5 of us bought a Mile Hi pot still (all stainless) with a dual purpose column. We've all pitched in helping each other but everyone has done their own ferments. Mine was an "EZ whiskey" as follows:
4 lb corn meal
1 lb cracked white wheat
3.3 lb Briess Rye malt extract
8 lb sugar
4 gram amylase
1.25 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp gypsum
High Spirits distillers yeast w/ gluco, 25 grams
Starting specific gravity 1.1000
Final specific gravity 1.0060
Fermentation lasted 12 days and I distilled it to yield 92 ounces with a final proof of 132. I used copper mesh in the distilling column. It was "aged" for about 2 weeks in jars with medium and dark oak chips, vanilla bean and 6 tsp of my homemade maple syrup. I diluted it down to about 85 proof.
The final product was OK. Nothing spectacular. The smell is nice - the alcohol is not overbearing. However, the oak taste is more than I would have liked and it feels 'thin'.
2 questions come to mind: how can I get a nice deep color without over oaking and can I use glycerin to improve the mouth fell (how much)?
My first...
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- Oldvine Zin
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Re: My first...
Sounds like you made yourself a batch of oak tea, you are not going to get anything special with some oak chips and a couple weeks of seeping. Let it age for a few months, maybe a little air thrown in and while you are waiting read all the posts in "Aging and Flavoring" lots of good info there.
OVZ
OVZ
- Oldvine Zin
- Site Donor
- Posts: 2412
- Joined: Sat Jun 06, 2015 9:16 pm
- Location: Pacific Northwest
Re: My first...
Also looking at your recipe it looks a little off to me, maybe you should look at some of the tried and true recipes here and try one of them. A lot of us here are familiar with those recipes and can give you help, not so much with the other ones.
OVZ
OVZ
Re: My first...
There are a few cures for over oaking. The one that works best for me is leaving it on the oak for another couple of years, but if I haven't got much in the cellar, I filter it through my liver while I make another batch.
You can use it as oak essence to blend with new make if you are in a hurry.
You can use it as oak essence to blend with new make if you are in a hurry.