Bourbon Gas?

[nysquire]

An article I came across in Popular Mechanics
May 1982.Enjoy....

[boone]

In History past it was not uncommon for a distillery to produce something "other" than bourbon

I waded thru my files to find this article about Maker's Mark. It's a interview with Bill Samuels Sr....from the Kentucky Standard, May 9, 1988. The picture caption...Bill Samuels Sr. right with his son Bill Samuels Jr. left, listened as former Kentucky Governor Ned Breathitt talked about Samuels' contributions to the state. Breathitt's son created a bust of the elder Samuels that was unveiled at Maker's Mark on Friday at the Distillery's annual Oaks brunch.

(part of the article)...Then, the federal government interfered with the Samuels' business for the second time. As World War 11 got under way in the early 1940's, distilleries were required to halt whiskey production and make ethyl alcohol instead.

It was not for consumption, but for "production of ammunition" one of the main ingredients in bourbon, so the war effort took precedence. We had a market but we couldn't supply that market he said.

The switch in products required some retooling, which Samuels engineering background enabled him to accomplish, and his distillery which produced the ethyl alcohol as long as there was a demand, was sold, by this time one of the largest distilleries around.

Bettye Jo

[wrbriggs]

The title of your thread made me wonder if you were looking for advice on how to get your wife to let you sleep in the bed after lots of bourbon and chicken wings...

[OneCubeOnly]

Bettye Jo--that's pretty wild! What role does ethanol play in ammunition production?

[bluesbassdad]

OCO,

I've heard stories about Navy men in WWII drinking alcohol intended for torpedos. I've always wondered whether there is any truth to it, and, if so, was the alcohol used in the propulsion system, the warhead, or something else.

Any old swabbies out there?

Yours truly,
Dave Morefield

[bobbyc]

I believe Sam Cecils book has the breakdown, but it is something like 1 gallon for a hand grenade, and 4 gallons for a jeep tire. Also some is needed for making a parachute. It seems to be a pretty universal material for manufacturing, especially rubber.

[Gillman]

Also, ethyl alcohol needs rise during wartime because of increased requirement for antiseptics, swabbing and other purposes connected to medicine and hospital care.

I don't know if ethyl alcohol is used today for these purposes to the same extent as in the 1940's.


Gary

[cowdery]

Maybe one of our resident scientists can answer the question about alcohol and explosives. I know alchol is used in the production of explosives, but I don't know exactly how.

As for fuel, a recent episode of The West Wing (an entertaining show but not my source for factual information) kept harping on the idea that using ethanol for fuel is a scam because "it takes a barrel of oil to produce a barrel of ethanol." Does anyone know if this, or something like it, is true? Obviously it does take energy to make alcohol, but does it take that much? Is alcohol truly useless as an energy source? (Presumably, it takes much less than the energy equivalent of a barrel of oil to extract and refine a barrel of oil.)

[gr8erdane]

While not a swabby, I am kind of a military history buff and my first reaction was to say that WWII torpedoes were mostly run off of compressed air so I investigated on Google and found that to be true up to a point. The use of alcohol in the torpedo was used as a heating element as the compressed gas escaping tended to cool the torpedo and it's interaction in the cooled state with warm sea water prevented top performance. Alcohol and other fuels were used to warm the torpedo through a special ignition system that surrounded the torpedo engine to improve the performance.

I have seen films where "torpedo juice" was consumed by the crews of PT boats but I always had figured that came from the use of the uncharged torpedoes as a makeshift still or as a hiding place for the contraband.

[musher]

I've read similar information about the cost of ethanol production. I've always assumed that ethanol blends in gasoline exist (1) for the oxygenating effect in reducing pollution -- especially in the colder months and (2) as a subsidy for agriculture -- to do something with surplus grain so that prices stay supported.