Should she happen to throw the head, it is the duty of the distiller to take and (wash the head and worm—the latter will be found full of stuff) clean, clap on the head, and paste it—but the moment the head is thrown off, the fire should be drowned out, and water thrown into the still to prevent her boiling over.
It is important that after every run, or rather before you commence a run, the distiller should carefully clean out the still, wipe the bottom dry, and grease her well, to prevent her from burning and singeing the liquor.
ART. II.
Mode of managing the doubling Still when making Whiskey.
Let the doubling still be carefully cleaned and washed out, then be filled with singlings and low wines left from the run preceding, add thereto half a pint of salt and one quart of clean ashes, which will help to clear the whiskey, and a handful of Indian meal to prevent the still from leaking at the cock, or elsewhere—clean the head and worm, put on the head, paste it well; put fire under and bring her round slowly, and run the spirit off as slow as possible, and preserve the water in the cooling tub as cold as in your power.
Let the liquor as it runs from the worm pass thro' a flannel to prevent the overjuice from the copper, and the oil of the grain from mixing with the spirit. The first being poisonous, and the latter injurious to the liquor.
The doubling still cannot be run too slow for making good whiskey ... observe when the proof leaves the worm, that is when there is no proof on the liquor as it comes from the worm, if there be ten gallons in your doubling keg, if so, run out three more, which will make in all thirteen gallons first proof whiskey. If the proof leaves the worm at eight gallons, then run till eleven gallons and so on in proportion, to the larger or smaller quantity in your keg at the time of the ceasing of the proof.
ART. III.
Observations on the advantages of making strong and good Whiskey with stalement, &c.
The distiller who makes whiskey for a market under the government of inspection laws, too weak, sustains a loss of a cent for each degree it may be under proof ... and the disadvantages are increased in proportion to the extent of land carriage. If a distance of seventy miles, the price of carriage per gallon will be about six cents, paying the same price for weak or strong ... not only the disadvantage of paying for the carriage of feints or water, but the loss in the casks, which tho' small apparently at first view, yet if nicely attended to, will amount in the course of the year to a sum of moment to every distiller or proprietor. To convey my ideas, or render a more compleat exposition of my impressions as to the actual loss on one waggon load (predicated on a distance of seventy miles land carriage) of first proof whiskey, and that nine degrees under proof. I give the following statement.