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Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 7:18:53 PM   
FatDomDaddy


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Status: offline 		For medicinal and educational purposes of course

Specifically double and triple distilling (Irish style) and Rye. Real Rye, like the Maryland, PA and Virginia kind not that fake Rye they make in Canada 
 
Also barrel aging. Where did you get them? Size? Virgin oak vs used, port, sherry, charred vs non charred etc ect.
 
Thought there might be some opinions out here.  
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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 7:28:49 PM   
orfunboi


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Status: offline 		Does brewing hooch in county lockup count?

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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 7:37:46 PM   
FatDomDaddy


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Status: offline 		No...lol

Fermentation is not distilling.

However... rasin jack? was it any good?

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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 7:46:13 PM   
Gwynvyd


Posts: 4949
Status: offline 		Never made wiskey.. but I have made wine, cordials, tried my hand at Beer... ( I dont drink it much so didnt do it again) and of course my fave of all time..... ( ok.. other then rum) Mead.

If you wanna talk Mead.. I am all ears.

here is some help:
http://bavarianbrewerytech.com/distillery_site/pages/whiskey1.htm

http://www.thewhiskystore.de/beginner/tmbw.htm

http://www.whiskeywise.com/homemade-whiskey.html

Happy mashing!

Gwyn,
sometimes I crack myself up...

( sorry a little brewing humor there)



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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 7:50:07 PM   
NumberSix


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Status: offline 		Fundamentally, raisins are grapes dried
fundamentally grapes make wine
fundamentally wine distilled is brandy
fundamentally wine and brandy mixed is port
fundamentally, it is raisin jack 


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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 8:30:16 PM   
slaveboyforyou


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From: Arkansas, U.S.A.
Status: offline 		My family are all hillbillies.  My dad's entire Scots-Irish from Appalachia.  I have seen corn whiskey made by relatives, and I had an uncle show and explain the entire process to me and my cousin when I was younger.  It's not difficult to do, but it is sort of an art form getting it to come out right.  You also have to be careful, because you can poison yourself.  That being said, I wouldn't advise it.  You can get a lot of time in the Federal pen for it.  If you live near people, they will know you're doing it.  In order to make enough to fill a barrel, you'd have to make a lot of beer.  It stinks like you wouldn't believe. 

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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 9:00:49 PM   
DomKen


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From: Chicago, IL
Status: offline 		Making your own alcohol isn't illegal, except perhaps for violating local zoning laws and the such. The feds and state folks get involved if you start selling it without paying all the taxes and getting the licenses.

I've brewed beer and understand the distilling process but haven't ever made my own spirits. You should be aware that alcohol is extremely flammable and alcohol vapor is explosive so doing this in a home made still is likely to result in property damage.

If there are kits such as are sold for brewing beer I haven't seen them. So you'd need at minimum a large sterilizable vessel for fermenting, a controllable heat source, a condensation coil and some sort of bottling barreling equipment. You can buy smallish barrels intended for home wine making.

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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 9:13:48 PM   
DomAviator


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Status: offline 		Ive never done it - but back in the Navy we had a chief from Tennessee who set up a still made from some aircraft components. Farily nice setup - all Tig Welded joints, no open flames heated with steam, chilled water condensor. Too bad US Navy ships are dry except on steel beach days. Otherwise I would know how delicious his product was and how he could put even Johnny Walker Black to shame...

As for the legalities of it... I strongly urge that you NOT attempt to run a still even for home use. You can legally make beer and wine at home but the ATF will stomp you for distillation of spirits. Unless of course it is for "alternative energy use" in which case you can file a simple five page application entitling you to make up to 10,000 gallons per year for home use... So dont run a still, but if you file the proper permit and have some land or an unattached garage or shed (ie something NOT atttactched to your home) you can easily get that "Small Scale Alcohol Fuels Plant" permit to make ethanol for you car and can conduct all kinds of experiments, but dont drink it

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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 9:16:40 PM   
slaveboyforyou


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quote:

Making your own alcohol isn't illegal, except perhaps for violating local zoning laws and the such. The feds and state folks get involved if you start selling it without paying all the taxes and getting the licenses.


You're wrong about that.  Distilling spirits without a permit is illegal.    You can get 5 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine for it.  It has nothing to do with selling it.  You can not operate a still without a permit to operate a distilled spirits plant. 

Here's a link to the FAQ site on the subject from the BATF:

http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/faq.shtml#s7

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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 9:27:38 PM   
DomKen


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Status: offline 		That's odd. I know several folks who quite openly make their own shine and I've never known of any who had any trouble with the law if they didn't try selling any.

I'll also point out that a little checking online indicates there are kits for home making of spirits so I wonder how vigorously the laws are enforced.

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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 9:45:24 PM   
slaveboyforyou


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quote:

That's odd. I know several folks who quite openly make their own shine and I've never known of any who had any trouble with the law if they didn't try selling any.

I'll also point out that a little checking online indicates there are kits for home making of spirits so I wonder how vigorously the laws are enforced.


I don't know how vigorously they enforce it.  If the locals catch you, they are sure to alert the Feds about it.  I never underestimate the BATF.  I know they sell those kits online, and I bet you they keep records of who buys it.  They keep records on people who buy grow lamps and hydroponics supplies too.  Shit, they sell lock picking kits online and in magazines.  I know those damn things are illegal unless you're a locksmith. 

