StillSmart

Mickrick wrote:

As an aside, mention of a gas hob has answered a question i previously asked, and yes i know its already been asked and answered here (i think). I asked how to get quicker running my wash through my airstill.

Freezer stripping - takes 7 runs of the AS down to just 2 - you go straight to spirit run.

Water freezes - alcohol doesn't. Tip it out.

For neuking I use 1ltr Kilners and top off.

Yup. I use the wire top jars. The wire comes off really easily and then you can keep the lid on to maximise the vacuum effect.

Mine are screw tops Mash and not neukable.

I use Aldi beetroot jars, remove metal lid, cover with a plastic upside down bowl and nuke, when Mike goes 'bing' I replace the standard lid.
The vacuum is so strong I struggle to get the cap back off.

I use the Lidl big Gherkin/Cornichon jars.
And these days I don't bother with a lid, I take the hit on a reduced volume of finished product.

Robert.

Hi Guys

Maybe I’ve missed something here but how is this going to make Whisky?

If I’m not mistaken this is being make from a pot stilled sugar wash designed for neutral, where’s the grain?

Secondly the oak is not charred?

Surely it would just make a bland woody tasting concoction!

I thought I read he was going to char the wood.
I would buy some JD chips.

Anavrin wrote:Hi Guys

Maybe I’ve missed something here but how is this going to make Whisky?
If I’m not mistaken this is being made from a pot stilled sugar wash designed for neutral, where’s the grain?
Secondly the oak is not charred?
Surely it would just make a bland woody tasting concoction!

I've been watching this post and I've not put my 2 cents in, I must admit I share some foreboding about heating likker in a pan on a hob.

After re-reading all of this thread, I have to agree with Anavrin. It started life as a sugar wash, putting anything wood chippings, vanilla pods, orange peel etc will only flavour the likker.

Putting in oak and nuking it may get you a smoked woody taste that you may be able to convince yourself...but it won't be a whiskey.
Why not finish off this likker, and try the cornflake whiskey mash/wash....some of the guys are getting very good results with it.


Ice

bugger the hob.

Technically not whiskey. Bourbon.

Kale hearts + JD bbq chips (no char & no grain) and 3 nukes 50c lidded is VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY similar to JD. Tweakle-able to taste. A few days to settle.

Of all the flavorings/clones I do, this is always the closest and the easiest. When B7Q had a £3 a bag sale I cleared them out.

Am sitting on 4kg myself Mash. Will it cure
the Farmers???

Ok, been a busy morning this morning as my wood chips and aquarium bubbler have arrived.
I done my spirit run last night (1st one) got one more to do today then thats my lentil wash finished and done. When i done my spirit run last night i diluted half bottle (35cl) to 40% i added in my SS Top shelf whiskey additive. And i drank it, yes i know it should air etc... tasted ok to me, not the best by far but perfectly acceptable.

I've now nuked some of the clear spirit with plain oak wood chip, thats give it a colour and i'm also airing it with my bubbler............













I know plastic is not ideal to nuke it with, but i'm trying to fathom out how hot i have to go and i don't want to crack a glass jar in the microwave. Just to allay anyones fears i'm NOT heating it on a hob, i gave that up as a bad idea. So now i'm just experimenting, how hot, diluted a bit, undiluted etc..... and see what works for me. Also i've not charred the wood, so i will experiment with some charred wood also.

Wether its technically a whiskey to me is neither here nor there so long as it tastes like one, i've had a sip and to me it does. Next few days i'll pass a drop onto some friends i know who do drink whiskey and get their opinion.

And yes the crux of it is a plain old sugar wash, double distilled, dropped in wood and aired. I'll keep you updated on the feedback i get.

Heavily charred barrels have between 5 and 8 mm thickness of charring in them. That's where a lot of the vanillins and colour come from.

Glad you've given up the idea of heating on a gas hob, as that really is a fools game (hot alcohol vapour is as volatile as petrol vapour - and from experience, fuel/air explosives are very destructive - big concussion, which is why gas leaks don't just go bang, they demolish whole buildings).

I also take a similar view i.e. that it doesn't have to actually be made as a xxxxxxxxx as long as it tastes like one - I'm happily doing mostly turbo sugar neutrals and using the essence flavours I've found I enjoy (don't have the space for anything else and in a few cases I can't get the base ingredients anyway)..........

If you do want specific wood, I've found that if you find a garden centre that does "half barrel planters", then take a peek at the ones for full price as many of those will be spirits barrels. Then it's up to you, but I wait until the end of the season as they often have one or two that have dried out and started to fall apart - you just need to ask them if you can have them free or cheap.

Then it's just a case of taking them apart (the heads of barrels are often not oak), then clean up the staves with an electric plane and you can then cut them down into whatever size chunks you like before toasting them. For wines etc, I toast mine in a low oven until the wood is the colour of a dark pencil lead, but for spirits you might need to go a lot further for the authentic levels of toast/char.......

Ok, i could be talking rubbish here, i'm just thinking out loud really but i think i (we) have been missing a trick here. I just been looking at my sachet of SS Classic single malt whiskey, i enjoy that one. I checked the ingredients on the back....... Flavourings/ natural oak extract / glucose syrup / stabiliser(422) / colour (150d) / natural flavourings. I guess the stabiliser is to preserve the pack contents. When we nuke our wood chips we're getting that oak extract too. Thats what we're after. Then it dawned on me !!!!! Best way to extract from the wood is to boil it, in water. Then you can add it to your spirit, you're gonna add water anyway to dilute it ? Looks ok so far, 15 minutes up to now, nice golden colour. Quicker than nuking..........


I supose if you where insistent on getting a real malt flavour in there you could spread a load of Horlicks in your wash as a nutrient

Not a bad idea at all

Maybe bang some of those chunks with a blow torch to toast them (quicker than baking/roasting them) and see how much colour you get out of them when boiled)........