US818478A - Receptacle for storing alcoholic liquors. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED APR. 24, 1906 S. SHWAYDER. RECEPTAOLE FOR STORING ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS.

APPLICATION FILED 11118.23. 1904.

I H mm H II P I l'lgllll 1 I 50/0 fiifia a/er 7 v V715 ATTORNEY IL I UNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

r RECEPTACLE FOR STORING ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 24, 1906.

Application filed February 23, 1904. Serial No. 194,911.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SOLOMON SHWAYDER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Denver, in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Receptacles for Storing Alcoholic Liquors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to receptacles employed in storing whisky, rum, brandy, gin, or other spirituous liquors after the have been tapped from the barrel, special reference being had to bottles or jugs in which said liquors are retailed to the consumer.

Most all alcoholic liquors before being ready for consumption have to go through a process of aging or maturing. During the course of this process, which mainly consists in storing the liquor in charred barrels and which often extends over a period of several years, the spirits change from a disagreeablysmelling and highly-intoxicating body into compound others which are both a rant and harmless, and it is a well-known fact t rat the longerrne period of maturing is extended the more healthful and palatable the spirits become. This is especially the case with whisky, which when new is rank, strong, and unpalatable and which constantly acquires smoothness and ripeness with age as long as it is stored in barrels. It has been observed, however, that the moment the liquor is drawn off the barrels into bottles the process of maturing ceases, and whisky or any other liquor stored this way does not improve with age, no matter how long it ma be kept. As it is in most cases impracticab e to retain the liquor in the barrels over a certain length of time, most liquors are tapped off into bottles or other vessels in an imperfect state, and what would have been a highly-flavored nutritious article if kept in the wood is placed on the market in an inferior condition, in which it will remain indefinitely.

The object of my invention is to produce receptacles so constructed that alcoholic liquors contained therein will continue to age and mature after the have left the-barrels, with the result that tfie liquors, even if they be stored in bottles, will constantly improve with age, and consequently become more valuable. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawin s, in which igure 1 1s a vertical section taken through mvdevicqwhich is constructed inthe shape of a bottle; Fig. 2, an enlarged vertical section through the detachable receptacle shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 plan view of same.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the various views.

In order to more clearly explain the utility of my device, it will be necessary to briefly describe the process used in producing alcoholicliquors. For the sake of brevity I will limit myselfto the description of the process of distilling whisky, my invention being adapted to be used for other liquors without any essential alterations.

The grain or corn of which the whisky is to be made, after having been ground is mashed by mixture With-water and heating, after which it is fermented in Wooden tanks. This part of the process is one of the most difficult steps in the manufacture of 7 5 whisky and invariablyresults in the roduction of so-called fusel-oil, which 0 all the substances contained in unmatured whisky is without doubt the most objectionable one. Fusel-oil, which is a volatile oily liquid of a nauseous fiery taste and smell, consists of a number of elements, some of which are desirable, as during the process of aging theyundergo a change which imparts to the whisky its characteristic aroma, while its other con- 8 5 stituents if permitted to remain in the liquor would render it unfit for use. It is therefore a matter of prime importance that means should be employed to eliminate the objectionable elements of the fusel-oil, as well as other substances, the presence of-which renders the liquor worthless for the trade,and to convert the desirable constituents of the oil into beneficial elements, as explained hereinabove. Many experiments have been made 5 to accomplish this object, the most successful of which has been the method which is still employed, the filtration of the liquor through granulated charcoal and subsequent storing of the purified whisky in charred barrels. Charcoal has been proven to be a splendid agent for clarifying whisky and other iquors. It sweetens bad-smelling spirits, removes the bitterness from hops and ale, makes portwine light-colored, and renders such other services as make its value to the distiller immeasurable. On these facts I have based the rinciple of my invention, which consists of t e introduction of charcoal or any other matunfiga'gfiifitflile vessels in which the liquors are to be stored, as will hereinafter be described.

5 designates an ordinary'bottle provided with an integral upwardly-extending hollow boss 6, the inside of which has been provided with screw-thread. A cylindrical receptacle 7, the diameter of which is sufficiently small to allow its introduction through the mouth of the bottle, is provided at its lower extremitv with a threaded extension 7, by means of which it is secured to boss 6. The opposite extremity 7.has been s uared for the appliance of a wrench to facilitate the placing of the cylinder inside the bottle. Cylinder 6, which is preferably made of porcelain or other material not affected by alcohol, is hollow and perforated along its entire extent. It is open at the bottom, thus allowing the introduction of a maturing agent, the opening in practice being closed by means of a stopper 8. The maturing agent referred to is preferably composed of granulated charcoal, as being best adapted for my purpose,

for the reasons hereinabove explained.

The construction as described allows the whisky to come at all times in contact with the charcoal, (more so when the bottle is being moved about,) at the same time preventing the charcoal from mixing with the liquor. The receptacle 7 containing the charcoal may be removed at any time and new material inserted therein, if so desired.

When the barrel used for maturing the whisky is charred, it will be found that the charred surface has beneath it a thin brown layer which contains a coloring-matter solu ble in whisky and which imparts to the latter a rich amber shade, which deepens with the lapse of time. In order to give the liquor stored in my receptacle the benefit of this condition, pieces of charred wood may be inserted in cylinder 7 in place of the charcoal heretofore referred to.

It will be understood that I may change the form and relative position of the various parts comprising my device without departing from the principle involved in my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A vessel for retailing alcoholic liquors, comprising a receptacle provided on its inside with a threaded boss, a perforated receptacle secured to said boss and adapted to receive a maturin a ent, substantially as described.

vessel for retailing alcoholic liquors, comprising a suitable receptacle, a perforated smaller receptacle secured on the inside of the first named receptacle and adapted to contain a maturing agent, substantially as described.

I testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SOLOMON SHWAYDER.

Witnesses:

M. G. KOBEY, J. SIIWAYDER.

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