KIRRIEMUIR

kirriemuir, a police burgh of forfarshire, scotland. pop. (1901), 4096. it is situated on a height above the glen through which the gairie flows, 61⁄4 m. n.w. of forfar by a branch line of the caledonian railway of which it is the terminus. there are libraries, a public hall and a park. the staple industry is linen-weaving. the hand-loom lingered longer here than in any other place in scotland and is not yet wholly extinct. the rev. dr alexander whyte (b. 1837) and j. m. barrie (b. 1860) are natives, the latter having made the town famous under the name of "thrums." the original secession church--the kirk of the auld lichts--was founded in 1806 and rebuilt in 1893. kinnordy, 11⁄2 m. n.w., was the birthplace of sir charles lyell the geologist; and cortachy castle, a fine mansion in the scottish baronial style, about 4 m. n., is the seat of the earl of airlie. kirsch (or kirschenwasser), a potable spirit distilled from cherries. kirsch is manufactured chiefly in the black forest in germany, and in the vosges and jura districts in france. generally the raw material consists of the wild cherry known as _cerasus avium_. the cherries are subjected to natural fermentation and subsequent distillation. occasionally a certain quantity of sugar and water are added to the cherries after crushing, and the mass so obtained is filtered or pressed prior to fermentation. the spirit is usually "run" at a strength of about 50% of absolute alcohol. compared with brandy or whisky the characteristic features of kirsch are (a) that it contains relatively large quantities of higher alcohols and compound ethers, and (b) the presence in this spirit of small quantities of hydrocyanic acid, partly as such and partly in combination as benzaldehyde-cyanhydrine, to which the distinctive flavour of kirsch is largely due.