Charcoal Mellowing

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Charcoal Mellowing

Unread postby bourbonv » Sun Apr 22, 2007 12:23 pm

In the Beall-Booth Family papers at the Filson Historical Society there is a description of charcoal mellowing whiskey. It is an undated document, but the paper and similar documents date it to the first 10 years of the 19th century. The document even has a little drawing showing the false bottom and spigot for the whiskey.

Receipt to purify whisky and other Ardent Spirits.
Take a tub of one hundred gallons and put a false Bottom about 8 or 10
inches from the other bottom the false bottom must be full of Holes then
fasten on the top of the false bottom three or four thicknesses of white
flannel then put about three or four inches thick clean white sand then
put about 18 or 20 Inches thick of pulverized charcoal made of good green
wood such as sugar tree Hickory & then fill up the vacancy with whisky
or other ardent spirits take care to pour it up til it becomes perfectly clear
and purified. To make Rum add one to five Brandy one to four or five”

Gary - Any opinions to what he means about the rum or brandy? I assume it means run it through the tub that many more times.
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873
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Unread postby gillmang » Sun Apr 22, 2007 4:36 pm

Hi Mike, thanks for this, most interesting and further confirmation of the ubiquity of what might be called the tub charcoal filtration method. M'Harry speaks of similar methods. They were used in Canada into the mid-1800's until double distillation was common.

What these guys were trying to do is turn white dog into vodka.

With regard to rum and brandy: what he is saying is, to make rum add 1 part rum to 5 parts filtered whiskey. To make brandy, add 1 part brandy to 4 or 5 parts filtered whiskey.

This is an early form of blending, in other words.

M'Harry offers similar advice.

M'Harry notes too that for diluting beer, brandy or rum, you want your spirit as clean as possible. He observes that aging whiskey in wood gives it color and "perhaps" some taste, and this will interfere with the blending purpose.

Clearly, bourbon and straight rye emerged as drinks distinct from new whiskey (which survived ultimately only as corn whiskey), rum and brandy, but it took time.

Gary
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