The apparent anomaly between the number of distilleries and the quantity of spirit produced in the different parts of the king dom is explained by the fact that the great majority of the dis tilleries in Scotland and Ireland are small pot still distilleries, whereas the English plants are all of considerable capacity. Illicit distillation has almost ceased in Great Britain.
The spirit produced in the United Kingdom is made almost ex clusively from malt, unmalted grain (chiefly maize, rye, barley, wheat and oats) and molasses. The relative proportions of malt to unmalted grain have shown a slight upward tendency. On the other hand the quantity of molasses employed has increased very largely, owing mainly to the fact that home made spirit has largely displaced the foreign article for several industrial purposes and particularly for methylation.
In the Dominions the consumption per head of the population shows in some parts a tendency to decrease, thus, for Canada the figure for 1921 was 0.857 gal. and for 1927, 0.323 gal., and New Zealand 0.790 in 1921 and 0.518 in 1925, but in Australia there was an increase from 0.36 gal. in 1921-22 to 0•44 gal. in 1925-26. The sale of alcoholic beverages was prohibited in the United States of America from 1920 to 1933. In other countries the consumption of spirits per head of the population, expressed in litres of ab solute alcohol, has been as follows:— The United States has always been one of the world's largest users of distilled spirits. In 1922 the United Kingdom consumed about 15,000,00o proof gallons as compared with 503,000,000 proof gallons consumed in the United States in 1937. In the four years since Repeal of Prohibition in the United States consumption of distilled spirits has been : 1935, 73,063,00o; 1936, 98,858,000; 1937, 103,633,00o; 1938, 98,519,000. Of this total consumption approximately 5% was distilled spirits imported from Great Brit ain and about 2% distilled spirits imported from Canada.
Consumption of distilled spirit has been steadily falling through out the world. In 1914 the United Kingdom consumed •71 proof gallons per capita as compared with •37 proof gallons in 1922. Since 1922 per capita consumption has fallen even lower.
In the States per capita consumption in 1914 was .76 proof gallons. In 1939, despite a greatly increased population and a tremendous new group of consumers—women—per capita con sumption remained at .76 proof gallons.
Another indication of the decline in consumption both in the United Kingdom and the United States is found in the number of distilleries. American distilleries in 1939 numbered approximately 150. This total shows a mortality among distilleries in a five-year period of some 00% and even the number 15o will be high if the present rate of bankruptcy among distillers continues.
Distilling has followed other American industries in its devel opment. Many small distilleries came into being in 1933 when the supply of spirit was limited and the demand great. As the better financed distillers increased production and popularized their spirit by national advertising the small producers failed. Testi
mony before a congressional committee of the United States Con gress—the National Economics Committee, i939—revealed that more than 6o% of the spirit sold in the United States was distilled, owned, sold by four major distillers.
Brandy.—The manufacture of genuine brandy, although requir ing great care in order to obtain a high class product, is not a complicated process. The quality of the brandy produced depends primarily upon the character of the wine employed, whilst the degree of excellence of the spirit offered for sale depends in great measure on the experience of the manufacturers in blending the products of various distillations. The character of the wine is therefore of the first importance and is dependent upon the soil, climate and methods of cultivation. The soil of the Cognac and other districts of France is particularly suitable, and brandy of excellent quality is also distilled from wine of British Empire origin. In France the cultivation of the vine has improved since the replanting of the vineyards after their devastation by the phylloxera epidemic of 1875-78. The best French brandies are obtained from the Charente wines which, although possessing no particular virtue as such, are peculiarly suitable for the production of a spirit of a fine and delicate flavour. The wines of other dis tricts, although more highly flavoured, are not so suitable for the production of brandy. The type of still and method of distilla tion depend upon the character of the wine employed. In Char ente, where as stated above, the most suitable wine is obtained, a simple pot still having a capacity of not more than 200 gal. is usually employed, the distillation being carried out very slowly. The spirit first obtained—brouillis—is redistilled to give a prod uct of a higher strength—bon chauffe. In other districts where the wine is not so suitable a more complicated apparatus is em ployed. This includes a distilling column which renders possible a higher degree of rectification and the removal of fractions of the distillate which are considered undesirable.