Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

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SpiritOf76
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Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by SpiritOf76 »

Hi I'm still trying to get my still running. I'm building a pot still with alambic head and wet worm - have had problems with the worm .

But that's not the issue. The issue is that I am curious to know the answer from anyone using a pot still with and all grain mash (including corn):

Q: do you feel that you must age your white dog (other than the 5 weeks)?

It seems to me, albeit having never smelled/tasted heads, hearts or tails from an actual run, that georgia moon CANNOT be what corn whiskey was before wood.

bought a jar of shine on georgia moon - nearly puked at the foul aroma. I thought it must be the smell of heads and that this is a novelty product - the alcohol equivalent of fake barf - designed to give the know-nothing consumer a taste of what "real moonshine" was like (real "awful" moonshine from the fly-by-night moonshiners...)

I've read the posts reviewing georgia moon. I'm going to get a chance to try chuck miller's virginia lightning next week (trip to virginia).

But in the meantime, i thought it might be interesting to know how the other pot stillers think. Do you WANT to drink your white dog? Do your FRIENDS want to drink your white dog?

I'd really love to know - because I am at best WEEEKS away from making anything potable...
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rad14701
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by rad14701 »

I drink neutral spirits (white dog) without any additional modifications aside from diluting to a drinkable proof... Single run through a reflux still to around 90 - 92 percent (180 - 184 proof), diluted to about 100 proof...
Hawke
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by Hawke »

I do drink a bit of my corn whitedog. It tastes and smells nothing like Georgia Moon. Think GM just does a single pass (stripping run) and puts it in the jar.

When you get going, do a few fast and hard stripping runs.(Collect everything down to 10 to 20%) When you have enough first run stuff for a boiler charge of 40%, do a low and slow spirit run, with cuts. I always toss anything that comes out before I get a steady stream of output as foreshots.

For a while, it is best to collect in small lots. (250 to 400ml) Number the jars and cover them with coffee filters. Let them set for a day or two, then start in the middle and work to each end to determine keepers from heads and tails
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Fester
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by Fester »

god yes, i am usually quite snockered after a spirit run.
then i sample, sample, sample the hell out of it while it is ageing.
for testing and quality control purposes, of course
what is properly aged will fill a half a shot glass.
i hope that answers your question.
nedscreekkennels
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by nedscreekkennels »

fester are you sure you are not me ? I do the same last run I made I almost dropped a jar of tails .
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by Husker »

Fester,

The way to get more aged product, is to produce 3 to 5 times MORE than you can drink. Then when you drink twice of what you should, you will still start growing a supply of aged stuff, after 6 months to a year, and the longer you keep up shop, the more supply of aged material, and the better some of the older stuff gets.

But if you always produce in the ball park of what you are 'planning' on consuming, you will always end up with that 'shot glass' full of aged final product.

H.
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SpiritOf76
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by SpiritOf76 »

Hawke wrote:I do drink a bit of my corn whitedog. It tastes and smells nothing like Georgia Moon. Think GM just does a single pass (stripping run) and puts it in the jar.
Is that terrible odor/taste the foreshots?

I notice a nice, almost sweet aroma from my Evan Williams (standard issue), a bottle of Cruzan rum I have lying around (aged 2 years on oak) - and also the exact, identical aroma in the barrels at George Washington's mt. vernon distillery.

Before I bought the Cruzan rum I thought the aroma was corn liquor. But obviously it's not. Besides, the mt. vernon run was 65% rye and only 30% corn. Also Mt. Vernon distillery didn't age the spirit. So then I thought it must be that the nice aroma comes from good ethanol (hearts)... I read the tasting notes and talked to some folks there at mt. vernon who had worked on the project and had a taste right out of the collection barrel - they liked it and it sounded nice to me :) .

However, come to think of it, the aroma at mt. vernon is coming from a wooden barrel that they use as a worm tub (must have spilled some)... so maybe it is the influence of the wood...?

