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I'd strain the solids if you can, otherwise the solids can burn and ruin your flavour.

If your boiler has an agitator (mixer thingy) then you can leave in the solids for better better flavour. But chances are you don't. It's on my wish list.

I use "human" grade (vs bulk grade) molasses and I never have to clarify.

What I do know is that commercial distilleries that use bulk grade will clarify. Also, they may use chemicals to clarify.

Depends on how you want your brandy to taste. I find real fruit makes better brandy than does concentrate or processed fruit plus a lot of added sugar. Your call.

http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/20576.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow Here is the spec sheet. Make sure your connections are as the manufacturer suggests. Note that their example of connections is using 120V (LINE + NEUTRAL) and not 240 V (LINE...

I noticed that the cooker has "lockdown" type lever to keep the lid on. You might want to install a pressure relief valve, for safety, if you plan to leave the locking levers in place. Don't want to get blowed up in case the copper gets plugged up. Just a suggestion.

120 will jolt you - 240 can kill. Your controller should have some sort of instructions or schematics on how to hook up. Sambedded is correct: connecting two hots will create a direct short and melt things. Three prongs (120/240v)should go to three *separate* terminals if using the neutral - with no...

As well, consider the aging time, at least a few years for proper aging. As well, you will need a good sales rep and proper (finished product) samples because people are going to want to know what they're buying.

Portuguese Sour Cherry - Ginjihna Stole this one off the net, made it last year and it turned out well. Yields: 3 L (approx) Ingredients: 1 kg of sour cherries 750 grams of golden yellow sugar 1 L of aguardente (grape brandy - I just use a low end wine must/kit) 2 cinammon sticks Directions: 1. Choo...

I'm answering from a wine-making perspective, so maybe a more senior distiller can properly answer this...

I push down the cap every so often to help the C02 be released and to have the ingredients in the cap to interact with the fluids and the yeast.

They denature alcohol in such a way that it takes a lot of trouble (energy & resources) to remove the poison from the ethanol. It's like breaking into a fort nox to steal a bag of quarters. They do this on purpose to stop people from extracting alcohol.

I have never made whiskey (yet) but I would suggest to just follow one of the tried and true recipies. I make beer as well and I agree that keeping the ferment temp within it's "operating" temp important for a good product. Not a good idea to stress out the yeast and get off flavors. I wou...

Smell the stuff. If the 1 or 2 ounces smell like your wash then your heat is too aggressive and your boiler is puking mash out.

Use charred oak for color.

Depends on what temp your yeast requires. should be written on the yeast package. It's usually around 20 to 30 deg C, but you can go a bit above or below. Just make sure not too cold or your ferment won't start or will stall.

I've been making Portuguese Ginjha (fire water with sour cherries, basically). To help macerate quicker, I put fruit at the bottom of the jar then pour sugar over fruit then the alcohol. The sugar helps macerate (pull the juices) out of the cherries to make the fruit syrup. I'd imagine if you just w...

So it sounds to me that rum oils smell nice but the taste is either funky or sweet, but combined with another wash it adds flavor complexity to the rum. I now see what I never came across the oils: because I would stop before the wet cardboard smell disappeared. I've seen the cloudiness but I just t...

Okay, I've seen that in my tails jars. Next time I'll have to sample taste those jars. Thanks!

Thanks, but what I'm really after is the taste smell component. Are the rum oils "hidden" in the tails, or, is there a noticeable change in the tails when the oils are present? I'm sorry if it's a dumb question, but I've done about 6 rum runs now and I've paid particular attention to the t...

Okay, I'm starting to get a hang of making rum, but I'd like to try Pugi's rum next. The problem is that I'm not sure about capturing the rum oils. I could go by ABV but I'd prefer to go by taste or smell, as that is what really matters. Can anyone describe what the rum oils should taste like or sme...

Aging your wine won't guarantee you a good brandy. I've made good brandies out of aged wine, spoiled wine, and a good fruit wash. Aging, post-distillation, is always a good idea otherwise you get that just-off-the-still taste to it. Plus a bit of color is nice.

You're welcome... I know it's a bit long, but if you speed up to the end, I love the part where the animals are hung over and can't stand the daylight. lol

Thanks for your answer. I'll play on the side of caution and move it to somewhere darker.

Also, in distilliries that are continuos run and automated, if the controllers aren't tuned properly you can get bad product. There is quality control but sometimes product gets out despite that it may contains more heads than a good product should have.

Isn't triple sec and bols orange-based? I'm sure that there are a few other orange-based spirits that I can't remember right now.

Does direct or indirect sunlight affect the product? I'm just wondering if higher proof alcohol is more resistant to UV than say wine? I have some stuff aging on a shelf that gets indirect sunlight. Should I move it to a dark place?

Plus a lot of rum distilleries have been around for over 100 years. When it comes to ageing and developping their own yeast, and a consistent process, they have time on their side.

I'm new at rum like you, OldP. But I've been doing wine and beer for a while, and from research, I see some similarities between how things work there and how things work in distilling. Good ingredients. You need good quality grapes to make a good wine. The quality of your molasses should be good. I...

Thanks for the advise Rtalbigr. I've only been doing this for a year and I haven't anything beyond 6 months. My brandies are awesome, but my rum isn't where I want it to be, prob due to lack of aging. I guess there are no shortcuts when it comes to rum!

If you've saved some dunder from your first run, you may want to add a bit of it to your next run. Gives a lot of flavor. Rum is tricky. a lot of flavor is in the tails, the ferment should be done slow (about 1 week sounds right, like you did), and the type of yeast has a lot bearing on taste. I als...

I think the idea is get a bit of whiskey flavor into your rum. It's not right or wrong; it's what pleases your palate. I'm too short of spare funds to afford barrels so I just add a small amount of whiskey to my rum. I know it's not proper but it works "okay". I'd love to try to age in a w...