The number of distilleries in Ireland is small compared to Scot-
land, but they are generally of a very much greater capacity. Dis-
tilleries in the north of Ireland, and at Belfast and Dublin, were
inspected. Irish whisky is quite different in composition from Scotch.
In Ireland very little pure malt whisky is made. On the other hand,
it may be said that Irish whisky does not resemble that of American
origin to any greater extent than it does Scotch. Only one
distillery of those visited in Ireland uses malt alone. The others use
malt, together with unmalted barley and a small quantity of other
cereals, such as rye, wheat,
and oats. Indian corn, ap-
parently, is not used at all,
or at least only to a limited
extent. The malt which is
used is not dried over peat.
and hence the Irish whisky
does not hav-e that smoky
taste so characteristic of the
Scotch product.
Usually, when unmalted
grain is used, malt makes up
about one-half of the whole
mash. The other half con-
sists largely of unmalted
barle3 T , very small quantities
of rye or oats, or both, be-
ing used. The mashing, the
cooling of the wort, and the
fermentation are conducted
as in Scotland. The distill-
eries are of great capacity,
and the vats and stills correspondingly large in size. For this reason
the pot stills, altho usually heated over an open fire, are reen forced by
steam coils. The method of distillation is the same as in Scotland, l;ut
the whisky is warehoused at a much higher proof, viz, about (n per cen;
by volume. Practically all the beer stills are supplied withu horizontal
attachment to the neck before the pipe enters th<> worm, where a
partial condensation takes place, this product being returned directly
to the still, thus producing low wines of greater alcoholic strength.
The finished product is thus secured with a higher per cent of alcohol.
The accompanying illustration (fig. 4) shows the form of the
>tills used at two of the Dublin distilleries. There are six huge
WHISKIES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
15
pot stills of the type shown as No. 1, figure 4, holding from
1 ( .U)00 to 25,000 gallons each, under \\hidi ;>() tons of coal a dsn
burned. In addition to the open lire each Mill, except the ;>irit
FIG. 5. Irish pot stills, showing attachments.
still, has an auxiliary steam coil. The stills are in batteries of four,
two for producing low wines, one for special treatment of the feints,
and one low wine still for the purpose of making the spirits of the
16 FOREIGN PRACTISES IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
proper strength. The extra concentrating still for the feints is re-
quired because Irish whisky is distilled at a very high proof, namely,
49 over proof British. It is bonded at 25 over proof British, much
stronger than the Scotch whisky, which is usually bonded at 11 over
proof. It will be noticed that the stills have rather high nodes.
curving down into a long horizontal portion lying in a trough sur-
rounded with cold water. The condensation is returned to the still
from this horizontal condenser in a continuous stream. It is evident
that the triple distillation of the feints and the cooler attached to the
horizontal portion of the neck secure the return of a considerable por-
tion of the heavy alcohols to the still and their final removal in the
burnt ale.
At another . Dublin distillery presenting the same general typo of
still the rouser or stirrer enters directly at the top of the still, the
neck being placed at one side to make this arrangement possible (fig.
4, No. 2). A general view of some Irish pot stills, showing attach-
ments, is given in figure 5.
There are grain spirit stills also in Ireland, and one of these in
Dublin was visited. It is claimed in this distillery that the produc-
tion of grain spirit is incidental to the manufacture of yeast, which
is the principal product, the grain spirit being a by-product. Im-
mense quantities of yeast are made at this distillery and supplied to
bakers all over the United Kingdom. Indian corn, converted with
malt, is the grain chiefly used. It is said to give a better yeast than
can be produced from any other cereal.
Mixing and compounding warehouses are also found in Ireland.
but it is claimed that a great deal of Irish whisky, guaranteed to be
genuine, is bottled strictly for the export trade to the United States.
It is only fair to say, in respect of these so-called blended goods,
especially "Scotch whisky," so called, that the compounders exprest
an entire willingness to label such goods " blended " or " com-
pounded " should our regulations require such a designation. It i>
stated that the genuine Scotch whisky, while it can be drunk with
impunity in the Highlands, is not suitable for consumption in London
and other parts of the Empire without being softened by admixture
with a >pirit of low flavor. The compounders would not like, how-
ever, to put upon the label the degree of dilution practised, nor to
name the diluting spirit. Compounds are made of from 20 to 80
per cent of grain spirit, according to the price the customer is willinir
to pay. Every vat compounded is accurately described in the bonks
of the excise officers, so that an official certificate could be given were
it in harmony with the regulations. Similar books are kept also by
the com pounder. Both sets of books were freely shown.
WHISKIES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND .IRELAND.
17
WAREHOUSING.
As soon as the spirits are made, whether from malt or from Indian
corn, they are gaged and placed in casks under the supervision of the,
excise officers. The term " warehouse " is described a> follows in the
Regulations of Boards of Customs and Inland Revenue, page 1-j,
paragraph 13: "A secure place, approved by the board, for the gen-
eral service of the public, for the deposit of dutiable goods on \\ liidi
the duty has not been paid." The doors of a warehouse HUM open
into a street or public way. It must be apart from a distillery or
rectifying house. It must not have connection of any kind with the
premises of a dealer in spirits.
Spirits and wines may be racked, vatted, or blended as often as
required by the proprietor on his written request made in proper
form. These operations, however, may only be performed in a special
compartment of a warehouse used solely for that purpose. (Para-
graph 301, Excise Regulations.) The proprietor may mix wines or
foreign spirits together and may elect the name to describe the proc-
ess, either vatting or blending, and may make the resulting product
accordingly, but whenever any other article, allowed by the regula-
tions, is added, or if any part of the spirits used have x been previously
vatted or blended, the operation shall be called " vatting." (Para-
graph 303.) It is evident from this regulation that the excise
desires to limit the word " blending " to a mixture of spirits or fer-
mented beverages of the same kind. This is an important distinction
and a just one. An effort should be made to restrict the use of the
word " blend " in the manner indicated.
In the malt distilleries visited there was no vatting or blending
practised, and no mixing with grain or other spirits. The pure malt
whisky is sent to the large rectifying warehouses in Edinburgh,
Glasgow, and London for these operations.
For home consumption, only the following kinds of spirits may be
vatted or blended :
(a) Wines of the same sort, country, and rate of duty.
(b) Foreign spirits of the same denomination, irrespective of the
country of importation.
(c) British spirits of the same sort.
By special permission of the board the following kinds of bever-
ages may also be vatted or blended for home consumption :
(a) Wines which have been fortified with more than 10 per cent of
spirit.
(b) Wines which have been fortified to a strength beyond 40.
(c) Wines which have been unintentionally fortified beyond 40.
(Paragraphs 307, 310.)
11250 No. 10206 3
18 FOREIGN PRACTISES IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
One of the most important points connected with the warehouse
treatment of wines and spirits is that manipulations are allowed for
export which are not permitted for home consumption. For instance,
it is provided that " wines or foreign spirits not sweetened or mixed,
of different sorts, may be mixed together for exportation only."
(Paragraph 321.) British plain spirits may also be mixt for expor-
tation with foreign spirits not sweetened or mixt. On one head of the
cask in such cases the word " mixed " must be marked. (Paragraphs
323-334.) When British compounds exceeding 11 over proof are
mixt with British compounds not exceeding 11 over proof it must be
written in the dispatch " for exportation only." (Paragraph 326.)
Imitation rums that is, any mixture not rum but simulating in some
way that substance may be mixt with other foreign spirits and are
described in the accounts as " foreign spirits of various sorts mixed in
bond." (Paragraph 324.) This provision permits the concoction of
almost any kind of mixture the merchant may desire to export.
Should "spirits of wine" (alcohol) on which the allowance has
been paid on deposit be at any time mixt with plain British spirits,
the allowance payable on the exportation of the latter is to be de-
termined, but the spirits will be inadmissible for home consumption.
(Paragraph 326.) Ordinary finings, such as Spanish earth, albu-
men, patent finings not sweetened, isingglass, milk, etc., may be added
to wines not exceeding 42 of alcoholic strength for home consump-
tion as frequently as the proprietor may deem necessary. Sweet fin-
ings may, with the sanction of the board, be used in wines for home
consumption in quantities not exceeding 1 per cent, but without
limit for exportation. (Paragraph 331.) Coloring or sweetening
matter may, with the board's sanction, be added to wines of different
sorts mixt in warehouse for exportation. The casks are to be marked
u mixt and sweetened wines " and entered on the books for exporta-
tion only. (Paragraph 332.)
We now come to some of the most important of the regulations for
warehouses as affecting the different treatments of beverages intended
for home consumption and for export. It is provided that coloring
matter in a fluid state may be added to British spirits for home con-
sumption in the proportion of 1 pint to each 80 gallons. When
such coloring matter has been added a full statement concerning it
must be entered in the books and all further removals or manipula-
tions of spirits so colored must be accompanied by statements of the
fact. (Paragraphs :'." I .">:'.\) It is then possible for the excise
officer to know thru all vattiuirs and blendings just what portions are
artificially colored. The regulations thus guard the consumer's
rights respecting the use of artificial color, and no other ingredient^,
except all forms of British-made spirits and this coloring matter,
WHISKIES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 1 ( .)
may enter into any mixture intended for home consumption. It is
very different, however, when the goods are to l>e sent to other coun-
tries. Section 337 makes legal in the warehouse any admixture
whatever that the merchant, mixer, or compounder may see fit to use
in preparing spirits for foreign markets. Thi> .-ection is so impor-
tant that it is quoted in full:
337. British spirits for exportation or ships' stores may have any Bweetenlng
or coloring matter or any other ingredient added to them in warehouse l.y ;i
distiller or rectifier. The spirits must, except as provided for in paragraph
:;:;<;. I.e removed into a separate room or compartment having no cunnmmica-
lion with the other part of the warehouse except by a door under Crown lock.
