Whisky · History · Short entry
Coffey's continuous still patent
In 1830 Aeneas Coffey, a former inspector-general of excise in Ireland turned Dublin distiller, patented a two-column continuous still. It made grain whisky, and therefore blended whisky, cheap to produce.
1830
Patent for a continuous still with two copper columns, the analyser and the rectifier.
Why it mattered
Continuous distillation of grain produced a stronger, lighter and cheaper spirit; in Scotland patent-still output passed pot-still output by 1857, and blended whisky was built on it.
The patent
Aeneas Coffey (1780-1852) joined the excise service in 1800 and became inspector-general of excise in Ireland in 1819; he later left the service and bought the Dodder Bank distillery in Dublin. In 1830 he patented the first commercially viable continuous still adapted to grain, improving on Robert Stein's single-column still of two years earlier. Grange in Scotland installed one in 1834.
The leading Dublin distillers rejected the new spirit, but Irish distillers in general were early adopters, and in Scotland patent-still output exceeded pot-still output by 1857. The Irish Whiskey technical file also dates the patent to 1830.
How it connects
Method
- led-to Column still (Coffey still)
Style
- led-to Blended Scotch Whisky
Story
- related A history of whisky
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