Standard Oil Company; Trusts, Industrial -- United States
The report of Congress states that unquestionably the largest part of
the product of the combination finds its way into the open markets in
the form of "compounded"--or artificial--bourbon and rye whiskeys,
brandies, rums, gins, cordials. The testimony establishes the fact
that about one half of the whiskey consumed in the country is of
this compound product. These compounded liquors are supplied from
the drug-stores to the sick as medicine. One of the expert witnesses
summoned to explain the process of this adulteration appeared before
the committee with two demijohns, one containing pure alcohol and the
other spirits, and a number of bottles containing essential oils,
essences, etc., with which he proposed to make some experiments. "The
basis here, this white product, is what is known as 'spirits' in the
trade. With the use of these essential oils and essences now before
you any kind of imitation liquor can be produced at almost a moment's
notice. My first experiment will be with Jamaica rum. I put a drop of
Jamaica-rum essence into this white spirits, a few drops of coloring
matter, and some sugar syrup. Try of it and smell of it. Does it
smell like rum and taste like it? If they want to make it cheaper,
they reduce it with water. I will reduce it with water, and you will
now notice that the bead has disappeared from it. I will reproduce
the bead by the use of bead oil. I put one drop in, and here is the
result. Now, using rye-whiskey essence instead of Jamaica-rum essence,
I will flavor this spirits. I will now put some prune juice into it to
tone it. I will put some raisin oil in it to age it, and I will now
commence to color it. This first exhibit" (holding it up before the
committee) "is about the color of one-year-old whiskey that has been
properly bonded. I will now color it so it will imitate a two-year-old
whiskey. This is about the three-year-old now" (exhibiting it). "I will
now give this the color of 'velvet whiskey,' which is sold as high as
$4 a gallon" (exhibiting it). "The present price of spirits, to-day,
I think, is $1.30 a gallon. The utilization of any of these essential
oils and essences and coloring matter to make the transfer does not
exceed a cost of one and a half cents a gallon. I am prepared to make
imitations of any of these liquors at any time with this spirits
basis--all the different whiskeys, Scotch and Irish whiskeys, the
foreign gins and rums and brandies, after-dinner cordials and liqueurs.
These materials as you have them exhibited before you of essential oils
and essences are part and parcel of the stock in trade of every man
in the United States of America who has got a rectifying license as a
wholesale liquor dealer.... They are very generally and extensively in
use throughout our entire country, in every hamlet and village, in all
the branches of trade, the wholesale liquor dealer, the grocer having
a liquor dealer's license, and retail druggists.... When a doctor
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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