An important item in the regulation is that this mixing must l>o
done in a separate compartment of the warehouse, locked off from
the part where goods for home consumption are mixt.
The kinds of spirits which may be used in fortifying wine in ware-
houses are as follows: Foreign spirits unsweetened; British plain
spirits; spirits of wine. (Paragraph 358.) Foreign spirits may
have any origin whatever that is, they may be made from grain,
beet roots or molasses, potatoes, etc.
" British plain spirit " is the common name given to all spirits dis-
tilled in Great Britain or Ireland. These spirits are chiefly ma!e
from malt, as Scotch whisky; from a mixture of malt and other grain,
as Irish whisky, or from Indian corn, as grain spirit or silent spirit.
Spirit of wine is commercially pure, rectified alcohol.
The British regulations, as will be seen from the above abstracts,
conserve carefully certain rights of the British consumer, but legal-
ize any kind of manipulation whatever when the goods are to be sent
on board ships or to foreign countries.
BOTTLING IN WAREHOUSES.
Any kind of mixt or compounded spirits may be bottled in bond
for ships' stores or for exportation, and any spirits which are not in-
admissible may be bottled for home consumption. (Paragraph 378.)
Spirits intended to be bottled must be removed in the piv>en< < of
an officer from the warehouse into a bottling warehouse, where they
may be blended and the strength reduced with water to any degree
that may be required. (Paragraph 379.) For home consumption
the bottles must be imperial or reputed quarts or pints. For expor-
tation bottles of any size or quality may be used. (Paragraphs 382,
383.) In case of home consumption the officer is to see that each
package is marked on the outside " Spirits," " Whisky," or " Com-
pound spirits," as the case may be (paragraph 388), but this is not
required in case of exportation.
In regard to labels on bottles the British regulations give the mer-
chant a free hand. He may use any form of label or statement he
20 FOREIGN PRACTISES IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
likes, except that he must not ascribe any responsibility to the inland
revenue. Paragraph 389 reads :
Officers are not to interfere with labels used on bottles or cases filled or made
up in bond beyond seeing that no label or inscription contains such expressions
as " Bottled in bond," " Bottled in customs (or excise) warehouse," or any
other indication implying official countenance or guaranty of the correctness
of the statements made.
OFFICIAL DEFINITIONS.
In order that the terms used in this resume may be properly under-
stood the following official definitions are given (paragraphs 18-25,
27-32,42) :
Spirits. All spirits whether British or foreign.
Foreign spirits. Spirits liable to a duty of customs.
Itritixh */)/Y/te. Spirits liable to a duty of excise.
Plain spirits. Such as are in their original state, having had no artificial
flavor communicated to them.
s>/Y//.v of irinc. Spirits of 43 per cent over proof and upward rectified from
duty-paid spirits by a licensed rectifier.
Co}ti]x>int<!('<l spirits. Spirits prepared by a rectifier or compounder by re-
distilling duty-paid spirits with flavoring ingredients or adding to them any
flavoring materials.
Liqueur* and tinctures, etc. Compounded spirits the ingredients of which in-
terfere with the correct action of the hydrometer. British liqueurs may be
deemed to include all sweetened or otherwise obscured British compounds, in-
chid ing essences and perfumed spirits, of which the true strength can not be
ascertained without distillation.
Sweetened spirits. The term as applied to spirits imported in bottles means
a spirit to which any matter has been added after distillation which imparts
to it the quality of sweetness and procures obscuration to the amount of over
0.6 per cent.
Obscuration. The difference, caused by matters in solution, between the true
strength of spirits and that indicated by the hydrometer.
Vattinff. Putting together wines or spirits into a vat or large vessel to ob-
tain uniformity.
Blending. Putting together wines or spirits of similar sorts.
Mi.riiif/. Putting together wines or spirits of different sorts.
/'illiiifi. The making good of natural waste in casks of wines or spirits by
the addition of liquor of the same or similar kind.
In the light of the above definitions it does not appear that the
mixing of malt whisky, such as that described at first, with grain
>l>irit <-an lie justly called "blending." The two spirits are entirely
of a different class,, and therefore tin- word u blend " does not cor-
rectly di'sigiuitc tin- resulting product. The word "valting" might
be used in harmony with the definitions given, but that word would
not convey any definite meaning further than tho, idea of mixing
ditl'erent liquors in a vat. The word "compounding" perhaps
would, on the whole, be the best designation of the process and "com-
pound " of the product.
WHISKIES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 21
The large bottling and vatting warehouses in Edinburgh, Glasgow,
nnd London were visited ;md every opportunity to study the proc-
esses employed was n Horded by the officials in charge. The mi.vng
of the Scotch whisky with grain spirit is quite a general pranUr both
for home consumption and for export. It could not be certain! \
cerlained tliat any genuine malt whisky, without admixture of ui-ain
spirit, was bottled for the United States, nor was admission gained
to any bottling warehouse set aside in harmony with the regulations
already given for the preparation of products solely for export. It
is certain there are many such localities, but all inquiries re>peeting
them elicited only negative answers. It is certain, however, that
large quantities of bottled goods are prepared for export to the
United States in the ordinary warehouses where goods are bottled for
home consumption. Many packages in such warehouses add rest to
dealers in this country were seen. Such goods are evidently bottled
in such a way and contain such products as would permit them to
be sold for British consumption. It is evident that under our law
goods bottled in the special warehouses for export should be excluded
from our ports. The law is explicit in prescribing that nothing shall
be imported which is forbidden sale or restricted in sale in the coun-
try from whicli it comes. This difficulty, therefore, can be met by
requiring a certificate before United States consuls to the effect that
the goods covered by the invoice are bottled in warehouses where
goods are prepared for British consumption. Any goods bottled in
the special warehouses where export articles are prepared would bear
prima facie evidence of unfitness for entry, since the only possible
reason for such preparation would be that materials had been u-ed
and processes followed which rendered the article inadmissible for
home consumption. It seems only fair, therefore, to require, when the
inspection of British spirits is begun, that such a certificate be pro-
duced. It is doubtful if it could be obtained from the excise officers,
but it certainly might be had from the compounder or merchant who
conducts the preparation of the articles for export.
SUMMARY OF TRADE PRACTISES.
Briefly summarized, the present condition of the trade seems to be
as follows:
(1) Practically all the pure malt whisky made in Scotland, except
that for local consumption, is sold to the so-called blenders. It b
mixt with varying proportions of silent spirit, colored if desired.
and reduced by water to an alcoholic strength of about 4:> per cent
by volume. It is generally labeled as if it were unmixt malt or
Scotch whisky. The average age of the malt whisky when blended
appears to be about 5 years, altho there is no prohibition of the
22 FOREIGN PRACTISES IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
blending of young spirits. After blending, it is stored for some
time, usually a year, in order for the marriage to be complete.
(2) These whiskies are bottled in a blending or bottling ware-
house in harmony with the regulations governing domestic consump-
tion. Only such goods are really admissible in our ports.
(3) The mixing and compounding may also take place in ware-
houses specially provided for export work. Such goods under our
law are inadmissible to the United States, because forbidden for
British consumption.
(4) Irish w y hiskies are often prepared for export without any
manipulation except coloring and reducing with water to about 45
per cent by volume. There are, however, bottling warehouses where
Irish whisky is compounded in the same way as the Scotch.
(5) In the present state of the regulations it is not possible to get
a certificate from the excise officials of the character of the manipula-
tion to which the spirits have been subjected.
Officials of the boards of customs and inland revenue at London
when asked whether they would furnish for each invoice of spirits
and wines coming from Great Britain a certificate of origin, or, in
other words, a duplicate of the papers on file showing when the
spirits were distilled and to what manipulations they had since been
subjected, invariably replied that under the present regulations it
would be impracticable to supply the information desired.
In view of the results of this investigation, it does not seem un-
reasonable to expect that some change shall be made in the regu-
lations whereby such information can be furnished. This expor-
tation is the more reasonable, as such steps have already been taken
by other nations. France is now prepared to furnish a certificate of
origin for all brandies distilled in that country subsequent to 1902,
and the United States, thru the Department of Agriculture, furnishes
to all exporters making application therefor certificates of the char-
acter of the food products which they propose to send to foreign
countries. Furthermore, spirits can be exported from the United
States with a certificate showing their character, where made, when
distilled, etc. Such governmental certification is as much to the in-
terest of the reputable exporter as to the importer and consumer.
xinrr it protects the reputation and sales of high-class, established
products from injury inflicted by competition with inferior,
goods competing with them under the same designations.
THE ENGLISH TEST CASE RELATIVE TO SCOTCH AND IRISH
WHISKIES.
Many of the conclusions stated in the preceding pages have been
confirmed in the results of a trial in the North London police court
begun on November 0, 1905, before Mr. E. Snow Fordliam, inagis-
WHISKIES OF GREAT BRH'AIN AND IRELAND. 2&
trate, in which Mr. Thomas Samuel Wells and Mr. James Davidge,
publicans, were charged with selling as Scotch and Irish whisky,
respectively, mixtures of such whiskies with the "silent" or grain
spirits which have been previously described. The testimony which
was offered in this case was of the most interesting character, given
as it was by exporters, distillers, business men, chemists, and consum-
ers. There were naturally wide differences of opinion in respect of
the various points raised by the issue, and these diil'erences were
clearly brought out in the course of the trial. The magistrate who
rendered the decision in the case has summarized the more important
i joints made in the testimony as the basis for his judgment. It is
therefore not necessary to go further into the details of the testimony,
but only to give the opinion of the court, which follows :
These are two summonses for contravention of section of the sale of food
and drugs act, 1875, selected from a number of such summonses by arrange-
ment between the parties. It was agreed that they should be heard together.
