1868 The complete Practical Distiller

THE COMPLETE PRACTICAL DISTILLER.

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it undergoes a fermentation, when it is again pressed out, and the cider distilled. This, however, requires so much work and so many casks, that in a busy season it is scarcely worth attending to ; but when fruit is scarce, it may be done. Many persons are in the habit of grinding the apples, and then throwing them into casks, where they undergo a fermentation, after which the whole mass is committed to the still. Though a greater quantity is said to be ob- tained in this way than any other, it is a bad plan, as the brandy is certain to possess that peculiar empyreumatic taste which renders it very unpalatable. The operation is also more tedious, and, upon the whole, the least pro- li table. To judge of the progress of fermentation, run a stick down in the centre of the cask ; if, upon drawing it out, it is accompanied with a bubbling, hissing noise, the fer- mentation is not over ; but if no such noise is observable, it is then fit for the still. To those who are desirous of following this plan, it is advised, as the best method of avoiding an empyreuma, that the still be one-third filled with water, which must be made to boil before putting in the pomace. The spirit made from cider is in every re- spect better than that made from pomace.

PEACH BRANDY

Peaches grow in great abundance in nearly every parv of the United States, but more abundantly and of a better quality in the Southern States. The flavour of peaches is equal, if not superior, to that of any fruit in the world.