UV Upgrade to RO Process Water

America's First Cocktail

Before there was a company, there was a drink.  Antoine Peychaud, a Creole immigrant, operated a pharmacy on the French Quarter's Royal Street (New Orleans, LA) in 1838. With his background as an apothecary, he was a natural mixologist. His friends would gather for late-night revelry at his pharmacy.  Peychaud would mix brandy, absinthe and a dash of his secret bitters for his guests (later called the Sazerac).

The Bar

After the drink, there was the bar. The cocktail immediately spread in popularity at the city's finest coffee houses (mid 1800s drinking establishments).  However, the cocktail gained popularity at Sazerac Coffeehouse (New Orleans).  In 1850, the owner Sewell Taylor institutionalized the drink at his coffee house by using only Sazerac de Forge et Fils brandy.  The Sazerac Cocktail received its name from this coffee house.

The Company

From the bar, a company was born.  In 1869, Thomas H. Handy purchased the Sazerac Coffeehouse and began to acquire and market brands of liquor including Peychaud's Bitters.  In the 1890s his company began to bottle and market the Sazerac cocktail, now made with whiskey instead of brandy.  In addition, the company operated the Sazerac Bar.  Later, Handy's former secretary, C. J. O'Reilly, chartered the Sazerac Company.  Ever since (except for a stint as a delicatessen and grocery vendor during Prohibition), the Sazerac Company has distilled an ever-increasing line of fine spirits.

UV Upgrade

Sazerac acquired the former Barton Brands facility in Owensboro, KY in 2009.  The plant was using an older style medium pressure UV unit to disinfect recirculated RO treated water, however the unit was quite old, subject to frequent maintenance, and was rendered obsolete.  Barry Grace, Technical Manager, elected to use ETS to meet and exceed future requirements for disinfection of product water.  The ETS unit selected (SP-25-4S) featured a 316L SS UV chamber and SS power/control panel.  The chamber was equipped with an automatic wiping mechanism, unlike the previous model.  This automatic cleaning mechanism allows cleaning of the quartz sleeve without the necessity of having to take the unit off line.  The lamps can be run at full and half power which will allow energy conservation and extended lamp life.  Installation of the unit was straightforward, and the startup commissioning and training of the unit took only a few hours. Sazerac personnel were impressed with the functionality and ease of use, even commenting that the spare parts numbers were accessible from the SPECTRA control panel.  Additionally, the SPECTRA controls enabled Sazerac personnel to make the necessary field modifications upon their request.