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50
Alcohol.
with
Gin,
but
is
lighter
and
more
stomachic
;
it is
stronger
than
Gin,
and
is
undoubtedly
also
the
best
spirit
for
general
use.
The
Whisky
distilled
from
malt
is
esteemed
the
best.
The
inferior
Whiskies
are
obtained
from
oats,
rye,
potatoes,
barley,
&c.
The
peculiar
smoky
flavour
is
imparted
by
the
wash
being
purposely
left
to
burn
a
little.
An
imitation
Whisky
is
made
by
adding
a
few
drops
of
purified
fusel-oil
and
creosote to
clean
spirit,
or
gin.
Of
the
true
Potheen
,
Professor
Donovan,
who
was
present
at
a genuine
Irish
illicit
Potheen
distillation,
says,
“
that
he
is
doubtful
whether
the
turf
used
is
the
cause
of the
flavour
of
the
spirit,
but
attributes
this
to
the
grains
and
mode
of
dis-
tillation.
The
barley
is
wetted
with
bog-
water,
in
order
to
excite
germination,
the
malt
dried
with
turf,
instead
of
coal.
The
malt
then
is
mixed
with
about
one-fourth
of
raw
corn,
and
the
mashing
is
made
in
a
kind
of
vat,
the
bottom
of
which
is
covered
with
young
heath
and
oat
husks
—
to
supply
the
place
of
a
false
one
;
when
the
wash
begins
to
boil
in
the
still,
the
6 re
is
suddenly
quenched,
and
the
spirit
which
runs,
though
weak,
is
of
true
flavour.
The
singlings
are
distilled
again,
and
yield
the
true
Potheen/'
Gin
.
—
This
well-known
compound
corn-spirit