The Practical Distiller | Page 4

&c. so universally introduced at the tables of people of every grade.
The wise Disposer of worlds, very happily for mankind, permits the exhibition of genius, mind and talents, from the peasant and lower order, as well as from the monarch, the lord, and the opulent. To Europe they of course are not confined--Genius has already figured in our hemisphere--The arts and sciences are becoming familiar, they rise spontaneously from our native soil, and bid fair to vie with, if not out-shine accomplished Europe. In possession, then, of all the necessary materials, ingredients and requisites, I would ask why we cannot afford ardent spirits and wines equal to those imported; and thus raise our character to a standing with other countries, and retain those millions of dollars at home, which are yearly shipped abroad for those foreign liquors, so common, so universally in use, and much of which so adulterated, as to be followed, when freely used, with unhappy consequences. Would men of capital and science, turn their attention to distillations, from the produce of our own country, preserve the liquor until age and management would render it equal, if not superior to any imported; is it not probable that it would become an article of export, and most sensibly benefit our country at large.
Considerations such as those have combined to determine a publication of my work; fully apprised of the scoffs of pedants, kicks, bites and bruises of critics--but I hope they will find latitude for the exercise of a share of compassion, when I inform them candidly, that a mill and distillery, or still house, were substituted for, and the only college and academy in which I ever studied, and those studies were broken, and during the exercise of my business, as a miller and distiller.
That it contains errors in the diction and perspicuity, I will readily confess--but that it is in substance true, and contains much useful information, I must declare as an indisputable fact. And though the road I travelled was a new one, without compass, chart, or even star to steer by, not even a book to assist me in thinking, or cheer me in my gloomy passage--seeking from those springs of nature, and inherent endowments for consolatory aid--pressing on a frequently exhausted mind, for resources and funds, to accomplish the objects of my pursuits--not denying but that I met many of my fellow-beings, who cheerfully aided me with all the information in their power, and to whom I now present my thanks--I must acknowledge, I think my labors and exertions will prove useful to those of less experience than mine, in which event I shall feel a more ample remuneration for my exertions, than the price asked for one of those volumes.
Could I have witnessed the publication of a similar work by a man of science and education, mine should never have appeared. But it would seem the learned and scientific have never considered a work of the kind as meriting their attention; a circumstance deeply to be regretted, as a finer colouring to a work of the same properties and value often procures celebrity, demand and currency. My object is to be useful, my style plain, and only laboured to be rendered easy to be understood, and convey the necessary instruction to those who may honor this work with a perusal, or resort to it for information, and that it may be useful to my countrymen, is the sincere wish of
THE AUTHOR.

INTRODUCTION.
It is not more than twenty years since whiskey was first offered for sale in the seaport towns in large quantities; and then, owing to its badness, at a very low price. Since that period it has been gaining ground yearly, and at this time, it is the second great article of commerce, in the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland.
In the interior of these states, it has nearly excluded the use of foreign distilled spirits, and I fancy might be made so perfectly pure and nice, as to ultimately supersede the use of any other throughout the United States.
To assist in effecting this, the greatest attention should be paid to cleanliness, which in a distillery is absolutely necessary, the want of which admits of no excuse, where water is had without price.
If a distiller does not by a most industrious well-timed care and attention, preserve every utensil perfectly sweet and clean, he may expect, notwithstanding he has well attended to the other branches, but indifferent whiskey and not much of it.
If, for instance, every article, or only one article in the composition of yeast be sour or dirty, that one article will most assuredly injure the whole; which being put into a hogshead of mashed grain, soon imparts its acidity or filth to the whole mass, and of course will reduce the quantity