The complaint against the defendant, Thomas Samuel Wells, is that he sold.
to the prejudice of the purchaser who demanded Irish whiskey, something which
was not of the nature, substance, and quality of Irish whiskey, and against the
defendant, James Davidge, that he sold, to the prejudice of the purchaser \\ !m
demanded Scotch whiskey, something which was not of the nature, substance,
and quality of Scotch whiskey.
It was proved that on the 12th September, 1905, an agent of the inspector
of nuisances of the Islington borough council asked at the public house kept
by the defendant Wells, at 66 Hazelville road, Islington, for a pint of Irish
whiskey. A plain bottle containing a pint of fluid was handed to the agent,
who paid 2s. 4d. for it.
It was proved that on the 21st June, 1905, the same agent asked at the v, ine
and spirit merchant's shop kept by the defendant Davidge. at 327 Ilornsey
road, Islington, for a bottle of Scotch whiskey. A bottle filled with fluid and
bearing the label " Fine Old Scotch Whiskey " was handed to the agent, and for
this he paid 2s. 6d.
Each bottle was at once handed by the agent to the inspector of nuisances,
who did what is required oil the purchase of a sample for analysis and sub-
sequently a third part of each purchase was handed to Dr. Frank Litherland
Teed, the analyst for the borough of Islington.
Dr. Teed analysed the samples, and after setting out the result of his analysis
certified as to each sample that it " consists entirely of patent still, silent, or
neutral spirit. Whiskey should contain a spirit distilled in a pot still derived
from malted barley, mixed or not with unmalted barley and wheat or either of
them. Such whiskey contains at least a coefficient or total of the above-men-
tioned impurities of 380 parts per 100,000 fluid parts of absolute alcohol. Patent
still spirit contains from 89 to 204 parts of total impurities with an average of
140 parts per 100,000 fluid parts of absolute alcohol."
To be clear I will remark that the " impurities " here referred to are im-
purities chemically only, such as acidity, aldehydes, furfural, ethers, and higher
alcohols.
The contention of the prosecution is that Irish and Scotch whiskey are differ-
ent kinds of potable spirits, each made by a definite method, from definite
materials, and both containing definite chemical proj)erties. That both Irish
and Scotch whiskey must be the result of distillation in Ireland or Scotland,
24 FOREIGN PRACTISES IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
respectively, by the pot still derived from cereal grain indigenous to Ireland and
Scotland. This cereal grain, the prosecution contends, in the case of Irish
whiskey, must be chiefly malted barley to which has been added smaller quan-
tities of barley, wheat, oats, and rye or any of them, and in the case of Scotch
whiskey malted barley alone. The defendants, on the other hand, say through
counsel that Irish whiskey is a spirit distilled in Ireland from grain and Scotch
whiskey a spirit distilled in Scotland from grain.
Every assistance has been given to me by the advocates on both sides, who
have conducted their cases admirably, a great deal of time has been given to
the examination of a large number of witnesses, many of whom were men of
the highest position in the science of chemistry, important members of the dis-
tilling trade, blenders of whiskey, merchants, medical men, and representatives
of the public; in fact the question of the manufacture and consumption of
whiskey has been thoroughly dealt with before me in the course of these cases,
though I must say that I regret that Dr. Schidrowitz, who, I have reason to
believe, is considered to be a very great authority on the chemistry and analysis
of whiskey, and who was so frequently referred to, was not examined, though
he was generally in court with the representatives of the defendants during the
hearing of the cases. I must draw my own conclusions why Dr. Schidrowitz
did not give evidence.
The questions I have now to decide are difficult. They are, Whether the fluid
sold by the defendants, Wells and Davidge, or their servants to the agent of
the inspector of nuisances of the borough of Islington were respectively Irish
and Scotch whiskey.
Before I can decide this I must find what is understood in this country by
the word " whiskey." Few people comparatively have, of course, ever really
thought of what they mean or understand by the word, but I have tried to dis-
cover from the evidence here what people who ask for " whiskey " expect to- get.
The dictionary definitions have not been seriously called in aid by either side
in these cases, and at this I am not greatly surprised. After searching the
dictionaries and books of reference myself all I can adopt from such authorities
is that " whiskey " is " a spirit distilled from grain." As for particulars of the
method of manufacture or the kind of grain it is manufactured from, where such
particulars are given each book differs more or less from the others ; so I really
get almost no help from the books and only find a description or definition of
" whiskey," that I can adopt, which is accepted by both parties to these prose-
cut ions.
Of the many witnesses called before me, some say whiskey is the produce of
the pot still only, none say it is the .produce of the patent still only ; some say it
may in- made either l>y the pot or by the patent still. All say it can only be
made from grain, but they do not all agree as to the kind of grain.
" Whiskey," I have no doubt, is a word derived a century or so ago from the
word " Usquebaugh," which signifies a spirit distilled in a form of pot still in
Ireland or Scotland from grain grown, and generally malted, in Ireland or
Scotland. Until some 45 years ago all that which was drunk as " whiskey "
was so made. Then the patent still came into use, and it was soon found that
spirit distilled in that form <>!' still from grain grown in the country in which the
still was. or abroad, might bo mixed with whiskey, which cost more to produce, to
the benefit of the seller of whiskey, and by degrees the proportion of patent-
still spirit mixed with pot-still spirit, or whiskey, became larger and larger,
until to-day there is an immense output of patent-still spirit made, with very few
exceptions, from a mash composed very largely of maize; 75 per cent of maize
is, I believe, not uncommon when maize is cheaper than other grain, though a
great deal of foreign barley is used in the patent stills. That part of the output
WHISKIES OF GREAT BRITAIN AflD IRELAND.
25
of the patent still which is consumed in this country by the public is not gen-
erally sold to them nlone, but mixed with more or less of iot-still spirit, and
then it is sold as " whiskey."
The evidence given before me does not satisfy me that the public generally
does now. or ever has, accepted the product of the patent still alone as
"whiskey:" certainly not when niai/c is used. The evidence as to the con-
sumption of this spirit as " whiskey " is that of Mr. McNab, who stated thai tbo
spirit made at the Gleu Mavis Distillery, Bathgate, was made from all malt by
the patent still. This, he said, was sold, retail, as "whiskey" In the neighbour-
hood of the distillery, though most of it went for mixing with the pot-still
product cither in Scotland or the colonies. Mr. McNab asserted that the drink
ers of Glen Mavis spirit in the neighbourhood of the distillery preferred it
quite new, fresh from the still ; yet his firm, the owners of Glen Mavis I Mstillery,
kept their spirit five years before it went out to the public. The reason for this
apparent lockup of capital against the taste of consumers was not explained
by Mr. McNab. Then, Prof. James Dewar and Dr. Tatlock have been for years
drinking Cambus, a spirit made by the patent still and largely from mai/e.
This they drank as " Scotch whiskey," but their having done so goes no way
towards proving that the public have done, so, because both these witnesses
obtained the spirit direct from the distillery as a matter of indulgence by the
maker. It was said that the Cambus spirit was sold as whiskey in one public
house in Glasgow and that this fact would be proved, but no one was called to
prove it. No evidence was given on which I could find that pure patent still
spirit, whether made from maize or malt, has been known among the public as
" whiskey," though in the trade such spirit has been variously known as " grain."
"grain-spirit whiskey," and "grains." Of Wells' sample 90 per cent was in-
voiced as " Patent-still spirit " by the makers to the blenders, who sold it to
Wells as " Scotch whiskey," after mixing it with a very little pot-still spirit.
Though I find that- the patent-still spirit alone is not "whiskey," there is evi-
dence before me that when mixed with a considerable proportion of pot-still
spirit or whiskey derived from malted barley such mixture has long been sold
to and accepted by the public in immense and increasing quantities as
" whiskey." Indeed many of the most largely advertised and popular makes of
potable spirits are of this character, and contain, I have reason to believe, a
very considerable proportion of pot-still whiskey. Whether I should hold such
mixture to be " whiskey " or not I am not called upon to say and I express no
opinion as to that
The descriptions " Irish " and " Scotch " as applied to whiskey are commonly
understood, I think, to indicate something more than the place of origin of
the whiskey. The words "Irish" and " Scotch" are used to mean a particular
kind of whiskey, made in a particular way from particular material in a par-
ticular place. The term "Irish whiskey" is used to denote whiskey made by
Irish methods from materials used in such methods in Ireland, and the term
" Scoich whiskey," to denote whiskey made by Scotch methods from materials
used in such methods in Scotland. Irish whiskey and Scotch whiskey are just
as much definite articles as are Bourbon whiskey or Canadian whiskey.
