THE WHISKEY PROBLEM

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVII, Issue 968, 24 September 1908, Page 22

THE WHISKEY PROBLEM

The troubles of the whiskey trade, which have .endured for some years now, and which have necessitated the appointment of a Royal Commission to diagnose and report upon them, seem to be on the point of disappearing. . The;, question which required settlement divided itself naturally into two branches of inquiry, one branch concerning the mode of distillation, and the other the nature of the ingredients employed. The purists argue that whiskey, whether Irish or Scotch, must be manufactured in an apparatus known as a “pot-still” ; and they contended further that the only cereal permissable in the process was barley malt, with, however, the . addition of certain other substances in the case of the Irish product. Their claim and their assumption derived inspiration from the prevailing craze for studiously exact definition. To describe a spirit produced in a patent-still from a blend of cereal ingredients was, they told us, a flagrant instance of “terminological inexactitude.” It is further from our wish to pose as an advocate of false trade descriptions In the case of wines, correct labelling of their nature and origin is an essential of fair dealing. But wine comes much nearer to being a natural product than either whiskey or beer, both of which are the results of purely chemical processes. The Spirit and intention of the champions of the pot-still are similar in kind to the principal which actuated the Pure Beer party. The latter laid it down as an unalterable axiom that beer having once been the resultant of a blend of malt and hops, it must never be anything else. The pure whiskey faction went a step further, and sought to insist that not only should the ingredients remain fixed,, but that the plant as well should conform to an unvarying type. Such a claim puts out of the field all scientific aids to the improvement of these beverages, and it is therefore untenable because, as we have said, whiskey is an artificial product, and the processes involved in its manufacture are capable of further development. For example, the advocates of the patent-still have contended that the operations are quicker and more under control at points when the elimination of impurities and the retention of desirable bodies are required. The Royal Commissioners tentatively confirmed this view in an interim report which they have published since the last sitting. Apart from the manufacturing and technical phases of the problem, the consumer’s standpoint has surely to be considered. Experience shows that his tastes incline to a blend of malt and grain, and this being the case, there is no possible reason for the legislature to interfere. —“The Brewers Gazette.”