64 / 308
64
COMPOSITION
OF
DRINKS,
ETC.
impurity
of
raw
spirits
arises
principally
from
the
pres-
ence
of
a
peculiar
volatile
oil,
termed
fusel
oil,
and
pos-
sessing
very
deleterious
properties.
Dr.
Taylor
re-
marks
of
this
oil,
"
that
in
small
quantities
it
produces
intoxication.
I
have
experienced
the
effects
of the
va-
pour
and
found
them
to
be
giddiness,
accompanied
with
a
feeling
of
suffocation
and
a
sense
of
falling.
Headache
followed
which
lasted
half
an
hour."
Two
drachms
of
the
oil
killed
a
rabbit
in
two
hours,
three
drachms
in
an
hour,
half
an
ounce
in
a
quarter
of
an
hour,
and
one
ounce
in
four
minutes.
Much
of
the
unwholesomeness
of
spirits
imperfectly
rectified
arises
from
its
contamina-
tion
with
fusel
oil.
To
show
what
infernal
concoctions
are
served
to
the
public
we
put
down
only
one
recipe
out
of
a
great
number,
taken
from
a
book
that
is
said
to
be
the
best
on
the
market.
To
manufacture
whiskey,
the
following
Bourbon
Oil
recipe
is
given:
Take
Fusel
Oil,
64
oz.
"
Acetate
of
Potassium,
4
"
"
Sulphuric
Acid,
4
"
Dissolve
Sulphate
of
Copper,
y
z
"
and
Oxalate
of
Ammonium,
.
.
.
Yz"
each
in
water,
4
"
Add
Black
Oxide
of
Manganese
i
"
Place
them
all
in
a
glass
percolator
and
let
them
rest
for
twelve
hours.
Then
percolate
and
put
into
a
glass
still,
and
dis-
till
half
a
gallon
of
the
Bourbon
Oil.
Saptenti
sat
!