Wealth In Whisky

THE PROFITS OF A GALLON OF WHISKY. The following calculations were made after consultation with several prominent dealers, both wholesale and retail. - Whisky, though sold in barrels, is paid for by the gallon. There are three general classes of customers - those who intend to sell a good quality of liquor at lóc a glass ; those who intend to sell a reasonably good quality at 10o ; and those who for the latter price make a practioe of palming off the cheapest compound that oan be made to resemble whisky. The three kinds purchased will average in price $4, $2.50 and f 1.25 per gallon respectively. To the best whisky about one-eighth of its quantity is added. Thus the saloon-keeper converts his gallon of thirty-two gills into thirty-six gills. The average drink is about half a gilí. Reckoning, then, seventy-two drinks at fifteen cents a drink, the gross receipts for a gallon are $10.80. Subtracting the oost given above, there remains a profit of $6.80, or 170 per cent. of the coat. Thss percentage is not so much a year, let it be remembered, but is made as ofton in the year as tb e stock can be turned. Men who buy whisky at 10 cents a glass will pour in abouttwo-thirds of a gilí with one-eighth addition of water. - The profits will be found to be $2.60, or 110 per cent. of the cost. The cheapest whisky is watered at least one-fifth, and then adulterated with pepper and other ingredieuts to restore its strength. This gives thirty-nine gills. Beckoning threequarters of a gilí as the average drink of the claSs which consumes it, there will be found theenormous profit over the original cost of $1.25 a gallon, of $5.25, or 420 per cent. rilOFITS OF THE RETAILER8. In a similar way the retail profits on other liquors wera calculated, with the following resulta : HUM. Cost per gallon, for best - - - f 7 85 Sixty drin-ks, at 15 cents - - - 9 00 PrnfU. - . . . . 11 18 Profit $1 18 This is about 15 per cent. If one-sixth of a gallon of water be added, the profit will be $2.65, or 33 per cent. New England rum can be bought for f 1.25. The average poor quality sold costs f 2. This, at 10 cents a drink, and reckoning 50 drinks to the gallon, gives a profit of $3, or about 150 per cent. About one-fifth water added to it bnngs the profit up to $4, or 200 per cent. There is very little cali for rum, as will be seen by the tables appended : GIN. Cost per gallon, for best - - - ?4 50 Sixty drinks, at 15 cents - - 9 00 Profit $4 50 Thia is 100 per cent. of the cost. If it be adulterated by the addition of onesixth, the return wiil be $10.50, and the profit $6, or 133 per cent. The profits of the poor quality may be estimated as follows: Cost per gallon for best - - - f 3 00 Fifty drinks at 10 cents - - - 5 00 Profit 2 00 Tb is is about 00 per cent. It may Ifc adulterated, however, by tho addition of one-fifth of its quantity. This will swell the profits to $3, or 100 per cent. BRANDY. Cost pet gallon for best - - - Í12 00 Ninety drinks at 40 cents - - - 36 00 Profit $24 00 This is 200 per cent of the cost. The poorest brandy can be purchased at $5 per gallon, but reckoning at the price of i fair average gradé wo may state as foli ows : üost per gallon - - - - $ 7 00 Seventy drinks at 25 cents 17 50 Profit $10 00 This is 150 per cent of the cost. SHERRY.üf wines other than champagne, sherry stands first on the list in point of quality sold. Port is next in popularity. Sherry costs froin $2 to $15 per gallon. About 100 per cent. is made on the better, and 150 to 200 per cent. on the poorer qualitios. CHAMPAGNE. Cost per basket (in currency) - - f28 Twelve quarts at ?4 - - - - - 48 Profit ------- $20 This is 72 per cent. of the cost. A basket of pints costs on an average f 30.25 in currency, but the receipts froin it are the same as from quarts. " What do you do," was asked of a saloon-keer, " with all this money you make ?" " Pay rent and licenses and buy free lunches. There probably is no business in the world that has so many incidental expenses. The breakage is large. If there is a poor man sick, the saloon-keeper has to uAíti a liberal number of chances in a raffle for his benefit. If he dies, the saloon-keeper must subscribe for hie funeral expenses. We are bied in every way. I've been trying to get rich on these apparently exorbitant profits, as you would cali them, for a good many years, but I haven't succeeded. The worst of it is, we can't get rid of a great deal of expensive living." ONE HUNDRED PER CENT. ON COMMON ALE. The proprietor of the ale-house on Church street was asked how many drinks could be sold from a hogshead of ale. " Well," he said, " there ought to be gixty-three gallons in a hogshead, but there are, in fact, only about fifty-seven. Come down cellar." The visitor followed into a large, dark vault that was filled with hogsheads, goine in tiers and others empty, and piled over and above each other. " Feel of that cask. Now of this one." The writer tipped the two empty casks pointed out, sucoessively on their edges. One was a little larger and a great deal heavier than the other. " That heavy one," said the saloon keeper, " is an American hogshead. No tice the thickness of the staves. It will hold only fifty-seven gallons. This smaller and lighter one is an iinported English bogshead, and will hold sixty-three gallons. Now its a trick of the trade with American brewers to save cooperage by buying up these imported Knglish hogsheads, but in order not to be obligéd to sell sixty-three gallons in a hogshead, they take out one stave, and then rehead and rehoop it. So you see that we can't oount on more than fifty-seven gallons in a hogshead of American ale." " lïow many drinks will that give V" " There will be 45,6 pints in each hogshead, and, taking three quarters of a pint ag the average drink in places wüere they sell it at 5 cents a glass, there would result just 608 drinka." Cheap ale then may be reckoned as follows : Cost per hogshead . . f 15 00 (08 glasses at 6 cents - - - - 30 40 Profits 15 40 This is a little over 100 per cent. Of the better ale only about half a pint commonly filis the glasses used. lts profits may be calculated thus : Cost per hogshead - ... f20 00 912 glasses at 10 cents - - - - 91 20 Profit ?71 20 This is 356 per cent. of the cost. The price of stock ale is about $2o a hogshead. Using the Bame figures in other respects as in the last calculation, the profit is found to be $66.20, or 26ó per cent. of the cost. COMFARATIVE TABLE OF CONSUHPTION. The following cstimates of the proportionate amounts of the difierent liquora consumed, were made by ono of the most experienced of our wholesale dealers: In this city - spiritous liquors : Por cent. Whisky, 60 Brandy, 10 Gin, 'i Eum, etc, 5 Fancy mixed drinks, 20 Total 100 In the country - spirituous liquors : Per cent. Whisky, 80 Brandy, i Gin, 6 Rum, etc, 2 1-2 Fancy mixed drinks, 7 1-2 Total 100 City and country - spirituous, malt and vinous liquors: Per cent. Whisky, 40 Brandy, 5 Gin, 5 Kam, etc, 6 Malt, 55 Vinous, 20 Total 100 There is said to have been a very decided increase in the quantity of native wines within the last five years, as well as an improvement in their quality. It is claimed, however that for climatic reasons the quantity of stimulants used in this country must always be proportionately loss than in Europe, and that statistics show the truth of the theory. It would thus appear that the natural limit of American grape culture will fall somewhere below that of Europe, though it is doubtful whether the American love of whisky is a thing to be affected by climatic laws.