In both Ireland and Scotland from earliest times the national alcoholic
beverage, "Usquebaugh," now whiskey, has been distilled by pot stills. It
certainly was so made when it was first known as " Irish whiskey " and
" Scotch whiskey," and I must hold that to be " Irish " and " Scotch whiskey "
now the spirit must be obtained in the same methods by the aid of the form
of still known as the pot still. The produce of the patent still, unmixed with
pot-st411 whiskey, can not be Irish or Scotch whiskey, although made in Ireland
or Scotland ; the patent still is not used to obtain spirit by the method known as
26 FOREIGN PRACTISES IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
Irish and Scotch. As to the material to be used to produce Irish or Scotch
whiskey, it must be such as has been always used in the Irish and Scotch
form of still commonly. This, I find from the evidence I have heard is. in
Irish whiskey, barley malt, as to about 75 per cent and, as to the rest of the
inash, barley, wheat, oats, and rye, or any of them ; and in Scotch whiskey it
is wholly barley malt. There is a distinct difference in the material used to
produce Irish and Scotch whiskey in the pot still, but the material used to pro-
duce spirit in the patent still is the same whether it be produced in Ireland or
in Scotland. Maize has never been commonly used in pot-still distillation ; *
indeed it was sworn to in the course of the hearing of these cases that maize
is used in. the pot still in only three distilleries at all, two of which certainly
are owned by owners of patent stills, and I do not find that the spirit distilled
from maize in these three pot stills is taken alone by the public as Irish or
Scotch whiskey. I find that maize, not having been commonly used in the pot
still, or Irish or Scotch method of making whiskey, can not be material from
which Irish or Scotch whiskey is derived.
Between the flavour and smell of Irish whiskey and Scotch whiskey there
is a distinct difference. The flavour and smell of Irish whiskey is generally
attributed to the rye used in its manufacture, and the flavour of Scotch
whiskey of old-fashioned character called its " reek " is generally thought
to be traceable to the system of malting over a peat fire, and where Scotch
whiskey " reeks " of the peat it is said to " have a peat reek ;" but in no
instance, whether it has a peat reek or not, does Scotch whiskey give the same
flavour as Irish whiskey, the two kinds are easily distinguishable. Again pot-
still whiskey made of the material used in Ireland or in Scotland, it is agreed
to by all parties, is a distinct and different article from the patent still prod-
uct wherever that may be made, distinct and different in its flavour and smell.
This difference, I believe, arises mainly from the difference in the method of
distillation, from the difference in the working of the machine, and the still
used. However that may be, while Irish and Scotch whiskey are clearly dis-
tinguishable from one another, the product of the patent still made in Ireland
is not to be distinguished from that made in Scotland or even in London ;
therefore if the spirit produced by the patent still is to be recognized as Irish
or Scotch whiskey according to the place where it is made, the terms Irish and
Scotch as applied to whiskey cease to have any meaning.
Now as to what the fluids sold as Irish and Scotch whiskey by the defendants j
Wells and Davidge, respectively, were, I had the evidence of Dr. Teed, an
analyst of great experience, and of (he accuracy of whose analysis Prof. James !
Dewar. a most eminent chemist, had no doubt whatever. Dr. Teed, drawing .
bis conclusions from tiie result of his analysis of the samples, is of opinion
tbat Ilie spirit is tbe product of the distillation of some grain, lie can not say ,
of what kind, in the patent still. lie arrived at his opinion because after ana-
lysing many pot-still whiskies from different distilleries and of various ages.
Dr. Teed was satisfied that it was reasonable to conclude tbat pot-still whiske:
contains at least .">so parts in KM),(K)() fluid parts of absolute alcohol, of "impuri-
ties" ( scientifically so called); while patent still spirit, he found, did not
contain anything like so large a proportion of such "impurities." Dr. Teed I
was vehemently attacked and ridiculed by the leading counsel for the defence-
Mr. Fletcher Moulton (now Lord Justice Moulton) for taking such a basis on
which to found his opinion, and I am surprised, now that I have heard the chem-
ists called by the defence, that such an attack should have been made on Dr.
Teed, for Prof. James Dewar could not contradict Dr. Teed, though he \\a*
unable to corroborate him in his opinion that the figures obtained by Dn Teed
in his analysis of the samples warranted Dr. Teed's conclusions from them
WHISKIES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 27
thai the samples were of patent still produce entirely; bin l'n>r. .James I >ewar's
evidence, taken :is a whole, amounted to the admission (li;il lie understood from
Dr. Teed's figures, which Prof. James Dewar accepted as accurate. that the
samples giving those figures were from the patent still as to SO or !M) per cent.
Dr. Tnmiicliffe, too, gave evidence and produced figures and analyses confirming
to a considerable extent Dr. Teed's opinions and conclusions from his analyses.
I intentionally make no reference to Hie evidence given by Dr. Tatlock as an
expert witness. Now Prof. .lames Dewar and Dr. TnnnicliH'e did not contradict
Dr. Teed, and if Dr. Schidrowitz could have done so I have no doubt he would
have been put into the witness box, as he was in court, but he was not called
In addition to what I may call the professional evidence of Prof. James Dewar
and of Dr. Tunnicliffe the defence called the blenders of the spirit sold by the
defendants, and the makers of 90 per cent of it; and their evidence, if I
accepted it without reservation, and I do not so accept it, proves that Dr. Teed
was not far wrong in his conclusions as to the origin and manufacture of the
articles as to which he certified. I am not satified that Dr. Teed was at all
wrong. The men who actually handled the spirit sold by the defendants
before it was sold to them say that Wells's sample and Davidge's were largely
90 per cent of patent-still spirit. In each case the spirit was derived largely
from maize. The rest of the spirit sold to and by Wells and Davidge besides
the 90 per cent was said to be pot-still whiskey and made from barley malt.
on the evidence I heard I find that what Wells and Davidge sold as Irish and
Scotch whiskey, respectively, was patent still spirit made largely from maize,
to which had been added a dash, not 10 per cent, of Irish or Scotch whiskey.
The quantity of whiskey added to the patent still spirit was so small that I
can not understand why it was added, unless it was to " save the face " of those
who described it as whiskey.
It was admitted by the defence that both the Wells and the Davidge article
was a very cheap, poor " whiskey," as it was called by the defence ; and it is
interesting to observe by the light of the evidence that both pot still and patent
still spirit greatly improves with age, that at least 90 per cent of Wells' spirit
was only one month old when put into Wells' cellar in May, and so less than
six months old when sold by him in September, while what Davidge sold in
June, 1905, as " fine old Scotch whiskey " was, as to about 90 per cent of it,
made in June, 1904, just one year before.
Now. having found that the fluids sold by the defendants are spirit produced
by the patent still from a mash consisting to a large extent of maize, to which
a dash of whiskey made from barley malt in a pot still had been added, I find
in my judgment that Wells' sample is not Irish whiskey and Davidge's sample
is not Scotch whiskey, and Irish whiskey and Scotch whiskey having been
demanded by the purchaser from Wells and Davidge, respectively, I find that
each of the defendants did sell an article of food which was not of the nature,
substance, and quality demanded.
Let me now consider whether what the defendants did was to the prejudice
of the purchaser. The purchaser asked for and paid for Irish whiskey and
Scotch whiskey, either of which costs more to make and as an article of com-
merce is of far greater value than the patent still spirit with a dash of whiskey
in it which was delivered to him. He asked and paid for an article worth
twice as much as the article he got. I have no doubt that the medicinal value
of Irish or Scotch whiskey, with their larger proportion of so-called " impuri-
ties." is greater than that of spirit from the patent still which does not contain
" impurities " in nearly so large a proportion. Irish and Scotch whiskey, on the
one hand, and patent still spirit with a little whiskey added, on the other hand.
are two very different articles. They differ in their contents, iu their flavours,
28 FOREIGN PRACTISES IK EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
and in their scents. No average man could by taste or smell mistake one for the
other ; and after drinking both Irish and Scotch whiskey and pure patent still
spirit, as represented by " ('ambus." neat as well ns diluted, I am strongly
inclined to agree with the witnesses who said that the effect of the pure patent
still spirit on the person taking it was different from the effect of Irish or Scotch
whiskey when drunk by him, and this to the disadvantage of the pure patent
still spirit
I am not prepared to say that patent still spirit alone or mixed with whiskey
is injurious to the drinkers. There is no accounting for tastes and the prefer-*
ence of one man should not dictate the choice of another ; but whatever a pur-
chaser asks for and pays for should be given to him by the seller, or at any rate
the seller should afford the purchaser the means of knowing what it is he is
getting for his money certainly if he is not getting that for which he has asked
and has paid.
It is not unlawful to sell patent still spirit or patent still spirit mixed with
whiskey ; but notice should be given to the purchaser of what it is when such
spirit is sold to him, and on being served with it he should not be allowed, in his
ignorance, to believe that what he has is Irish or Scotch whiskey.
I find the sales in these cases by the defendants were both to the prejudice
of the purchaser.
Haying come to these conclusions, I find that both Wells and Davidge have
infringed the law, and I must fix and order penalties on each of these two sum-
monses.
The offence committed by both defendants is the same, and the same prac-
tically in degree. Therefore I think the penalty in each case must be the same.
The misrepresentation with regard to Irish and Scotch whiskey has become
very usual, and its adulteration by the addition to it of patent still spirit, made
largely from maize, has been gradually increasing for years, and the result IIMS
been taken by the unsuspecting public to the benefit of the distillers, dealers.
and retailers until the so-called "blenders" have dared to concoct and place
upon the market and sell to the retailers raw new patent still spirit with a
mere dash of Irish or Scotch whiskey in it as " Irish whiskey " and " Scotch
whiskey." The retailer has, in fact, sold this effort of adulteration to the pub-
lic under the description by which it was sold to him.
It is time the fraud upon the public in the matter of the sale of whiskey was
stopped, and, though doubtless these prosecutions are very costly to those who j
engage in them, the information obtained and published in the course of the
hearing of these two summonses is most valuable, and the result of this trial
seems to me to afford ample justification for the prosecutions.
