The Art of Making Whiskey | Page 7

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 breadth, and 2 feet long. The rest of the flue is paved with bricks, and rises insensibly 4 inches towards the chimney, in which it opens by two holes, 1-1/2 inches wide, 8 or 9 inches high.
Immediately under the hearth, is a mash hole 4 feet deep, occupying all its capacity, and projecting 2 feet forward. This opening is necessary to keep up a free circulation of air, and to take up the ashes. It should be covered with strong boards, not to hinder the service of the kettle. The hearth is made with an iron grate, more or less close, according to the nature of the fuel; if for wood, the bars must be about two inches apart; if for coals, half an inch is sufficient. The furnace