Some conditions affecting the ether value of brandy

Abstract

SOME little while ago we analysed a brandy which showed an ether values of 98.8, the alcoholic strength of the sample was 54.2. This sample, we were informed, was unreduced, and had been drawn direct from bond. At the same time we examined a sample which was stated to be the same brandy from duty paid stock, and reduced in strength to 44-5. To our surprise, the ether value of the latter was found to be only 66-5. At first we were inclined to doubt whether the two samples actually represented the same brandy originally, but our subsequent investigations lead us to say that we believe this to have really been the case. We were further informed that the spirit had been '' broken down" with New River main water, the object of using this instead of distilled water being, according to our informants, to avoid the slightly mawkish taste that distilled water occasionally imparts to brandy. The cellar operations, which consist substantially in pumping the spirit into a vat, reducing therein with water, with subsequent filtration through paper pulp, and finally bottling, were carried out in the presence of one of us, and samples were drawn at various stages in order to ascertain, if possible, whether any of the operations or vessels were responsible for the falling off of the ether value recorded.In order to avoid needless repetition, we may say that throughout this paper secondary products will be expressed in those terms, and alcoholic strength in per cent. by volume.