Great blame attaches, in my opinion, to the " blenders " who supplied Wells
and Davidge with the articles they sold. I do not think much moral blame
attaches to the defendants themselves, as I believe they trusted to those who
sold the articles to them to supply them with that which they might fairly and
honestly retail to the public as Irish and as Scotch whiskey, respectively ;. but
at the same time, in my judgment, it was careless of the defendants to sell
what they did as they did, and since they only are before me they must pay the
penalty for their infringement of the law.
The costs incurred by the prosecution in putting these cases before the
court are of course, very heavy, and, considering the position of the defendants,
1 can not order them to pay more than what must be a small part of the actual
costs incurred. While I regret that the prosecutors should b anythin- out of
pocket in bringing the matter before the court and so to public notice, as the
GERMAN WINES.
29
j costs to be paid by the defendants must be heavy as oosts upon them, I shall
Impose but small nominal fines. The defendants, Thomas Samuel Wells and
James David.^e. will each pay a fine of 2()s. and KM) pounds costs or he ini
prisoned in default of distress for two mouths in the second division.
An appeal was taken from this decision to the upper court, and
the lower court was sustained by a tie vote. A further appeal has
been made, and is now pending, in order to obtain a decisive opinion
of a higher court.
GERMAN WINES.
METHOD OF MANUFACTURE.
The investigation of German wines, methods of manufacture,
[warehousing, fining, and bottling embraced the four principal wine-
i producing regions of the Empire, viz, the Rhine, the Moselle, the
IM'al/. and the Nahe.
The German vineyards, owing to climatic conditions and their far
[northern position, do not produce a grape very rich in sugar. Many
I of the natural small wines, especially on the lower Rhine and the
[oselle, do not contain much in excess of 6 or 7 per cent of alcohol.
I In all these regions the Riesling is the principal variety of vine cul-
|tivated, and nearly the whole product is white wine. The method
)f manufacture is simple, and the wine is made very largely even yet
the small growers producing only a few hogsheads. There are
jmany large wine houses, how r ever, for the larger vineyards, which
)ften utilize also the grapes from near-by smaller vineyards. The
ipes for making w r hite wines are uniformly prest and the exprest
| juice subjected to fermentation, while in the manufacture of red
dnes the crusht grapes are subjected to fermentation and the w T ine
ifterwards exprest. In this way the alcohol produced denotes the
coloring matter of the red grapes from which this variety of
dne is made. This coloring matter is not soluble in the unfermented
juice of the grape. After the first fermentation is over the wine is
>ut into casks. Each cask on the Rhine holds about 1,200 liters
id is called a stuck, while on the Moselle it holds 1,000 liters and is
led a fuder. Before filling, a piece of sulfur match is burned in
cask for the double purpose of sterilization and of keeping the
r ine properly bleached. During the first year the casks are racked
or four times to separate the wine from the sediment (lees),
id at each racking sulfur is burned as at first. After the first year
le rackings are less numerous. Finally, before bottling, fining ma-
ial. usually gelatin or white of egg, is added, and when this has
itirely subsided the wine is clear and bright and ready for bot-
30 FOREIGN PRACTISES IN . EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
CLASSIFICATION.
Much confusion exists in Germany in regard to the classification of
wines. In England practically all the Rhine wines are known as
hock, and the rest of them as Moselle. The wines of the Pfalz, the
Nahe, and other regions are almost unknown in the United States
under these designations. It is quite a common practise also to give
the name of the most famous locality to the wines of that neighbor-
hood, as, for instance, Johannisberg, Riidesheim, etc., to the wines
not only of those particular vineyards, but also to the wines of the
neighborhood. The broad claim has been made that wines of a cer-
tain type, no matter how far the vineyards may be removed, may
bear the name of a distant locality. This practise, however, has been
declared by the German higher court to be inadmissible. According
to that decision only names of wines which no longer indicate a
locality, but rather a regional quality, can be used in this general
sense. The vineyard areas in Germany have not been mapped, nor
have the wines been classified, as in France. The attention of the
growers and merchants was called to the great importance of agree-
ing among themselves both as to the limits of certain definite areas
and the names which classed wines should bear. It is evidently
unfair to the consumer, as well as to the owner of a high-class vine-
yard, that other wines, even tho excellent, should bear the name of
the locality famous for its wines. It is, however, hardly possible that
each small town or vineyard should furnish a separate name to each
wine produced therein. The desirable thing is to protect the name
of the well-known vineyard and see to it that no wine not produced
therein should bear its name. The other wines might either be
designated by the locality or town where made, or, better, by the
regional name alone, as Rhine wine, Moselle wine, Pfalzer wine, etc.
It is well known that these names are used, unfortunately, with-
out much discrimination, and the great bulk of the German wines
entering the United States in bottles bear the names Rudesheimerj
Johannisberg, Liebfrauenmilch, Marcobrunner, Berncastler Doctor.
Zeltinger, Hochheimer, etc. It is high time this practise should
corrected, and no person or persons can do this so effectually as tin
German growers and merchants themselves. It is well known that
often small portions, only a few hundred square feet, of a former
vineyard may be owned by a merchant who thereupon may claim
that he has vineyards in such and such places, and sells wine made in
his own vineyards. So, indeed, he does, but only in infinitesimal
quantities. No wine ^1 ion Id be admitted into our ports which bears |
any name giving a false indication of origin, either as to country,
district, or particular locality. It would be perfectly within our
GERMAN WINES. 31
rights of inspection to require a certificate of origin where such wine>
an- used. There is very much to be desired in this direction. The
reform may be instigated by the requirements of our inspection, but
it must come from the growers and merchants themselves in order
to be effective.
SUGARED WINES.
The German law permits the addition of sugar to must before fer-
mentation under certain restrictions, namely, that the extracts or
solids in the wine be not reduced below a certain mean value. The
text of the law in this respect is as follows:
The addition of the following substances shall not be regarded us ;m adul-
teration or ^imitation of wine in the sense of the law relating to commerce in
t 1st nil's, namely: The addition of technically pure cane, beet, or invert
sugar, of technically pure starch sugar, in aqueous solution, in so far as such
nn addition is practised for the improvement of the wine, without notably in-
creasing its quantity. Moreover, the sugared wine in its properties and its
composition, and also in its content of extract and mineral components, shall
not be reduced below the mean composition of the unsugared wines of the neigh-
boring vineyards to the product of which the wine corresponds in its name.
The German law also permits the addition of alcohol for the pur-
))o-e of preserving the wine, provided the quantity of the added al-
cohol, except in such beverages as a dessert wine or a sweet wine of
foreign origin, shall not exceed more than 1 volume to 100 volumes
of the wine.
It is evident from the provisions of the law just quoted that the
Miiraring of wine is intended only to be practised in such cases as
require some artificial help for a poor, immature, or imperfect
irrape. Yet each wine maker is left to judge for himself as to the
necessity of using sugar, and the temptation to use it just in so far
:> it will prove profitable will lead to great abuses. No objec-
tion can be made to the use of sugar to secure a potable beverage
from a raw material which, without this aid, would yield only a sour,
acrid, and tmdrinkable article, but it does not seem just that such
an artificial product should have all the rights and privileges of a
genuine wine. The fault of the German law is not in authorizing the
use of sugar, but in securing a wrongful designation for the product.
If the sugared wine were required to bear some qualifying name to
distinguish it from the genuine wine, no reasonable objection could
be made to its manufacture; but emphatically such is not the case.
The wine made partly from sugar, perhaps in some cases furnishing
25 per cent or more of its alcoholic strength, is admitted to the same
standing in commerce and before the law as the wine made solely
from the juice of the grape. This is not fair to the consumer, nor is
it fair to the maker of the real wine. Yet when it was proposed to
32 FOREIGN PRACTISES IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
the German makers and merchants to designate such a wine, when
shipped to the United States, by a name in harmony with our stand-
ards for such a wine an emphatic protest was made. There was no
exception to this rule. This point was discust with everyone inter-
viewed, and all exhibited a most determined opposition to any appel-
lation which would disclose the true nature of the product. This
opposition was based on the assumption that a product thus properly
marked could not be sold in the United States. When asked if they
thought it was right to deceive the American customer the answer
was that it was in strict harmony with the German law, and if the
German consumer was satisfied the American ought to be. When
asked if the German consumer would buy the wine if he knew it were
made largely from a foreign body, the answer was "No," showing
that not only the American but also the German wine drinker is de-
ceived. The writer, however, does not believe that a correct marking
of the product would destroy its sale. It would only prevent this prod-
uct from an unfair competition w^ith the genuine article, but would
not prevent its sale at a reduced price.
Often the wine merchants themselves do not know just what wines
in their cellars have been made with the addition of sugar, but this
is not always the case. It would not be difficult, however, for the
merchants to find out at the time of purchase which wines had been
sugared. A simple marking of the casks and a little care in the
blending would enable them in all cases to declare whether the wines
of any invoice intended for export had been made partly from sugar.
This is one of the most important questions connected with the
future inspection of German wines. Under the provisions of the law
and of the standards established thereunder it seems imperative that
such wines should bear a distinguishing label. If this be required,
however, emphatic protests will be registered by all the .German
exporters. Many of them will be unable to trace the sugared wines
which have past thru their cellars, and a considerable restriction in
trade will ensue. This restriction, however, Avill in the end be pro-
ductive of good results for both the American consumer and the
German merchant. For just as soon as a people are certain that they
are getting genuine articles, trade in those articles increases. On
the contrary, trade in adulterated or debased articles always reacts
injuriously on the genuine product. The simplest solution of the
whole matin- i- found in the fact that it is a misdemeanor under the
German law to supply a sugared wine when a natural wine is de-
manded. Our importers, therefore, in giving their orders need only
to require that a natural wine be furnished. However, there could
be no possible objection to the importation and sale of a sugared
wine under a correct appellation.
