In all the references which are made to the manufacture of rum in New England not a single intimation is made that the spirit was ever rectified or mixed with a neutral spirit color and flavor to make a beverage. In fact, the neutral spirit was unknown as a commercial proposition. The stills which were used were the old-fashioned pot stills. It is stated, on page 502, that Mr. Thomas Armory built a "still-house" in 1722, bringing pine logs 28 feet long, 18 inches in diameter, from Portsmouth for his pumps. In 1726 he orders a copper still of 500 gallons capacity from Bristol, England. The head was to be large in proportion, the gooseneck to be of fine pewter and two feet long, with a barrel in proportion to the whole still.

This shows the character of the still and the nature of the spirit which must have been made therefrom. In the early history of its production there is nothing known of the modern process of rectifying, mixing, adulterating, compounding, coloring and flavoring. In 1659 a hogshead of rum was quoted at 12 pounds, 12 shillings. In 1670 it had fallen to 7 pounds. In 1671 it was quoted at five shillings per gallon. Insofar as can be judged by the early history of these substances, the contention that has been made, that distilled beverages were always rectified, colored, adulterated, mixed and flavored before consumption, does not appear to have any basis in fact.

Morewood, on page 334, of his work, writes of New England rum in the following language:

The rums of New England are considered of good quality, and some deem them not inferior to the best that are produced in the West Indies. In 1810, they distilled in this State 2,472,000 gallons of rum; from grain, 63,730 gallons; from cider, 316,480 gallons, while the breweries yielded 716,800 gallons. Besides this extensive manufacture, much is imported. Geneva is successfully imitated, particularly since the tide of emigration has brought many intelligent men from Holland, who possess sufficient knowledge of this branch of trade, to render the American article equal to that manufactured in the Netherlands. Many of the Irish emigrants distill, in genuine purity, that description of spirits commonly called Innishowen or Potheen, which is no less a favorite on the other side of the Atlantic, than on the shores of Magilligan, or the banks of the Shannon. The following mode of making it at an early period, is thus described by an eyewitness: To a bushel and a half of rye, four quarts of malt, and a handful of hops, were added fifteen gallons of boiling water, which were allowed to stand for four hours. These being increased by sixteen gallons more, two quarts of home-made yeast were thrown in, and in this proportion either a large or small quantity of worts was prepared, which, after being allowed ample time to ferment, was distilled in a simple apparatus. One bushel of rye produced about eleven quarts of weak and inferior spirit, and sold at the rate of 4s. 6d. per gallon. The refuse of these small stills was used in feeding swine.