h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hey Tomatoe, Tomatoe.

*Realises that phrase dosen't come across well typed*

Have some

Some odd things.

Par 1: "In 1661, the government changed excise duty regulations to encourage large company stills. . . . In 1662 . . ."

Do you mean 1861 and 1862? The RIC wasn't founded till 1816.

"Poitín . . . was usually at the very least 80 per cent proof"

Proof is not measured in percentages but in degrees. Whiskey is usually about 40° proof, which is related to, but not the same as, the percentage of alcohol it contains. This scale derives from a rough and ready test: if you could soak a pinch of gunpowder with a mixture of equal parts of the liquor and water, and it would still ignite, the liquor was "proved", and called 100° proof. This has been calculated to happen if the liquor is 57.15% alcohol (ethanol). If it needed less water in the mix for the powder to stay flammable, it was of lower proof -- see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholic_proof.

Anyway, how in the world are we reliably informed how strong poitín was in rural communities in the 19th century, when it was not quality-controlled in any official way?

"In 1662(1862?) the member of the Royal Irish Constabulary realised . . ." -->members?

"Particularly in hard times, the bogs of Connemara and the hills of Donegal were scattered with secret stills. These days secret stills are rare... but not gone."

Fair enough. You might also include Kerry in the list of thriving industrial zones. Not that I know anything about such activity, officer.

No it was in 1662, but I think I meant to say 'Members of HM Treasury'

Allright I'll suss out the Proof cack up I've caused.

Are you still working on this LaRue?

Well if you've got any comments I'll take them on board.

Well there's still a couple of spellings to correct, and a few "I"s which shouldn't strictly be used in a Guide Entry.

Maybe needs a mention of shebeens, illegal drinking dens?

And I'd heard that there was always a jug of cream or buttermilk on the table in a shebeen, which was added to the poitin to see if it curdled or not (and so indictaed if it was safe to drink....or not) And that this practice gave rise to cream liquers like Baileys etc.

Right, I'll add that.

"In 1661, the government changed excise duty regulations"
English or Irish government? And if English, what were they doing making Irish law?

"to encourage large company stills"
That needs to be explained since it's really quite unclear as to what it means. Some background on the traditional manufacture of booze in Ireland before this new law would help to clarify things.

"a alcoholic mixture"
'an alcoholic mixture'

"usually at the very least 40%abv"
That's a contradiction. 'Usually' means 'most commonly' while 'at the very least' means the bottom end of the range.

"40%abv"
'40% abvAlcohol by Volume.

"bog stills" - 'bog stills'
Double quotes are only used in edited entries for direct quotations. Single quotes are used for everything else.

"about 80 per cent alcohol volume"
'about 80% abv'

19th century - 19th Century (House style)

"What ever the mix it was and is extremely hazardous to drink"
'Whatever the ingredients might have been, it was (and still is) extremely hazardous to drink'

"One centre of 'The Production' is in areas of south Connemara"
'One centre of 'The Production' (as it is called) is in parts of South Connemara'

"Gaeltacht"
As a non-English word that should probably be italicised, and some explanation in a footnote as to what it means and where it is wouldn't go amiss.

"The Gardaí"
'The GardaíThe Irish police force.'

strong holds - strongholds

half hearted - half-hearted

'OH, My God I Think My Throat Is On Fir...'
'Oh my God, I think my throat is on fire!'

"The great last words of a foolish man"
'The last words of a foolish man'

thimble full - thimbleful (or possibly 'thimble-full')

"and they should not drink anything in the morning"
Not even water or tea? It's generally regarded as a good thing to get plenty of liquids inside you when you have a hangover.

"Remember this is for the Lower proof poitín, some of the hell fire should be not drunk"
'Remember, this is for the lower proof poitín; some of the hell-fire should be not drunk'

"If I've scared you away from it"
If, by now, you've been scared away from it'

"Another method to test poitín was a method used in Shebeens4, which was to place a jug cream or buttermilk on the table in a shebeen, which was added to the poitin to see if it curdled or not, which indicated if it was safe to drink....or not."
So... if it curdles the buttermilk it's 'safe'?

"there is a million tales to Potín"
'are a million tales'

*wipes his forehead and takes a quick gulp of a *

Allright I'll get down to fixing those up.

I enjoyed your article so you enjoy your drink but beware. It's the ethanol you want, not the methanol which is the first alcohol to condense out of the still. Use that to light your Primus or clean the car windows. Allegedly there is a slight colour change when the good stuff starts to condense, but what do I know?
The last illegal alcohol I had was some home-brewed vodka bought from a cottage near Kiev, Ukraine. It came in a recycled 500ml beer bottle with a price tag of amounting to about 20p in English money. "Is that the price?" I asked naively. "No" said my friend, Viktor, "that's the price of the beer - the vodka is much cheaper". It's also standard practice to fill screen washers with vodka. It's cheaper than de-icer and provides a ready mady excuse when the police smell your breath.
That said, there are a few places in the English moors when you can catch a smoky boozy smell in the air on a cold, still night (no pun intended".

Phil

Well this article seems to be developing well.
I may just fly to Ireland to look for some.
A deadly curiosity has taken hold of me.
Where can I find this in the U.S.A. ?

Firtly Phil.

And secondly. American 'Moonshine' would probably be the closest thing to potín. Although it will lack the peaty taste of potín.

LeRue, have you managed to take a look at this?



mini

I haven't had time.

*ticks things off on his hand*

New job, the flu (normal not Avian), courses, a series of wakes, two weddings, one wedding reception, one christening and a general school work.

So no, no I haven't

Who's needing more time?

I tried not sleeping... but it didn't end up well.


Me in a tree singing the Nigerian national anthem while banging a home made drum...

*double takes at the *


Whhaaaa?

New smileys!

*is pretty freekin' blown away*

this is an interesting entry indeedy

I think you're still working on it, so I won't add to the comments until afterwards (if there is anything left to comment on)

*wonders if researchers should stock up on Alker Selzer for when this hits the front page*