Home Distiller

I have a big fig tree. I let some get over-ripe and freeze them. Later. I thaw and mash em up, make a sugar wash using raw or very dark brown sugar and ferment. I also had a little nutmeg. After the second run, I dilute to 45% and age with Sherried oak chips for at least 3 months. The end product s ...

Indeel losing the green and going "fuille morte" is the sign of a properly made absinthe. Bottling in a dark brown or green bottle and storing in the dark is the best way to preserve the color. It has long worked for me

I too make an annual fig distillate. I use raw Central American sugar with the figs. I freeze the figs -- several gallon bags worth and then, as they defrost, mush them up. After the second distillation I age it with sherry soaked charred French Oak chips for at least 3 months. Makes a nice holiday ...

Pear brandy -- made from Bosc pears -- old world style, unoaked like Slivovitz.

Welcome. Rye whisky is a challenge but a satisfying one worth pursuing. One of my favorite things.

Being a small-time stove-top stiller, the kitchen works.

Aside from what make, I really like Broker's Gin -- a meaty, oily solid gin. My winter go-to is Old Overholt Rye. This rye has greatly improved (or been restored) since last spring when the maker apparently decided to stop "chill-filtering" it. Back came the depth of flavor that make this ...

don't have much use for firearm and think they provide a false sense of power. I do have a rifle though -- a 1914 British Enfield made early in WWI by British small arms -- they couldn't up production. This rifle was never used and was "sporterized" meaning the top wood was removed but it ...

I try to stay stocked up on medicines, canned and dry goods and have lived without electricity or modern appliances before. Most of all I stay stocked up on booze and supplies for making more. That said, survival beyond collapse is a younger person's game. I'm over 65 and couldn't live for long with...

Ripeness matters. l like Bosc pears and they make a great brandy but they are best when really ripe and on the verge of spoiling. I then core, peel and freeze them. When they thaw you can mash them up. Using a sugar wash to mash them along with Red Star Couvee yeast does the trick. The product i fin...

Eating cherries helps.

I love and miss John Prine

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I used to come here years ago and migrated to the Artisan Distiller site as "Idle Hands." I've been cooking for about 20 years -- mostly absinthe. I'm glad to come back here. This is certainly the best source of information to us small-time, home cookers. I reside in Tidewater, VA. Aside f...

I like to make Pear brandy so I started a wash -- like a dummy, a few days ago not thinking about it being winter. I use Red Star Grand Couvee yeast, in a sugar wash with thawed and pulverized Bosch Pears. It didn't do much. Adjusted the ph up to about 4.2 (usng calcium carbonate and when that ran o...

I have been fortunate to have tasted vintage, pre-ban Pernod Fils and Pernod Tarragonna -- the preban would make you weep with its complex fruitiness. The primary flavor, anise and fennel aside is the Absinthe (Wormwood) itself Not all Wormwoods share that flavor and many are sharp and astringent bu...

Around here, homemade may be the best bet. As the Mailliard reaction, it happens during in the baking of the bread even at regular baking temps but I also plan on toasting some buckwheat groats and then boiling them in the wash along with some dark roasted barley I bought at a homebrew supply. I may...

I too am intrigued by this thread. My thought is to make my own dark rye from scratch and to grind and throw some dark malted barley and a handful of buckwheat as well. I'll make 2 dense, dark loaves and break them up in a 5 liter sugar wash. Here's a recipe I came up with for the Rye: 3 cups of wat...

Thanks.
I plan on using it for base to make Absinthe.

I got 5lbs of organic raisins -- very sweet with a listed sugar content of 23%. I've got a 5 gallon wash going. I soaked them overnight, chopped them up with a small hand blender and boiled them along with 2 and a half pounds of sugar, DAP, Ascorbic Acid, gypsum and a pinch of Epsom salts. Once cool...

Interesting but I suggest you drop the carraway and try elacampine root.

Kirko is right but fennel makes it better at http://www.absintheherbs.com/ . Nice color. As for a thicker louche, use more anise and add more water in the pot. I cannot overstate the importance of the latter. You should have close to a 50% ration of water to macerate in the pot. Anise oils are hydro...

I agree that the blank slate of Grain Neutral Spirits is a good idea at first. As for age, freshly distilled absinthe can be wonderful with fresh coloration herbs up front but it changes a lot in the first month and hopefully for the better.

(shaking head) It doesn't matter what kind of base you use if you don't have good botanicals or a good recipe. I use a blend of grain neutral spirits and brandy reduced though I have made my own brandy. There are some good historical recipes here: http://www.feeverte.net/recipes.html . You can buy H...

Horsethief:

Ounce and a half Gin
Half ounce dry Vermouth
Third of an ounce Absinthe ( an nice verte -- in my case house brand)

On the rocks -- shaken, not stirred.

You should harvest your wormwood when the flowers are just beginning to turn yellow or the seeds may discolor your distillate. It sounds like you're on the right track. As for the louche, I don't know your recipe but you might want to use more anise and fennel. Adding water is vital as anise oils ar...

Better to get an alembic like on of these, http://www.hogacompany.com/distillers_pricelist.htm. I can get up to about 84 abv which is more than sufficient.

If it's your first run, sans tails, you'll get a weak flavored distillate. The best thing to do is to remove the herbs and put the collected tails back in the pot along with the distillate and run it again with added water. That should result in a better run and you'll have tails to save for next ti...

Cool related article here:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/b ... uor10.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Note some of the comments.

An interesting method. It could make the coloration herbs overpowering and out of balance but you might find a good cut of point for the process that gives you the consistent intensity you want. I take my distillate from the first half of the run and put it in a mason jar with the coloration herbs, ...

I'm assuming you mean angelica seed as that would be good in gin. I'd go real light on the orris root as it has a way of overpowering and may be a bit too floral. Has anyone tried lime rind?