For those interested in reducing large-scale industrial production to that of a home-made ‘cottage industry’ – here is the making of No.9 or Common Scotch by Messrs. Taddy & Co.
Common Scotch differs from S.P. Scotch in that it contains 36 bags of stalk and 12 bags of leaf compared to 30 bags stalk and 18 bags leaf for S.P. Stalk not considered good enough for S.P. is used for Common Scotch. Also instead of liquoring with Pearl Ash in the top cistern Common Scotch uses 2cwt of soda dissolved in 108 gallons of water. Otherwise the process of laying down a parcel and liquoring with lime and alum in the lower cistern is fairly similar to S.P. but not as fussy.
A hundredweight (cwt) is here 112 pounds in weight. Puncheons are barrels holding 132 gallons or more. Hhd referred to in the text means Hogshead. Pot liquor = 4 gallons: cisterns 1 inch = 5 gallons. Bin L=11 ft, D=5ft, W=8ft.
Soda, Lime and Alum for liquoring is measured in in units of ‘ty’ which means Tray. Four gallons is equal to 40 ty. Each Tray is therefore 0.8 pints.
Take 18cwt (2016lb) Kentucky Stalk, 4 cwt (448lb) Virginia Hand Leaf and 2cwt (224lb) Shag Smalls. Cut leaf and stalk in Stalk Engine and crush under stones to take the liquor more kindly.
(Each tobacco type is placed in burlap bags of 56lb in weight (36 bags of Stalk, 8 bags of Leaf and 4 bags of Shag Smalls)
Dissolve in the top cistern a sack of 2cwt (224lb) Soda (sodium bicarbonate I presume) in 108 gallons of water. In the lower cistern slack 50ty (40 pints) of Lime. Let the Soda water (upper cistern) into the Lime (lower cistern) and keep stirring it while applying:
Layer 1 - 3 stalk 1 leaf, 3 stalk 1 leaf, 3 stalk 1 smalls – 9 Pots of Liquor
Layer 2 - 3 stalk 1 leaf, 3 stalk 1 leaf, 3 stalk 1 smalls – 9 Pots of Liquor
Layer 3 - 3 stalk 1 leaf, 3 stalk 1 leaf, 3 stalk 1 smalls – 9 Pots of Liquor
Drain the cistern, not removing the lime left but put into it 56ty Alum (44.8 pints) with 28 gallons of hot water gradually.
Layer 4 - 3 stalk 1 leaf, 3 stalk 1 leaf, 3 stalk 1 smalls – 6 Pots of Hot Liquor
Let it lay 24 hours, turn it and pack it tight into 3 hogsheads. Let it remain for 2 months during which time turn the hogsheads over once and then unpack it into puncheons and send it to the mill for grinding.
See recipe below.
