Max and I (remember Max from some older posts? Old
high school bud? Band of “Mad Scientists”?) decided to make some kick-ass
alcohol stuff based on apple cider. In those days(1955) on Long Island there was a
thriving local orchard industry, and several nearby orchards produce their own
apple cider. In the winter only. In three days it was a bit fizzy and in a week
it was positively intoxicating. It was really alcoholic. You could get a buzz
from a pint or two.
We decided to get a couple of gallons and make “apple jack”,
a concentrated liquor made by “freeze distillation” or freezing the liquid
until only the alcohol and sugary water was liquid. Then you poured off the “liquor”
and got a serious buzz. My father warned us about “fusel oil” and the blindness
and sickness it could produce. Yeah Pop.
So we froze the stuff, poured off the syrupy liquor and
drank it. Whee!! Got a real buzz, but a terrible hangover too. We moved on to
other things and did not become the kings of illegal liquor. But, I was talking
to a friend of mine today, a natural products chemist, and asked about “fusel
oil.” Blank expression. No idea what it was. So, when I could, I “Googled” it.
SHOCK!!!
Old Dad was RIGHT!!! Fusel oil, AKA fusel alcohol (a toxic
mixture of several organic alcohols and other crap) is a byproduct of
fermentation and toxic as hell in concentrations above normal fermentation.
Specifically it is really concentrated and toxic in “freeze distillation”. We only did that one batch and neither of us
went blind. But old Dad was Right. How the hell did he know that? Simple. He
was the product of the Great Depression where millions of people made their own
booze, and a bunch got into real trouble with fusel oil. Sorry Pop. You were
right. But you were DEAD WRONG about the other cause of teenage blindness. My
vision is still 20/20.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applejack_(beverage)
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