1st Batch Hasn\'t Killed Me!

by **Rich** » Mon May 11, 2009 11:54 pm

WooHoo!!! I\'m still alive and drinking what appears to be a clear liquid that burns and gets you p****d! I must admit I didn\'t think it was going too well because after I distilled the first 4 litres, it still had a slight smell to it. That now appears to have gone after filtering and leaving it a day or so. Maybe I did something wrong, I\'m sure you\'ll put me right. I\'m quite impressed with it though, especially for a first attempt. I expected it to be like paint stripper. Thanks for all the help guys. Much appreciated.

by **Phantom** » Tue May 12, 2009 1:23 am

Sometimes you might get slight varying smells Rich. Though I\'d guess that might be something to do with slight variations in the make up of both the yeast/nutrient packs or the sugar (glucose/maltose/fructose/lactose/etc etc).
Either way, once you get the processes \"weighed off\", it\'s amazing how easy it is, and relatively quick as well, to make a batch of hooch/moonshine/white lightning or whatever else you want to call it.......
I\'d direct you towards the \"flavourings recommendation\" thread and see what appeals to you. I also mailed some to jimmy a good while back which he included in the \"main site\".
Or when we get into \"soft fruit season\", look up recipes that refer to \"rumtopft\" (I think that\'s how it\'s spelled) a.k.a. rum pot. Rasps, strawbs etc all soaked in 60% ABV rum with extra sugar sounds good to me. Ha, you might even end up with a rather nice 40% ABV sweet, fruity icecream syrup........

by **umpa** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:00 am

hi Rich,
This hobby is very good, i have made some schnaps and will be doing a bit of a write up in a bit, its really down to \'what do you want to make today\' whilst sticking your finger up in the air lol.

by **bluecap** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:25 am

Nice one Richâ€¦Enjoy
Buy a man a bottle of voddyâ€¦he can get sh*tfaced.
Buy a man a still he can get sh*tfaced for life.
Welcome to the best hobby in the world.

by **HangOver** » Fri May 15, 2009 9:48 pm

hey rich

well done !
your on your way to making a LOAD of spirit.

If you think its good now wait a while, the first few get better and better and you find out exactly what you need to do.
IMO distill twice, filter how ever many times you think it needs, then enjoy !

by **Balmoral** » Sat May 16, 2009 6:46 pm

I ended up with about 4 litres of 60% and another 2 litres of 30% backset from my first distillate. I put it all together, cut it back to 40% with distilled water and filtered it. Now I am distilling it a second time and so far I have collected about a litre at 80-84%, and another litre at 70-75%. When it drops below 60% I will keep it running for more backset.
Then I\'m going to distil and filter a third time, flavour, and see if it has all been worthwhile.

by **Phantom** » Sat May 16, 2009 7:31 pm

I ended up with about 4 litres of 60% and another 2 litres of 30% backset from my first distillate. I put it all together, cut it back to 40% with distilled water and filtered it. Now I am distilling it a second time and so far it is coming out at 84%, when it drops below 60% I will keep it running for more backset.
Then I\'m going to distil and filter a third time, flavour, and see if it has all been worthwhile.

It\'s probably worth the effort on price alone.
As for flavour ? well it\'s up to you to find the flavour you like isn\'t it i.e. I\'ve yet to find what I\'d call a good brandy but the prestige calvados is, to my taste, good. As is the still spirits Tennessee sour mash bourbon and the Dark Navy Rum.
Ergo, it up to you to find what you like Balmoral, all for the extortionate price of about Â£3 a bottle (flavoured and at 40%)...

by **Balmoral** » Sat May 16, 2009 7:37 pm

I really like Islay malts, and Talisker. I have a bottle of Top Shelf Smoky Malt Whisky essence. Will knock up a couple of litres of that at 45% and see how we go.

by **Phantom** » Sun May 17, 2009 4:50 am

Apparently, the prestige one that\'s usually listed as \"Single Malt Scotch\" tastes like Glenfiddich. I can\'t say for certain as I\'m no whisky expert, but it must be Ok as even I can drink it....

by **Jimmy** » Tue May 19, 2009 3:24 am

You\'re unlikely to get a Talisker that easily, otherwise they wouldn\'t bother spending so much time making it! Hopefully you\'ll get something decent though, but if you\'re a real fan of single malt stuff then you\'re probably better off using the still to make stuff for mixing and use the money you\'ve saved for buying the proper stuff. Not being down about it, you can make some perfectly good drinks, but realistically the effort and time that goes into single malts can\'t be faked 100%. Good luck though, near enough is good enough!

by **Balmoral** » Wed May 20, 2009 2:16 am

Thanks Jimmy, but my expectations aren\'t quite that high.
Anyway, I now have my first batch, 4 1/2 litres of triple distilled and triple filtered at 45% in a demijohn.
My filtering has been a bit hit & miss, but now I\'ve sorted the filter and cartridges out properly will filter once more and then flavour. The Still Spirits cartridges from the multipack box work perfectly, the ones that came with the kit loose in a bag were my problem, as they do not appear to be in the slightest bit porous!

by **Balmoral** » Fri May 22, 2009 12:34 am

I have to say, it is a damn sight better than it has any right to be. I am very impressed.
Drunk in isolation, it\'s actually a very good Whisky. Drunk side by side with a bottle of Bowmore, they taste surprisingly similar, mine is a touch sweeter, with a soft Vanilla roundness to it. The Bowmore is a bit more \'real\'. But apart from that, I am pretty stunned that something I distilled myself is anywhere near a decent single malt. At the very best I was expecting it to be not quite so good as a supermarket mass market blended. Colour and clarity is identical, the Bowmore is at 40%, my own has been cut to 45%. The Whisky flavours and Islay peatiness etc are very, very similar. Which is not entirely unexpected as I used a Top Shelf \'Smoky Malt Whisky\' essence to flavour my clear spirit.
I think it has turned out well because instead of distilling once and then cutting, filtering and flavouring, I distilled, cut & filtered three times, got it up to 84%, then cut & filtered it twice more.
I have a couple of litres of Whisky, and a couple of litres of White Rum, from my first attempt. The Rum really does taste just like Bacardi.
Cheers!

by **Phantom** » Fri May 22, 2009 12:56 am

Well done Balmoral.
That\'s pretty much my view i.e. various tastes might not be everyones but you\'ve got to try the different ones as it\'s surprising how many of the essences are amazing, equally, there are some that I just wouldn\'t/couldn\'t recommend (cinnamon schnapps is foul, but when mixed with black sambuca, it puts hairs on the chest and certainly keep out any winter cold)......

by **Jimmy** » Sat May 23, 2009 6:39 pm

Don\'t forget that the essences often improve after a couple of weeks too!
Oh, and from a purists perspective - great work on the distillation side too, sounds like you put in some effort on doing it properly, and as you can see it does reward you! I found that one of the hardest lessons to learn - you don\'t need to wring every last % out of each batch, aim for quality and what is left over you just bung in a demijohn and run again so it\'s not wasted.