Point is, that it wasn't that long ago in the grand scheme of things, that people didn't age product on wood on purpose. And there are other mashes, like fruit to make eau de vie, that don't need aging at all (am I wrong?). Although they can be aged (such as calvados).

So I guess I am looking for some frame of reference that I might not even get once I am up and running (who knows how bad my efforts will turn out :oops: ).

Would you say that the white dog from good corn or other all grain mashes in an alambic pot still would be palatable? A different style, for example, like apple brandy is to calvados?

It's keeping me up at night, seriously :? It's been bugging me for weeks :!:
Hawke wrote:For a while, it is best to collect in small lots. (250 to 400ml) Number the jars and cover them with coffee filters. Let them set for a day or two, then start in the middle and work to each end to determine keepers from heads and tails
Thanks for the great advice. You know, I think I learned that from you in another post. Might also have been Punkin. I thought it was a great idea, esp. because I've only got 8.5 gallon boiler and the change from heads to hearts to tails will be pretty quick (so I'm told) and with small quantities, hard to measure by ABV because by the time I float the 'meter I might be into the next part of the run. I have plans to definitely collect in small numbered jars and smell/taste the next day. I think the post was in the context of blending and learning how to blend. But it seemed to me a good idea not just for learning purposes, but to make it possible to make tighter cuts without having to be watching the instruments every second. I'm sure that it gets easier as one gains experience - but is sure makes sense to let the process facilitate the learning!

Fester and nedscreekkennels - you are cracking me up :D
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LWTCS
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by LWTCS »

Gotta taste it.

I prefer something that has aired and slept for a bit.

But cha gotta taste it.
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by Dnderhead »

Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?""""
I have,, I can,,but I don't, I have 1-5 years old (and some older)so why should I?
you mite be running to fast, bringing everything over with it.
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by SpiritOf76 »

Dnderhead wrote:Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?""""
I have,, I can,,but I don't, I have 1-5 years old (and some older)so why should I?
you mite be running to fast, bringing everything over with it.
Thanks Dnderhead for the reply and advice.

Not me bringing everything over - haven't made a single run yet :cry: I'd be happy if running too hard was my problem.
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junkyard dawg
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by junkyard dawg »

You might think different about Georgia Moon after you get a few batches under your belt. You can certainly tate many many things in both G.M. and your corn batches. It may not be your ideal, but its a great reference point. I think you can buy Georgia moon as an aged whiskey... only a small portion gets bottled as Georgia Moon... the rest is aged and sold under different labels.

I have really enjoyed some white dawg that had aged in glass for a while. Old, white, oat whiskey is amazing...
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by Hawke »

Foreshots and heads will have a sweeter smell, mixed with paint thinner. (Acetone is one of the ingrediants in heads)
The tails will have a wet cardboard/dog smell.
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by FeralPig »

Husker wrote:Fester,

The way to get more aged product, is to produce 3 to 5 times MORE than you can drink. Then when you drink twice of what you should, you will still start growing a supply of aged stuff, after 6 months to a year, and the longer you keep up shop, the more supply of aged material, and the better some of the older stuff gets.

But if you always produce in the ball park of what you are 'planning' on consuming, you will always end up with that 'shot glass' full of aged final product.

H.
I do not have the floor space to ferment the amount of wash necessary to apply your idea. :cry:
This is so much fun it ought to be illegal..wait..never mind.

51" LM and a 24" Pot still with 62" Liebig with turbulator and spiral coolant swirler thingy. Both running on an unmodified keg with Tri-clover clamp attachment.
eternalfrost
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by eternalfrost »

FeralPig wrote:
I do not have the floor space to ferment the amount of wash necessary to apply your idea. :cry:
it realy dosent take much space... if you already have a standard 5 gallon ale pail, there are 15 gallon plastic drums that are only and inch or two wider...plus they are stackable. so you can easily have 30 gallons in just about the same amount of floor space as a basic 5 gallon.

your situation may not allow this but just throwing it out there...


