“Eau-de-vie seconde.” The weak spirit that passes over, after the receiver has been changed. Very weak and inferior.
“Eau-de-vie à preuve d’Hollande.” Sp. gr. ·941 to ·942 (18 to 20 u. p.). The common strength at which brandy is retailed in France, and that at which it stands the ‘proof’ or ‘bead.’
“Eau-de-vie à preuve d’huile.” Sp. gr.
·9185 (about 23° Baumé, or 11⁄4 o. p.); pure, olive oil just sinks in it. It is the strongest brandy kept for retail sale in France.
“Eau-de-vie forte.” From common brandy distilled at a low temperature. It answers to our spirit of wine. Sp. gr. ·839 (38° Baumé, or 55° o. p.).
“Esprit de vin” is brandy or spirit, carefully rectified to ·861 (28° Baumé, or 42 o. p., and upwards).
Pur., &c. The method of determining the strength of brandy is explained under ‘Alcoholometry,’ Of the large quantity of this liquor consumed in England, we can assure the reader that a small fraction only escapes adulteration. Pure French brandy is indeed an article quite unattainable by the small consumer. The brandy of our shops and taverns is not only systematically ‘lowered’ a little (with spirit of wine or British brandy) by the wholesale dealer, but it undergoes a like process, but to a much greater extent, at the hands of the retailer. The only method to obtain perfectly pure brandy is either to take it direct from the bond store, or to buy it of some known respectable party, and to pay a price that offers no inducement to dishonesty. When this cannot be done, British brandy had better be at once purchased, by which money will be saved, and a more wholesome article obtained.
French brandy, as already noticed, is commonly ‘lowered’ with water, malt brandy, and spirit of wine, by which its original flavour is more or less weakened and injured. This species of adulteration is best detected by the palate. Another, and no very uncommon fraud practised by the retailers, is to reduce their brandy with a large quantity of water. As a natural consequence their liquor suffers so greatly in flavour, and its deficiency in alcohol becomes so apparent, that they soon see the necessity of either abandoning the nefarious practice, or resorting to others of a less harmless character to disguise it. The latter alternative is commonly adopted. An excess of burnt sugar is immediately introduced into the spirit, followed by sundry portions of cayenne pepper, grains of paradise, horse-radish, acetic ether, &c., to give it a pungency and ‘make-believe strength’ that “passes muster” with the petty consumer. This fraud may be detected by gently evaporating a little of the suspected liquor in a spoon or glass capsule, when the acrid matter, colouring, and sugar will be left behind, and may be readily detected by their flavour, sweetness, glutinosity, &c. A little perfectly pure brandy evaporated in a similar manner (on a watch-glass, for instance), merely leaves a trifling discoloration on the surface of the glass. Genuine French brandy always reddens blue litmus paper, from containing a little acetic acid; the old coloured varieties are also blackened by a solution of a persalt of iron. Another test for caramel (burnt sugar) is, let a small quantity of the brandy be well shaken with one sixth of its volume of white of egg, and the precipitate formed allowed to deposit, or be removed by filtration; the clear liquid ought to be colourless. Should caramel be present, however, it will retain its colour. Sometimes brandy is contaminated with a small quantity of lead or copper derived from the apparatus or utensils with which it has been prepared or measured. Sugar of lead has also sometimes been used by the ignorant dealer to clarify it. The presence of these highly deleterious substances may be detected in the following manner:—
1. Copper:—a. A small piece of clean polished iron or steel immersed in the suspected liquid for a short time (with agitation) becomes coated with a film of metallic copper, when that metal is present. To facilitate the precipitation of the metal, the sample under examination may be slightly acidulated with a few drops of pure acetic acid. Minute traces of copper may sometimes be detected on the surface of the iron with a lens, which would be passed over unnoticed by the naked eye.
b. (Böttger.) A little of the brandy is to be agitated with a few drops of pure olive oil. The latter will acquire a green colour if copper be present.