FRENCH WINES AND BRANDIES. 33
CONCLUSIONS.
It appears that, aside from the use of sugar in the manufacture of
wine as above noted, there is little fear of sophistication in imported
German wines. It is true that many convictions have been secured
in Germany for adulterating wine in other ways, and there is no rea-
son to suppose that such adulterated wine may not find its way to
our ports. The necessity for a rigid inspection is therefore urgent,
hi it this inspection would naturally be directed to invoices from
linns whose standing in the commercial world is unknown or not
well established. Fortunately the Germans are quite sparing in the
use of sulfur in racking their wines, and it is rarely the case that a
quantity in excess of that allowed by our provisional standards is
found.
To summarize briefly: Two important points are to be considered
in connection with imported German wines
(a) Correctness of name.
(I) Purity of product; that is, whether it be the pure juice of the
grape properly fermented.
To require that imported wines conform to reasonable standards in
these particulars will result in securing the pure and properly named
product and thus tend to increase the consumption of these justly
celebrated products of German vineyards.
FRENCH WINES AND BRANDIES.
BORDEAUX WINES.
GENERAL DISCUSSION.
Bordeaux may justly be considered the wine center of France,
alt ho there are many other large areas of the country where great
quantities of wine are produced. The wines of the Gironde are of
many qualities, but are broadly divided into two great classes the
white and the red wines. Each of these divisions may include what
are known as classed wines (that is, wines recognized by usage and
by law as possessing distinct qualities) or common wines (to which
no distinct quality or value is assigned by law or custom). The
classed wines are divided into a number of classes, as first, second,
third, fourth, fifth, and sixth growths, etc.
The great wdne merchants of Bordeaux either have vineyards of
their own or purchase the wines directly from the vineyards at
auction or in private sale, usually transacting their business thru
brokers who are experts in judging the quality of wines. Often the
classed wines, or chateau wines, after purchase are left in the chateau
34
FOREIGN PRACTISES IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
cellars until they are ready for bottling or sale. At other times
these classed or chateau wines are brought at once to the cellars in
Bordeaux, where they are ripened and prepared for bottling and sale.
The wine usually comes in barriques holding about 225 liters. New
and light wines intended for rapid development and for sale at a
low price are often kept in rooms above ground or in cellars only
slightly deprest, where the greater heat of summer accelerates the
ripening. The better and more costly wines are stored in subcellars.
where it is cooler and more even and where there is little change in
the temperature between summer and winter, and where, as a rule, the
air is very moist.
Wines are purchased mostly in the spring following the vintage.
The maker of the wine conducts the first fermentation and gives the
new wine at least one racking before sale to the large merchants.
After the wines are received from the maker and stored in the cellars
they are racked from three to five times the first year. The racking
is accomplished by inserting a faucet -in the end of the barrique just
above the level of the deposit. The clear wine is drawn off thru this
faucet until all has run out that can be secured. The other end of
the cask is then raised and the wine allowed to flow slowly, while it
is closely watched until it shows turbidity. The lees from various
barriques are collected and allowed to settle, when more clear wine is
secured. The empty barriques are washt with cold water, a chain
usually being inserted to assist in the detaching of any solid matter
from the sides of the staves. After drawing off the wash water a
piece of sulfur candle, approximately 20 to 50 grams in weight, is
burned in the moist barrel, and after this is done the bung is in-
serted, the barrel being full of sulfur fumes. The cask is then set
aside until it is used again. If the cask be not used for a long time,
the washing and burning of the sulfur therein is repeated. This is
done usually about each week in order to keep the casks moist and
free from fermentation. In treating white wines about one-half
more sulfur is used than in the treatment of red wines. The fining of
the wines is done mostly with whites of eggs. The whites of from
five to ten eggs are used for each barrique.
Cheap, light wines are often bottled after being stored in the cellar
for a year, but the usual time is about eighteen months. A wine is
considered ripe for bottling when, after fining, it does not become
cloudy on standing. The finer and higher-priced wines are often kept
for three, four, or even five years in wood before bottling. For the
best wines the bottling is done from each barrique separately ; in the
case of cheap wines they are often poured into large vats and mixt
together before bottling in order to get a uniform quality.
FRENCH WINES AND BRAN1UES. 85
Tin' wines from- the same vineyards dillcr greatly in quality in dif-
ferent' year-. For instance, in the Bordeaux region (he wines <!' I'.HH)
were good, and also those of IDOL The wines for 11)01, llKhj. and lto:;
were poor wines, ('specially for IDO-J and 11M):>. Poor chateau \\ino,
sueh as those made in 1902 and 1903, are not sold under chateau
names, but rather under the name of the district or as a common
wine for instance, as Medoc, Santerne, or (i raves. It is possible,
also, that fine district wines that is, common wines may be sold
under the name of a chateau, and the character of the dealer must l>e
a guaranty in many cases that a fraud of this kind is not practised.
The methods of making wine in the Bordeaux district are still ex-
tremely primitive in most cases, altho some wineries have modern
improvements. Even the cooper shops are all carried on in the same
way by hand as they were one hundred years ago. The head of
one of the leading firms said in regard to the old-fashioned way in
which his coopers worked : " I might as well try to bring a king to
the throne of France as to get these workmen to adopt modern
methods."
Inch of the wine when it is properly refined is sold to other deal-
ers in the cask. A great deal of it is also bottled by the Bordeaux
bottlers. Wine generally improves after bottling, for a limited time.
By request of the merchants and others in Bordeaux a conference
with Professor Gayon, of the University of Bordeaux, and a member
of the national wine committee of France, was held, at which the
following propositions were discust :
(1) What amount of sulfurous acid should be permitted in the sul-
furing of wines?
Professor Gayon contended that the conclusions of the national
wine committee of France namely, a maximum limit of 400 mg per
liter, with a tolerance of 10 per cent should be conceded by the
authorities in the United States. To this proposition reply was made
that in the data which had been used by the national French commit-
tee as a basis for forming a conclusion only 3 samples out of the
xamined by that committee were found to contain sulfurous acid
in excess of 400 mg per liter. The standard fixt by the French com-
mittee was. therefore, not a logical one, since with the per cent of
tolerance provided it included every sample examined. It seems
fair to presume that if the committee had found samples containing
800 mg of sulfurous acid per liter it would have made that a stand-
ard instead of the 400 actually found. It w T as not reasonable, there-
fore, that the American authorities should be asked to adopt a stand-
ard evidently intended to cover even the maximum quantities of sul-
furous acid found in wines; evidently they should adopt one that
would exclude the excessive quantities of sulfurous acid in perhaps 10
or 15 per cent of the total number of samples examined. This would
36 FOREIGN PRACTISES IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
lead to a logical standard for a maximum of -sulfurous acid of not
over 350 mg per liter.
(2) Is a sliding standard for sugar in -the wine a desirable one
namely, say 200 mg per liter for dry wine, rising to 350 mg per liter
for sweet wines?
To this proposition Professor Gayon replied: "No; because suH
furous acid is added not merely to preserve the sugar, but also to
counteract the effect of the oxydases, which would tend, if not checked
in their activity, to cause the wine to become brown." He said fur-;
ther that under the influence of the ox}^dases (the botrytis) the sugar
in the must might reach as high as 60 per cent. To this statement it
was replied that such grapes should be classed with raisins rather
than with fresh grapes, and the use of raisins in wine making was
commonly prohibited in France.
After an extended discussion of this subject it was found that it
was not possible for Professor Gayon and the writer to reach any
common ground of agreement. The only concession that Professor]
Gayon would make on the part of his associates of the national com-]
mittee was that he would urge upon them the desirability of reducing
the standard to 350 mg of sulfurous acid per liter for all wines made
after such an agreement was reached, provided the United States 1
authorities would raise the limit to 400 mg of sulfurous acid per liter
for all wines already made, which proposition was taken under advise-]
ment. A prominent Bordeaux wine merchant, however, stated that
he would be glad if the use of sulfur could be in some way diminished
or even eliminated, a'nd that in his own establishment he intended to
limit its use to the smallest possible quantity.
It was often remarked during the conference that the standards
applied by the United States to foreign importations were not applied
to wines produced in California, nor to dried fruits as prepared in
the United States. In reply to this it could only be said that this
condition was due to the peculiarity of our institutions, which pro-^
hibits the enactment by Congress of any legislation which would
infringe on the police powers of the several States, and that the onlj
way, under existing laws, that the matter could be reached at all by
the Federal Government was by interstate-commerce regulations con-
cerning impure and adulterated foods.
In speaking to one of the merchants respecting a large number
cases of white wine which contained an excess of sulfur, and could n
therefore, be sent to the Tinted States, it was asked: "Why do y
not sell these wines, which you say are of very high quality, to th
home market ? " to which he replied : "As far as I am concerned th
a On June 30, 190G, subsequent to this interview, the national food and di
act became a law, thus eliminating this criticism.
FRENCH WINES AND BRANDIES. 37
I is no market in France for high-priced wines. My chief market is
Jthe United States."
