StillSmart

I had Radio 4 running in the kitchen this evening and The Archers came on. Some character I've never heard of, Toby, pranced into someone else's kitchen - maybe Caroline but I wasn't paying a any attention - with a still, and announced he was going to make Gin.

Where the scriptwriters are going with this I'm not sure. Grey Gables may burn to the ground in an alcohol firestorm. The Practicing Solicitor's Guide to Distillation Licensing may be read verbatim over the the airwaves. Joe Grundy and Lilian Archer might both go blind overnight thereby revealing their previously unexposed but continuing adulterous affair stretching back all of sixty years, something I've long suspected.

Anyway, heads up - the nation's attention is swiveling toward home distillation for the next few weeks.

Maybe time to keep a low profile then, If you have anything to lose?

Robert.

I'd lay odds the storyline won't turn out in his favour.

Just off outside to bury my still !!

Gonna have to dig a sodding great hole
to bury this new brew shed

I can think of no reason why anyone would generate new alcohol instead of buying in duty-paid ethanol and redistilling it under the less onerous HMRC rectifier’s licence for a small commercial venture that has no vital taste excuse. I find it hard to see how gin might qualify as requiring a mash. Rum and whisky, yes, but not gin. So long as it's shipped out within days of bringing in the ethanol there's no huge tied-up capital involved.

That, however, seems not to be the fictitious Toby's plan. I expect he'll apply and be wafted through a pain-free process of getting licensed to distill. Or Grey Gables might go up in flames, one can never tell with The Archers, I reckon it kills off as many characters as Eastenders. Poor Nigel, for instance, slaughtered on a whim.

Regardless of what anybody thinks of the Archers as a Radio Soap, it is very likely that a significant number of Radio 4 listeners will be hearing about home distilling, on this quite popular programme, for the first time..

This, in turn, for Radio 4 listeners, can quite well lead to conversations amongst friends, colleagues and acquaintances about home distilling and what, if anything, one knows about it.

Often, for many, “what one knows about it”,will simply be knowing some body who does it.

If you have friends that listen to Radio 4, and sample your product, that person, maybe you, becomes the subject of that very conversation.

I did waft this one a few months ago, but for any that missed it, do look at the price of Ethanol on the bay, surprisingly cheap I thought.
The ads that I viewed mentioned no taxes, other than VAT.
The sellers only required a shipping address.
If you can still, You can rectify.
Purity, No Problemo.

Robert.

gaza the instructor wrote:Gonna have to dig a sodding great hole
to bury this new brew shed

Cheers Gaz... that started my Tue morning off with a smile..

What this thread has opened my eyes to is,....... the number of closet Archers listeners lurking among us!!

The plot heads toward inexorable doom... I quote from a plot summary site:

Code: Select all

Sunday: Toby eventually reveals his plans to set up a gin distillery - with no licence. He covers this minor detail, by stating he has no intention to sell the product. Not until he has had plenty of practice, roping in Pip as his chief taster.

Thursday: He would like Pip to test his few-days old gin later on, which she does. It is revolting and she cannot bear to stomach a second mouthful. Toby agrees that it will not be a success so needs to rethink. He will pour it away and try another batch.

The word "botanicals" made an appearance this afternoon. These need a strong presence in order to get past the tonic, apparently. The sampling was more favorable than the first attempt. Toby thinks a financial bonanza is within his reach.

Perpetually pickled Lilian has now been officially mentioned as an expert taster.

Doesnt make Lilian a bad girl.
Likes a Gin. Makes her a good time girl

I have managed to elude The Archers for many years now.
I've always considered myself to be a good time boy, maybe she and I should get together?
The fact that she is a fictional character in a radio drama, and I am a slightly drunk home distiller surely helps?


Robert.

A marriage made in heaven