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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by FeralPig »

eternalfrost wrote:
FeralPig wrote:
I do not have the floor space to ferment the amount of wash necessary to apply your idea. :cry:
it realy dosent take much space... if you already have a standard 5 gallon ale pail, there are 15 gallon plastic drums that are only and inch or two wider...plus they are stackable. so you can easily have 30 gallons in just about the same amount of floor space as a basic 5 gallon.

your situation may not allow this but just throwing it out there...[/img]
EF,

I was exaggerating for theatrical effect! :lol:

But thanks for the information.

Feral
This is so much fun it ought to be illegal..wait..never mind.

51" LM and a 24" Pot still with 62" Liebig with turbulator and spiral coolant swirler thingy. Both running on an unmodified keg with Tri-clover clamp attachment.
eternalfrost
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by eternalfrost »

no problem feral. just saying becuse i started with the basic ale pail from a homebrew shop but didnt want to have to go buy 10 of them and take up a whole room... now i have 2 of those containers pictured and im already drowning in low wines :roll:
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by goinbroke2 »

121L garbage can (hdpd) $12.99 at home depo or Kents or where ever it was I bought it. :wink:
Numerous 57L kegs, some propane, one 220v electric with stilldragon controller. Keggle for all-Grain, two pot still tops for whisky, a 3" reflux with deflag for vodka. Coming up, a 4" perf plate column. Life is short, make whisky and drag race!
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by tennessee.boy »

You know, I drink mine mostly white. I lack the delicate touch that oaking small batches seems to require--my limited experiments with wood have seemed to remove more in delicacy and grain character than they have added in vanilla and tannin. I suppose I'll try again some day, but for now, I dilute my corn whiskey to 40% ABV and drink an ounce or two neat, or with 1-2 parts cool spring or maybe filtered water.

I also find that ice just _kills_ my corn whiskey, although I prefer to drink commercial bourbons on the rocks.

As for Georgia Moon, I've gotten a bottle or two as jokey gifts. It's not undrinkable, but it's far from what you can get with even a simple potstill like mine. They seem to me to take a _very_ greedy cut, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was only distilled once. I've done a few blind taste tests with friends, GM versus my stuff, and I win every time. And I'm a long way from mastering this art. Even a simple UJSM, distilled twice in a potstill, discarding the foreshots and collecting down to, oh, 69 or 68, will leave Georgia Moon in the dust. It's kind of a "joke whiskey," after all--it's _meant_ to be harsh.
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by pumpman »

I bought some of that stuff once. Tastes like goat piss smells. I supose you could use it to drive those anoying friends away. You know the ones that only hang around for you hooch.

Here Bob try this its my top shelf. :lol:
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by Dnderhead »

""I suppose you could use it to drive those annoying friends away"""
that does not always work . One time I had a "self invited" coworker staying at my house. for two weeks drank out of the heads jar,
smoked cigarettes "laced" with horse shit, rubber bands, canine pepper.thought it was grate and still did not want to leave.
for some free makes it better.
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Re: Does anyone specifically drink white dog?

Post by Usge »

I always put a jar or 2 up on oak from every run. The rest is whitedog. I leave a flask or 2 of it at full strength (about 85%) — for medicinal purposes only. And water the rest down to about 110 proof (I like mine with a little bite). If I do my cuts right...it's smooth/light and sweet up front, but has no acetone or chemical tastes or burning, has a light vanilla on the nose mixed with fruits and light grain and a deep sourcorn flavour that finishes long with glowing heat. The "mule" (ie., the 170 proof) of the same thing is like a delayed reaction. It's very smooth up front, just disappears in your mouth — you'd think you were drinking something much lighter — and then WHAMO....their eyes get real big, and panic starts coming over them...and they start backing up holding the glass out in front of them, then shake their head from side to side and go....WHHhhhhooOOOo, with a piece of slobber hanging off their lip. Thats the good stuff. After that, you can drink it in very, very small amounts/sips. Actually several people thought the 170 was lower proof than the 110.

For the stuff I'm oaking, I usually add some (more) from adjacent jars (wider cut). It tends to like to have something to grab on to for flavoring.
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