At a large meeting of the merchants the writer endeavored to
pivs^ them with the fact that the sole object of the inspect ion was
to promote fair and honest commercial conditions, equally to the
inierc-t-; of consumer and producer, and that the purpose of studying
the wines of the Gironde their manufacture, handling, storing, and
.bottling was to reach such just conclusions concerning them as to
make their inspection at the ports of the United States thoroly just.
THE WHITE WINES OF GRAVES AND SAUTERNAI8.
A visit to the principal white-wine regions of the Graves and
jSauternais was one of great interest. The more important classed
vineyards were visited, such as Chateau Yquem and Chateau La
iTour-Blanche.
In the making of white wines three classes of product are produced
luring the vintage. At the first of the vintage the grapes are not
[fully matured, and the product is known as " la queue." During the
[middle part of the vintage the grapes are much better and the
>roduct is called " la centre." The end of the vintage finds the
[grapes in the best state for making the highest grade wines, owing to
|their ripeness, evaporation, and consequent increase in content of
i gar. This product is called " la tete." The three parts of the
[vintage are fermented in separate casks, and when the fermentation
is over an expert examines each cask separately. All the casks in
which the fermentation has gone wrong are eliminated for sale as
common wine. All the sound products of the three parts of the
vintage are then blended together to make one chateau wine.
The attention which is given to the grapevines at Chateau Yquem
|is worthy of mention. Each vine is cared for as carefully as the
lest horse or COW T would be. The vineyards are on the top of a
itle incline from the river, about 3 miles away. The soil is grav-
elly and level or gently rolling. All the work in the winery is done
hand. Even the wine presses are worked by hand power. The
ipes in this vineyard, under the combined influence of sunshine,
legree of ripeness, and botrytis, grow very rich in sugar, making a
wine which after fermentation contains sometimes as much as 8
jr cent of unfermented sugar. . Such a wine is more a liqueur than
wine and is highly prized as a great luxury and sold at great
>rices. The fermentation takes place in hogsheads and never in
large vats, as in the case of making red wine. All the wines are
ipened and bottled at the chateau, and no label is ever given out to
my bottler anyw r here. Any wine claiming to be a Chateau Yquem
which is not bottled at the chateau is fraudulent.
38 FOREIGN PRACTISES IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES,
The Chateau Yquem vineyard contains about 200 acres in vinesJ
The wines are generally sold soon after they are made, but left in the
cellars to ripen and bottle. The vintages differ greatly from year to
year at this chateau, both in quantity and quality. Some years the
wines are so poor that they are sold simply as Sauternes, without the
name of the chateau. This shows that the soil has very little to do
with the annual variations in the quality of the wine, for it remains a
constant factor. The dominating factors as producers of quality are
rainfall, sunshine, heat, and frost. The botrytis a sort of fungus
rot is much valued, since it increases the quantity of sugar in the
grapes by producing withering and evaporation. The Haut Sau-
ternes are all grown in a very limited district, which, by reason of its
peculiar elevation, exposure, and soil produces a character of grape
suitable for the making of a white wine in which much unfermeiitcd
sugar remains.
The Graves district lies between the Sauternais and Bordeaux, and
makes a white wine of a dry character and very highly prized.
THE RED WINLS OF THE MEDOC.
A trip thru the Medoc, or red-wine district, was of great in-
terest. Some of the most famous red- wine vinej^ards were visited,
such as Chateau Lafitte, Chateau La Tour, Chateau St. Estephe,
Chateau Leoville-Poyferre, Chateau La Rose, Chateau Marguux.and
others. The cellars in the red-wine district are perhaps the finest ii|
Europe. The vines in all the great vineyards are beautifully kept.
It is estimated that it costs about 750 francs to bring the fruitage
from an acre of a first-class vineyard to the wine press.
The red wines of the Medoc are all made in practically the same
manner. The grapes are rubbed thru a sieve or past thru a strip-
ping machine to free them from the greater part of the stems. In
this partly crusht state they go into the fermentation vats, being
tramped on by the bare feet of the workmen, to the sound of the
fiddle. As the juice ferments the skins and short stems, freed from
their juice by fermentation, rise to the surface. After the fermenta-
tion is practically complete the wine is drawn into casks, the pomace
prest, the first pressing added to the wine and the heavy after
liv<sing made into wine for use of the laborers
In the refining of red wine it is not racked as often as the white
wino is, nor is the quantity of sulfur used nearly so great. The vint-
age begins in the Medoc about the end of September. The wines
are divided into three parts, as in the case of the white wines, namely,
u la queue," "la centre," and "la tete," the sound wines of the three
portions being united to form the vintage wine.
FRENCH WINES AND. BRANDIES.
COGNAC BRANDIES.
Dr. George IT. Jackson, Tinted States consul at La Kochelle,
a i-ted in the inspection of the Cognac brandy regions. The greatest
courtesies were extended by the merchants and manufacturers in
Cognac, all of whom placed every facility possible at our disposal
for the investigation.
Only brandies made from the wines grown in the departments of
the Charente, of which region Cognac is the center, are allowed to
hear the name " Cognac." The wines are made almost entirely from
white grapes, which are not extremely rich in sugar. As soon as the
vintage is well over and the first fermentations of the wines un-
finished the distillation is begun. It is found that a much better
1 )randy is made by distilling the new wine and allowing the brandy
to mature several years in wood than by maturing the wine in wood
before distillation. All the stills used in the Cognac region are
[small, made of copper, and hold only from 15 to 25 hectoliters. Ex-
perience has shown that larger stills do not make a brandy of the
quality produced in the smaller stills, and also that the use of cham-
hered or patent stills produces a brandy of very inferior quality, if
it be entitled to the name of brandy at all. The stills are arranged
en hatterie, sometimes a dozen or more being placed in a single row.
The first distillation in a pot still produces low wines, approximately
of 30 strength. These low wines are subjected to a second distilla-
tion in a pot still, which brings the alcoholic content up to 60 per
cent or more. The brandy is generally placed in new casks made of
| oak wood and put into warehouses, where it is allowed to age. The
brandies do not begin to be good until they are about 4 years old,
ami improve up to 15 or 20 years. Under the new law the ware-
houses are under the control of the Government, which sees that the
products are properly distilled and stored and not tampered with
while in the warehouses. The Government thus is able to give a
certificate of origin for brandies which are exported. This law has
now been in force only two years, and hence the brandies with which
a certificate of origin can be had are all young brandies.
The center of the champagne region is at the village of Segonzac,
near Cognac, and this region produces the highest grade of brandy
made, known as "Grande fine champagne." The region bordering
on this and also definitely mapped by authority or common consent
produces an excellent brandy known as " Fine champagne." Next
to this is another region, definitely mapped out, producing a brandy
known as " Petite champagne." Next to this and extending entirely
around it is a region known as the Borderies, w r hich gives its name
a One hectoliter 2G.4 gallons.
40 FOREIGN PRACTISES -IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
to the next grade. Still external to this is another region known as
"Fine bois," which makes a brandy of slightly lower quality, and
then outside of all this a region extending to the borders of the
Charente in many places and producing a brandy known as " Bois
commune."
A more detailed description of the distillation will be of interest :
The stills are of copper, small, holding only from 15 to 25 hecto-
liters, usually heated directly by fire, tho a few heated by a steam
jacket were seen. The neck goes either directly to the worm, or
passes thru a wine heater (chaudvin), which contains the charge of
wine next to be distilled. The wine thus acts as a partial condenser
for the brandy, and by becoming very hot effects an economy of fuel.
The distillate is divided much as in the case of whisky, especially in
the second distillation. The first distillate is not of sufficient strength
for storage and it is subjected to a second treatment, as in the case
of whisky. The second distillate is sent over until the mixt product
has from 64 to 68 per cent alcohol by volume. The remainder
distilled into the tank for the original first distillate and mixt there-
with for further concentration. The lees are drawn off into a shallow,
cement vat, usually outside of the distillery, where they are mixt wi
lime and treated for the production of tartaric acid. In some ra>es
the lees are mixt with industrial alcohol (potato, beet root, beet-root
molasses, etc.) and redistilled to give a flavor of brandy to the
product. This practise is now forbidden by law.
The varieties of vines used chiefly for the production of the wine
from which the brandy is made are Lafolle Blanche and St. Emilion.
Nearly all the vines have been replaced by American roots since the
destruction of the original vineyards by the phylloxera. The ><>il
is chalky, full of pebbles, and not at all fertile thru the whole region.
It is interesting to know that in the very low part of the country,
subject to overflow, the vines escaped destruction from the phylloxera
and are still on their original stalks. Some of these vines are said to
De at least 100 years old. These old vineyards are planted somewhat
irregularly in rows at least 2 meters apart and the vines have no
support except their own sturdy and gnarled trunks, which are cut
back to a height of from 18 to 20 inches. The new 7 growth is allowed
to extend along the surface of the soil. These old vineyards, there-
tore, have a very ragged appearance when compared with tho-e of
recent date. It is also stated that they yield a much smaller product,
hi it it i- supposed to be of a higher value.
Formerly a variety of still, as already mentioned, was used in the
Cognac country, known as a peripatetic still, which was drawn around
from vineyard to vineyard for the purpose of distilling the wim-
Bui. 102, Bureau of Chemistry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.
PLATE II.
FIG. 1. WINE PRESS IN OPERATION, COGNAC.
FIG. 2. A COGNAC BRANDY DISTILLERY.
EXECUTION OK THE IMPORTED FOOD LAW. 41
the proprietors, much as a thrashing machine is drawn in tins
country.
