How strong is it?

Little or nothing to do with distillation.

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Watershed
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How strong is it?

Post by Watershed »

Why is that the first and only question people ask about the "homebrew" ? Never "Wow! how long did that take to make?" or "You really made vodka from the local hedgerows?"
grrrr....
knuklehead
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Post by knuklehead »

Moonshine since it is home made most people just assume that it is really high proof. Did you get "The Beverly Hillbilly's" in the UK, nobody could handle Granny's moonshine. It is usually government regulated that the selling proof of spirits be at or below a certain point and people think that if you make it yourself you are just going to make strong booze and drink it that way. I know exactly what you are saying. I get that all the time. When I tell someone that I distill a response I often get is "I friend of my brothers makes his own booze too and that is some nasty and wicked strong stuff, how strong is yours" Then I'll give them some of mine and they can't believe it's home made because it's not like what they expected "moonshine" to be like. Most of the time when I run into someone that knows someone else who distills I can quickly conclude that this other person is a moron and has no idea what the hell they are doing. My brother in law was at a party on New Years, the host also distilled. They had plenty of commercial liquor there but after a while someone started passing around the moonshine and they where daring each other to take a sip. I've had big parties in the past where near the end of the night someone has come up to me and asked "what brand is this" because they had no idea it was home made.
... I say God bless you, I don't say bless you ... I am not the Lord, I can't do that ...
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Post by Grayson_Stewart »

I feel compelled to constantly warn everyone that it's so much better than store bought and that you better not sit down with a bottle. Get yourself a drink and then put the bottle away. Go slow till you learn to handle it. It's like potato chips and you can't stop at just one. I explain it's alot smoother and cleaner than store bought and a person can easily overdo it before they realize it. That they will think its weaker than what they are used to and will over compensate in the amount they drink.

Well they give me that look like I've offended them and their drinking abilities and proceed to show me they know what they are doing. I then have to help them walk three hours later. Seems like it's the same story over and over for everyone's first experience. They are shocked the next morning from the lack of hangover and the potency the likker had. Thats when I explain to them again (and they listen better the next morning while eatin humble pie) that what they were drinking is the same proof. Its just cleaner, better tasting and they drank more of it at a faster rate than they are acustomed to.

I think it's the 2x4 to the back of the head effect from overdoing it, not being used to homemade and thinking they are the big man that contributes to all the "How strong is it?" comments.
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Ricky
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Post by Ricky »

i read your post grayson and the fact that one could easily overdo it on good homemade liquor is why i promised myself that i will never let any out of my site that is over 110 proof. my brother tried some 95% straight from the still. he looked at me and said that if that stuff were in a freezer a guy with a few beers in him could easily kill himself of alcohol poisoning. he could not believe how smooth it was , even when it was still at 120deg or more.
definently drink in moderation
Ricky
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Uncle Jesse
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yep

Post by Uncle Jesse »

i dilute it pretty well before handing it out, usually. i also stress to people that this isn't your run-of-the-mill hooch, it's very powerful and must be treated with a certain amount of respect.

i always stress to them that this isn't a frat party, and they don't need to impress people by drinking as much heavy proof alcohol as they can.

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knuklehead
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Post by knuklehead »

I am most worried about myself :lol: The thing is if your running a still.....especially a reflux still pulling high ABV and your tasting it a long the way you get used to the really high proof stuff. After little tastes of high proof then diluting down to 80 proof it goes down like a glass of water. I remember when I was first starting out. I took a few milliliters of 190 proof and put them in a spoon, tilted the spoon back for a taste test and the strength took my breath away. At that point I couldn't ever imagine doing that again. Now days to do a taste test I'll dip the handle of a spoon in and taste the film off the spoon, of 190 proof that is.After cutting I sometimes need reassurance that it really is the proof my meter tells me by giving my wife a taste. The look on her face confirms that it really is the strength of most store bought liquor.
... I say God bless you, I don't say bless you ... I am not the Lord, I can't do that ...
Dane Cook
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