The Art of Making Whiskey | Page 7

they
are corroded with the acid, and pierced with numberless little holes,
which render them unfit for use in a very short time. It is easy to
conceive how hurtful must be the presence of verdigrise to those who

make use of whiskey as a constant drink: even those who use it soberly,
swallow a slow poison, destructive of their stomach; while to those
who abuse it, it produces a rapid death, which would still be the
consequence of abuse, if the liquor was pure, but is doubly accelerated
by the poison contained in the whiskey. It is easy to remedy so terrible
an evil. The acetous acid has no action upon tin. By tinning the stills,
the purity of the liquor will be augmented, and the distilling vessels,
already so expensive, will be longer preserved. This operation must be
renewed every year. The worms must likewise be tinned, if they are
copper; but they are better of tin, or of the purest pewter.
Such are the defects of the present method of distilling whiskey.
Having exposed them, I must present the means of bringing to
perfection the fabrication of a liquor of such general use.
CHAPTER VII.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS THE MOST ADVANTAGEOUS
TO MAKE WHISKEY.
[TR: The next two paragraphs were cut short, however attempted
re-constructed for clarity]
As it is demonstrated that the spirit is the more abundant in proportion
to the richness of the vinous liquor,* it is therefore necessary to enrich
that of the distillery* which is so deficient in that respect. An
exposition of* my processes will point out the means I employ to
attain* that end. A large whiskey distillery should be* able to make 100
gallons per day, or three barrels* making altogether that quantity.
One gallon of spirit being the produce of 4 pounds* of dry saccharine
matter, we must therefore have 400 pounds of this substance for the
100 gallons we wish to obtain.
If 1 bushel of grain gives 2 gallons of whiskey, there must be 50 to
obtain a daily result of 100 gallons. I take Indian corn as the basis of
the fabrication, as that of all the grains which yields the most. For, from
my method, whatever grain is employed, the spirit is equally pure.

I divide the still house into three different rooms, to wit:
One for Infusion;
One for Fermentation;
One for Distillation.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE ROOM OF INFUSION.
It is here that the liquor destined to make whiskey, should be prepared,
and made rich enough to procure a good fermentation. To this effect,
there must be a mill with a vertical stone, moved by a horse, or any
other means of motion. Those mills are too well known for me to
describe them more amply. The corn must be coarsely ground, so as
scarcely to be broke into three or four pieces: consequently the stone
must not be too heavy, for, at all events, the grain had better be too
coarse than too fine. That mill should be placed in the infusion room,
so as not to keep it dirty, nor to be too much in the way. It must grind,
or rather break, 50 bushels per day.
There must be a square kettle, 4 feet broad, 5 feet long, 1 foot deep.
The kettle must be made in sheets of copper, one line thick, at least: the
bottom, although flat, should have a slight swell inside, so as to avoid
the expansion of the metal outside, from the action of the fire. This
kettle must be placed upon a brick furnace, so that the longest parts
should bear forwards, and the other against the chimney, from which it
must be separated by a brick wall eight or nine inches. The sides,
around which there must be a space to walk freely, should be supported
by a wall 1-1/2 feet deep; the fore part upon such a wall, in the middle
of which is an iron door, fifteen inches square, in an iron frame,
through which the fuel is introduced.
The kettle is mounted upon the furnace, so as to bear upon the four
walls about 4 inches, and rests upon a bed of clay, which must leave no
passage to the action of the fire; it is lined externally with bricks, and

must have a pipe on one of its sides, to draw off the liquor.
Under the kettle, 15 inches from the bottom, is a flue for the heat,
running through all its length. It is 2-1/2 feet wide at bottom, extending
like a fan at the top, about 6 inches on each side, so that the flame may
circulate in all the breadth of the kettle.
On the fore part of this flue, facing the door, is a hearth, occupying all
its