First distillation Costa Rica

[GortKlaa2]

I was hoping for something special. I was prepared for something mediocre. My fingers were crossed it wouldn't be a complete failure.

I've made mead for years, but this was the first time for distillation. I fermented 23 liters of a high-grade sugar wash and reflux distilled it 2 days ago. I made cuts every 250 ml. I let them sit for 24 hours.

Then I had two friends come and taste test with me. We had some Grey Goose and some Absolut for base comparators. I diluted 3 ml of the cuts to ABV of 40% and off we started. We had spit cups so as not to get too bonkered.

We ended up using the hearts, of course, and 250ml of the late heads and about 100ml of the early tails. We thought it was great. But then we went back and compared it to the Absolut and Grey Goose. To our glee and amazement, my concoction far surpassed the Absolut and was on par with the Grey Goose, though we all three definitely preferred my in-house make.

Just to be sure we weren't too giddy, I re-taste tested the final product today on four other friends. Blind taste test and they all chose mine as #1 with Grey Goose #2 and Absolut #3.

So what can I say? I'm over the moon. Now it's just a question of what I'll do with it....I'm leaning towards half for Gin and the other half for some German-style Schapps. Thanks for all the information here, I read and studied a long time before starting, and I'm sure that your help here is one of the major factors in my success.

[Demy]

I understand your happiness, we've all been there, the aim is to maintain it over time

[GortKlaa2]

Thanks Demy

[StillerBoy]

Thanks for all the information here, I read and studied a long time before starting, and I'm sure that your help here is one of the major factors in my success.

What is impressive with your comment, is that you did take the time to read, study, comprehend, and develop understanding of the process for fermentation and distillation, then took the time to put it all together..

That is the process all new comers should follow, but unfortunately that is not the case with 95% of them..

Congratulation on starting off on the right foot..

Enjoy the new learned experience, with many more to come..

Mars

[River Rat]

Congratulations on the great success! I'm sure you'll have many more to come. Be prepared for some failures too, especially if you experiment with your recipes to any degree. There is always something to learn from the successes and the failures alike. Every batch makes us better stillers in some small way.

[GortKlaa2]

Thanks Stillerboy and River Rat