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Appendix

Valuable Hints on the Distillation of Whiskey and New England Rum.

The process of distillation commences with the fermentation of grain or molasses by the presence of yeast, and this is called mashing, or preparing the mash.

Strictly speaking, indeed, the spirits are not produced by distillation; that is done by the previous step of fermentation, and distillation merely separates the spirits from the mixture in which they already exist. The object of fermentation is to convert the starchy principle of the grain into sugar, or to saccharify it. After being agitated for two or three hours, the saccharine infusion, called wort, is drawn off from the grains and cooled.

To this wort is now added a certain quantity of yeast or leaven, which induces the vinous fermentation, and resolves the saccharine matter into alcohol and carbonic acid, accompanied by a rise of temperature. The alcoholic mixture which results is called the wash, and is now ready for distillation.

How to Prepare Yeast for Rye Whiskey or New England Rum.

No. 1.

To prepare yeast for 80 gallons mash, take two pounds of wheat meal and dilute it with sufficient warm