Greenlees Brothers.
Bonded Warehouse, Osbourne Street, Glasgow.
Messrs. Greenlees Brothers bonding stores were located right in the heart of the city proper, and could scarcely be more conveniently situated to rail or river, the former running direct overhead, while the latter lies within stone-throw. It is not the convenience of situation alone that has been made the name of the firm a "household word" at home and abroad. The scrupulous attention given to the smallest detail, the high class and quality of the liquor, the method and punctuality in executing commissions, have placed this House among the foremost of the kind in the world.
With a frontage of 300 feet, occupying 14 of the large arches under the Glasgow and South-Western Railway, and covering an acre of ground, this vast warehouse was capable of storing 500,000 gallons. So methodically are the casks stacked that any given one can be turned out at a few minutes notice without disturbing its neighbours. The flooring was composed of solid concrete to a depth of 14 inches, and consequently always level and dry.
Overhead, the arches are lined with galvanized iron. The casks were stowed three high on wooden blocks to protect them from any possible dampness, the lower consisting of puncheons and butts, hogs-heads come second and quarters and octaves make up the top tier. In the long narrow arches which branch off and where the cased goods were stored, the same precautions of block raising was taken to perfect dryness secured, insuring protection to expensive capsules and labels.
Two features of special value to which was directed were first, in the interest of the owner of the goods, the cool, equable temperature, aided by sufficient ventilation, which reduces the lowest point the falling off in bulk or strength of the spirits stored and second, in the interest of the warehouse keepers themselves, in having as already stated, a smooth floor, well drilled assistants, ample passage room and even kept stacks, all tending to reduce labour to a minimum.
The blending carried on in these stores was of exceptional magnitude, three quarters of a million gallons passed through the vats within a year. For filling these from the casks a large double suction pump was used which throw 5,000 gallons per hour. There were six blending vats in this warehouse of various contents from 7,000 gallons. Both the pumps and mixing apparatus was driven by a powerful gas engine from the firm of Messrs. L. Sterne & Co. of the Crown Iron Works. Messrs. Greenlees had made the proper blending of different spirits a subject of special attention, and on which they have spent much time and money in perfecting.
The retail trade were gradually awakening to the fact that a great saving was thereby effected over the old system of blending duty-paid spirits in their own cellars. It was apparent that when a retailer makes a blend of duty-paid spirits, and keeps it for any length of time, he loses the duty on the evaporated spirit which he might save by having the spirits blended in bond, and by paying duty on a cask only when he wants it, because when he clears from bond he is only required to pay the duty on the proof gallons contained in the cask at time of clearing. As by far the greater cost of duty paid spirits lies in the duty, he has a clear grain in many interest of £2 on every puncheon, besides the saving on interest and the convenience of retaining his own capital instead of handing it over to the Collector of the Inland Revenue as his banker.
In the bottling department again machinery was used to minimize labour. The bottles used were all new, with a view to remove effectually what goes under the term of Bloom, the bottles were steeped in an acid solution. After having been subjected for a sufficient length of time to the action of the acid bath they were removed and placed upon rotary brushes driven by the gas engine, and were scoured out first with lukewarm water, succeeded by cold water.
The spirits passing by gravitation from the vats were received in the filter, whence it was filled into bottles by means of a bottling machine, which was one of McGlashan's patents. After it leaves the corker's hands the bottle was examined to see that the contents were perfectly bright and the quantity contained was rigidly verified by H. M. Inland Revenue Officer, appointed specially for the purpose. The capsules and labels were then affixed. The enveloping of it first in a paper wrapper then in a straw one, prepared the bottle for the hands of the packer. When the case received a dozen bottles the lid was nailed down ready to have the affixed address and permit Judicious division of labour enabled the two fold operation of bottling and packing to be carried out quickly and economically.
Everything in this warehouse was done under the immediate supervision of H. M. Inland Revenue Officials who had snug quarters inside. Greenlees Brothers "Lorne" Highland and "Royal Connaught" whiskies were favourites where they were shipped all over the world.
End.