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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 9:47:52 PM   
DomAviator


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Status: offline 		Plus in various states you also need a license to own certain things that you might use even in home beer or wine making, mucj less spirits distillation. For example here in Texas the following require a permit from the DPS (State Police)







(A)  a condenser
(B)  a distilling apparatus
(C)  a vacuum drier
(D)  a three-neck or distilling flask
(E)  a tableting machine
(F)  an encapsulating machine
(G)  a filter, Buchner, or separatory funnel

(H)  an Erlenmeyer, two-neck, or single-neck flask
(I)  a round-bottom, Florence, thermometer, or
filtering flask
(J)  a Soxhlet extractor
(K)  a transformer
(L)  a flask heater
(M)  a heating mantel  or
(N)  an adaptor tube

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/criminal_law_enforcement/narcotics/narcprecursor.htm

Thats a serious one too - I have some of those items as they are used in connection with mixing resins for composite repair on aircraft components. (ie the filter funnel, the vacuum system (for vaccuum bagging layups), the flask heater, etc) and you god damn well better have the right paperwork on them or you can expect a visit from DPS and they have the deliveries in a database! So, at least in Texas be prepared to explain what you are doing with your distillation column, condensor, heater, etc..... Thats aside from ATF requirements!

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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 9:52:01 PM   
kittinSol


Posts: 16926
Status: offline 		How come it's so legally dodgy to distill one's own alcohol, and how is it compatible with individual freedom? Am I correct in suspecting it's to do with government control of the tax revenue from booze? And if so, why is it not more vigorously fought against?

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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 9:58:51 PM   
slaveboyforyou


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From: Arkansas, U.S.A.
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quote:

How come it's so legally dodgy to distill one's own alcohol, and how is it compatible with individual freedom? Am I correct in suspecting it's to do with government control of the tax revenue from booze? And if so, why is it not more vigorously fought against?


A senator proposed allowing it for personal use a few years ago.  It didn't make it out of committee.  Taxation has a lot to do with it, but safety is another.  You can kill somone or seriously hurt them if you don't know what you're doing in distillation.  I have heard stories about unscrupulous moonshiners filtering their product through car radiators, adding lye to the mix, or even adding wood alcohol to it to give it a kick. 

I do believe in personal freedom, but that's one of those touchy subjects.  I wouldn't drink homemade booze unless I knew the person that made it. 

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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 10:01:24 PM   
kittinSol


Posts: 16926
Status: offline 		Good god... danger, hmmmm. I'm genuinely gobsmacked. So many things are allowed and far less regulated that strike me as a million times more dangerous than home distillation. American eccentricity will never cease to amaze me :-) .

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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 10:04:18 PM   
DomKen


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quote:

ORIGINAL: kittinSol

Good god... danger, hmmmm. I'm genuinely gobsmacked. So many things are allowed and far less regulated that strike me as a million times more dangerous than home distillation. American eccentricity will never cease to amaze me :-) .

We're pretty puritan when it comes to food and drink safety. I think you can begin to understand it by digging up a copy of Jungle by Upton Sinclair and looking into the aftermath of its publication.

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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 10:09:46 PM   
kittinSol


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quote:

ORIGINAL: DomKen

We're pretty puritan when it comes to food and drink safety.



Just food and drink :-) ? I can't even take my bikini top off at the local beach! My stepdaughter's being taught 'abstinence class' at school! Talk about putting ideas into her head... They 'beep' over swear words on television, even after the watershed! Etcaetera, etcaetera, etcaetera lol.

Edited for obvious reasons  .

< Message edited by kittinSol -- 5/10/2008 10:17:12 PM >

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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 10:11:48 PM   
DomAviator


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Joined: 4/22/2008
Status: offline 		I agree completely with slaveboy on this one. It is extremely dangerous if you dont know what you are doing. People have been killed or blinded by bad shine. Whats more the process itself if dangerous as hell. Think about it you are essentially working with a pressure vessel (boiler) not made to ASME code using whatever scrap people cobble together and weld up without even knowing what they are doing. That in and of itself is a recipie for disaster. (Your hot water heater can pretty much level your house if the relief valve fails!) Then what you are doing is boiling a flammable liquid over an open fire... Sure not very serious on the first run but once you get to like 80% ETOH (160 proof) your CAR will run on that shit! Does boiling gasoline in a pot on the stove sound safe? I mean essentially youre running something with all the dangers of an oil refinery in your backyard, except this is made by god knows who insyead of engineers and the piping comes from home depot, and the welds havent been x-rayed etc....

Then again people do stupid things.... Here is a TRUE story of a teenager who built a nuclear reactor in his mothers backyard shed... http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/radscout.html  LOL

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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 10:16:35 PM   
DomKen


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From: Chicago, IL
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quote:

ORIGINAL: kittinSol

quote:

ORIGINAL: DomKen

We're pretty puritan when it comes to food and drink safety.



Just food and drink :-) ? I can't even take my bikini top off at the local beach! My stepdaughter's being taught 'abstinence class' at school: she's only thirteen! Talk about putting ideas into her head... They 'beep' over swear words on television, even after the watershed! Etcaetera, etcaetera, etcaetera lol.

Things are changing on the whole women going topless front.

Abstinence only is a big deal fro the RR but should go away after the next election since the RR's back seems to be broken.

Beeping language is one of those things the real prudes push real hard. There are places where swearing in public is a crime.

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RE: Anyone ever distill spirits, wiskey? - 5/10/2008 10:21:56 PM   
kittinSol


Posts: 16926
Status: offline 		Fundamentally speaking though, I think the legal status of home booze making is a matter of private liberty. If I want to brew something and die from it, isn't it my problem? And if some cretin's ready to buy it from me without checking the quality, isn't it theirs? (Being a bit of a devil's advocate here, but I am genuinely surprised at how supinely people seem to be taking this government dictating their private alcohol consumption/creation, considering the fierce arguments most make in favour of deregulation and libertarian politics.)

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