Greetings and some humble thoughts.

[Ftero]

Hello!
I stumbled across this website a few weeks ago by chance, like many here I guess. I've been thrilled, and honestly, overwhelmed with all of the knowledge and experience contained here.

Oh yeah, I'll start off by saying, " I don't know a damn thing about distillation"

It's nice to read how patient the experts are with novices.

Anyway, I enjoy reading about the lives and interests of the people who post here, and suppose the same is true for many of you.

So, a little about what brought me here;

I met my wife, while living in Spain, where I had been living for 14 years. She is from Galicia, which is located in the N.W. part of the country. Galicia, was historically a poor region of the country, but this poverty bred a hardy, head-strong, inventive breed of Spaniard. The Galicians became famous, among other things, for distilling Agua Ardiente, (Burning Water) or Orujo, which as you know, is made like the Italian's Grappa.
Like most of the best Spanish things, Orujo started off as an article for the very poor. It is only recently, that it has gained status.
Any town you went to in Galicia, had it's Orujo distillers, and you could buy it dirt cheap from almost any household or bar.
The government outlawed the private distillation of Orujo in 1995 I think. That only stopped people from openly offering Orujo for sale. Many people still make it every year.
My father in law is one of them. He has his small junkyard/vinyard/garden, on the outskirts of his village, where he makes Orujo with his 300 liter, Alembic pot still. You'll understand why I want to have an Alembic still of my own. Luckily, I only like Brandy, Orujo and Rum, all of which are products of a pot still I hear.
Some of what he makes is fantastic. some is poison. It sort of depends on his interest and dedication.
My wife and I came to live in the States 7 years ago. We travel back to Spain every chance we get. On those occasions, I smuggle back to the States as much Orujo, and Brandy as I can with me. It never occurred to me that I could make this for myself....
until recently, my wife would go back and replenish my alcohol supplies every 3 to 6 months. Not anymore.

So, I am now here, learning from you folks before I attempt making anything myself.

The picture below is of my last smidgen of Orujo.... and the last set of speakers that I made, which now look to me, sort of like one of the reflex stills you folks make!

http://picasaweb.google.com/fitero64/Cosas02" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Anyway, I hope that my rambling was at least mildly interesting.

I'll go back to reading now!

[punkin]

Welcome Peter, we share a story. Not exact in every detail but close enough to say we are both introduced to stillin for the same reason.


You will definately enjoy reading here, and the excitement as it all clicks together from what you wanna build, right through to sampling your first, aged product, will be one of the greatest hobbies you've ever started.

I was looking to only brew grappa when i started, now i make UJSM (a lot), peach brandy, DWWG ect ect.
Never did get around to makin grappa yet....





SpeakersAreDifferentPunkin

[As-Ol-Joe]

Welcome Ftero, hope you enjoy your stay.

[big worm]

welcome!...and how do you heat them speakers?

[Dutchmancreek]

Welcome...you'll find everything you need to know here about your new "hobby". It's been a wealth of information for me.

[Ftero]

Thank you all for the kind welcome!

I just got back from a local brewing supply store with a couple of new books.
The Compleat Distiller and Moonshine Made Simple.

That was fun, wandering around, looking at all of the new-to-me tools, supplies etc.

Portland has a huge Micro-brewery industry for beer. I'm not a fan of the IPA's and other flavor of the month stuff which is favored here. I prefer Budweiser or something bland like it.

Anyway, they had a lot of people in there, and were well stocked. There is another store on the other side of the city, which apparently carries the Portuguese Pot stills like my father in law uses. I'll give them a visit next week if I can. Getting one shipped from Spain would be too expensive.

Yeah, people find it hard to find the right words to describe the looks of my speakers when they see them the first time! A plumber's periscope nightmare is one comment.... They are active, with the amplifiers and crossovers located in the base of each one. They are amazing! And no, I'm not bright enough to have designed them, funky as they might look.
That honor goes to this man: http://www.linkwitzlab.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I'm off to the couch to do some reading.

[As-Ol-Joe]

Don't buy a still unless you can't get around it. Making your own is half of the fun. You learn while you build, then you build while you learn.

You can build a good cheap potstill for less than $100.

[Old_Blue]

Come on in...door's open.

[Dutchmancreek]

I recommend three things:

1.This forum and the parent site

2. "Making Pure Corn Whiskey" by Ian Smiley

3. Build, don't buy, your still

[HookLine]

Greetings and enjoy!

[Ftero]

Good Morning and thanks for the welcome.

I didn't really care for the Moonshine Made Simple book. Too generic. But, like the author said "where do I stop, and how much do I include?"

Anyway, it helped to repeat some of the more important procedures etc.

I'll start on the Compleat Distiller today. I've read most everything at the parent site, and will re-read again to clear up doubts. Most of what I read evaporates before making it into my thick head

Part of the allure of the copper pot stills for me, is the aesthetics and history. I think they are great looking. Most of what I do for a living involves making stuff out of metal, wood and plastic. So, obviously, I'm itching to make something out of copper.

I have a couple of antique copper Turkish water jugs. I turned one of em into a table lamp. I was eying the other one yesterday, thinking how cool it would look at a small still. My wife caught my thought, and nixed the idea. Ha!

[Uncle Jesse]

Welcome aboard.

My wife is from Portland and my family was on the first wagon train in 1843 headed from Independence, MO to Oregon.

You can make any spirit in an alembic pot still, so don't sell it short!

Have fun.

[Uncle Jesse]

By the way, I think you'll like the forums better if you use this link instead of hitting it from the main page:

http://homedistiller.org/forum/

[Ftero]

Welcome aboard.

My wife is from Portland and my family was on the first wagon train in 1843 headed from Independence, MO to Oregon.

You can make any spirit in an alembic pot still, so don't sell it short!

Have fun.

That's history! There is a museum in nearby Oregon City that deals specifically with the history surrounding those folks that migrated here over the trail. Very interesting. On my list of things that I would like to do, is to ride the original trail on a dual-sport bike. It's supposed to be quite the ride.

I mentioned maybe making a reflex still to my wife, and got a scathing speech about doing things the traditional way etc. etc. Seems, she grew up helping her father with his distilling and has her mind set on some things! That's o.k. with me! I'm glad to have her interested in one of my hobbies for a change.

I had a thought; I wonder if anyone has tried suspending some of that copper scrubbing pad in the upper portion of an alembic still. My thinking, is that it would add some surface to give some further reflex action. I know, I'm thinking of running, when I can't even crawl yet... I'll mention it to my father in law, at the risk of being looked at like a being from a different planet. I'm used to it.

[blanikdog]

I'll mention it to my father in law, at the risk of being looked at like a being from a different planet. I'm used to it.

blanik