A great deal of wine is distilled in the south of France and some
MI the Charente, not for the purpose of making brandy, but for mak-
ing ii grape spirit, which is sent north for the purpose of fortifying
champagne.
As ascertained from the inspection, it is possible at the present time
for American merchants to get true brandy that is, the whole dis-
tillate from the wine if purchased directly from the warehouses
under a Government certificate. When these brandies are sold and
pa-s thru various hands there is no assurance that they are not mixt,
stretched, and adulterated before reaching our markets.
EXECUTION OF THE IMPORTED FOOD LAW.
FRENCH CANNED VEGETABLES.
The methods of preparing canned vegetables for export to the
United States were carefully studied, with special reference to the
use of sulfate of copper for greening peas, beans, etc. Factories were
inspected and methods of manipulation observed. Since the inaugu-
ration of the food inspection in the United States greater care has
been exercised respecting the amount of .copper sulfate used. The
quantities employed are now carefully weighed, and the water in
which it is dissolved is measured in order to avoid the excessive use
of this objectionable material, which heretofore has been so commonly
practised. A peculiar feature of the use of sulfate of copper is that
it is not used to any extent in the food products in the countries
where the greened vegetables are made. These greened products
are reserved almost exclusively for export to England and the United
States, where, it is claimed, the consumers prefer this artificial green-
ing. If this be true, it is certainly desirable that the public should
be educated to prefer, as they do in other countries, the natural
colors of the food products.
At a conference held at the consulate in Bordeaux with some of
the representative vegetable and sardine merchants the regulations
of the Department of Agriculture in regard to the labeling of food
products were fulty discust. It was represented by the merchants
present that in the case of tins already printed and made up, which
owing to a short crop were still held in stock, some concessions should
be made, and it was suggested that affidavit be made before the consul
as to the number of such cans on hand and that a proper paster, guar-
anteed not to come off when subjected to the usual vicissitudes of
42 FOREIGN PRACTISES IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
transit, be affixt. It was upon the basis of these representations that
the following food-inspection decision was issued in the following
autumn :
(F. I..D. 30.)
THE USE OF PACKAGES MADE OF TIN PLATE, ON WHICH LABELS HAVE BEEN
PRINTED FOR PRESERVED VEGETABLES, ETC., ORDERED AND DELIVERED TO MANU-
FACTURERS PRIOR TO SEPTEMBER 1, 1905.
From the investigations lately made by the Chief of the Bureau of Chem-
istry, it appears that in a few instances European manufacturers of preserved
vegetables, intended for export to the United States, had provided a large num-
ber of packages made of tin, on which the labels had been printed previous to
the manufacture of the tin cans. The printed matter can not be erased from
the cans, nor can it be conveniently covered without destroying the artistic
appearance of the packages. These tin cans had been ordered and delivered
to the manufacturers before the publication of F. I^D. 26, requiring the presence
of preservatives, coloring matters, etc., to be indicated upon the original label
and not attached by means of pasters subsequent to September 1, 1905. In
many cases considerable expense has been incurred by the manufacturers in
the purchase of these tin cans with the labels printed thereon.
Inasmuch as these packages were purchased in good faith and were not
intended to disregard the regulations of the law relating to imported food
products, permission will be given to use them in packing preserved vegetables
for the season of 1906 on the following conditions :
1. That the tin cans in the possession of manufacturers shall have been
ordered and delivered previous *to September 1, 1905.
2. That the manufacturer shall make a statement before the consul in each
case of the number of such packages which he had on hand at the date men-
tioned.
3. That the manufacturer shall attach a special paster, in a conspicuous
place on the label, in such a way as to make it practically irremovable, indi-
cating the presence of the preservative, coloring matter, etc., which may have
been used in the preparation of the contents of the package, by the use of
type not smaller than long primer capitals, as shown in F. I. D. 6, and submit
samples thereof to this Department prior to shipment.
4. That these packages already on hand may be used for the crop of 1906,
but not for a longer period.
5. That the importation of these packages into the United States under the
regulations above mentioned shall not continue longer than May 1, 1907.
Approved.
JAMES WILSON,
Secretary of Agriculture.
WASHINGTON, D. C., September 29, 1905.
Factories preparing mushrooms for export to the United States |
were also inspected and the methods of manipulation, sorting, cleans
ing, bleaching, and preserving the mushrooms observed. The prin|
cipul charge brought against the mushrooms imported has been that
of misbranding in cases where pieces and stems not suitable for high)
grades were canned separately and sent to this country under the|
name of " Galipedes ? ' or " Hotel mushrooms."
EXECUTION OF THE IMPORTED FOOD LAW.
43
One large factory at Bordeaux was visited which is devoted en-
tiivly to canning mushrooms for the American trade. The mush-
rooms :nv <rr<)\vn in the quarries which extend for many miles in all
directions near Bordeaux, forming caves made by removing the
stone for building purposes. These fungi are grown in horse manure,
which is carried into the caves usually on the backs of the workmen,
put up in beds, and seeded with the proper spores. A mushroom bed
will remain in bearing form about three months, when the residue of
the manure must be carried out of the cave, and even the spot of
ground on which it was is not fit to use again for at least a year.
The process of growing is therefore very expensive. The mushrooms
a iv brought into the market in baskets and are worth in the state in
which they are plucked about 15 cents a pound. They are all sepa-
rated by hand, being picked over six or seven times. All superfluous
parts are first removed and the mushrooms are dropt into a large tub
of water, where they float on the surface. Here they are cleaned
with a brush, one at a time, and dark and decayed spots that can not
be removed by a brush are cut away. After this process they go to
the trimmer, where the extra parts of the stems and the broken
and imperfect pieces of the mushrooms are separated, collected,
and canned under the name of " Hotel mushrooms." The fungi are
carefully sorted at this point into four or five grades according to
size. They next go to the sulfur chamber, where they are bleached.
They are then trimmed and sterilized in the usual manner. It re-
quires from six to eight women or girls and from three to four men
to take care of from 500 to 1,000 pounds of mushrooms per day.
FRENCH SARDINES.
The French sardine factories are mostly on the Bay of Biscay, the
majority of them being located south of Brest and between that point
and La Rochelle. Nantes is the center of the industry. At the con-
ference held at Bordeaux the character of the oil used in packing was
the chief point under discussion.
The question of the making.of the oil used in the packing was dis-
cust. There is a disposition on the part of the packers to insist on
the theory that the phrase " packed in oil " does not mean in France
" packed in olive oil." It was claimed by some that a previous heat-
ing of the fish in peanut oil improves both flavor and color, and when
subsequently packed in olive oil it was held to be unfair to require the
notification on the label of the presence of peanut oil. Attention was
called also to the fact that sardines of other countries were often
packed under the name of French labels, as it was the general im-
pression that the French pack was better than any other. Attention
was called to the information which had been received that Spanish
44
FOREIGN PRACTISES IN EXPORTING BEVERAGES.
and Portuguese sardines were either shipped to France and there
packed or packed in Spain and Portugal and shipped to France for
labeling and reshipment. It is manifestly to the interest of the
French packers to suppress practises of this kind.
The methods of preparing sardines for importation to the United
States were also studied. It was learned that it is customary to
heat the sardines previous to packing in olive oil and peanut oil, and
this is one of the reasons why peanut oil has been discovered in so
many packages of sardines which were labeled " Packed in pure
olive oil." There is no objection to the use of peanut oil for the
purpose mentioned, but where the packages are labeled "Packed in
pure olive oil," it is held that peanut oil should not occur, or at least
only in mere traces.
It is a question which is worthy of very grave consideration, in
regard to correct labeling, whether a package of sardines or other
fish marked " Packed in pure olive oil " or " Packed in olive oil "
should be excluded because of the presence of peanut or other veg-
etable oil commonly used as an adulterant of olive oil. In this con-
nection attention may be called to the fact that at the beginning of
the imported food inspection in this country large quantities of the
so-called olive oils reaching our shores were adulterated with more
or less of the other vegetable oils, such as peanut, cotton seed, and
sesame. The heating of the sardines in a cheaper oil than olive oil
before the packing must result in the contamination of the olive oil
used in packing to an extent easily ascertained on analysis. The
oil, therefore, in which the sardines are packed is not pure olive oil,!
but a mixture of olive oil with another vegetable oil. It is true that
in this connection the fish oil itself may be found in the olive oil, but
this can in no sense be regarded as an adulteration.
GOVERNMENTAL CERTIFICATES FOB EXPORTED FOOD PRODUCTS.
The Federal inspection of imported foods has already proved
effective in securing a better quality of goods offered for import. If
the collaboration of the Government officials of the various countries
in certifying to the purity of goods -which are under Government
supervision could be secured, the execution of the law would be
greatly facilitated and the character of the imports still further im-
proved. The Department of Agriculture is ready, under authority
of Congress, to give a certificate of analysis for all food products
offered for export when nskod to do so by the exporter. If foreign
Governments would take a like action, it is believed that reciprocal
good would ensue, and this is especially true of all food products
prepared under Government supervision, such as alcoholic beverair^.
altho this principle could easily be applied to other food products
EXECUTION OF THE IMPORTED FOOD LAW.
45
(which, because they pay no tax, are not prepared under official super-
vision. Another step in the same direction could be taken by hold-
ling an international conference on methods of certifying to the purity
I of food products intended for international commerce. Such a con-
ference would bring together the representatives of the different Gov-
iernments interested in the several industries and might lead to a
j uniform method of certification of purity. Inasmuch as the United
States is the greatest food-producing country in the world, it seems
j eminently fitting that the initiative in such an international confer-
ence should be taken in this country.
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