help on wash type for flavour

[gary.angie]

Hi distillers

Could some one guide me in the following, or point me to a list on the forum.
Say i was making each of these Rum , Whiskey, Bourbon, Gin, brandy and vodka
what would the corresponding best wash be for each of the above.

I have read that sugar wash is good for rum , iv been using the gerber wash and it make a great light gold rum.
but not sure for bourbon.
what i have been enjoying is double distilling the gerber and then just adding the toasted oak for 5 days @ 170 proof , then reducing to 45 % ABV and drinking neat . ( Very smooth )

I find, that i add some SS flavors, to try to make each drink above, and then its ! well not so good -not bad! , but not wow!! if you know what i mean . ,
( except the gold rum , that's great).

So my question is , "should i be making a specific wash for a specific type" eg sour mash for whiskey , gerber for rum , juniper berrys for gin etc .

cheers Gary & Angie ( ps Our distilling is going great , thanks to this forum and the people)

[CletusDwight]

should i be making a specific wash for a specific type

You're goin' to get two answers.
People who make neutral (vodka) in a reflux still then flavor it with essences will say 'no'
Folks who make grain spirits in a potstill will say 'yes'

[scarecrow]

I have read that sugar wash is good for rum , iv been using the gerber wash and it make a great light gold rum.but not sure for bourbon.

It sounds like you are adding essences to get a particular flavour. If that is the case all you need is a neutral sugar wash. You will find that the SS essences overpower everything. I don't like the after taste of the propylene glycol and glycerine they use.

Any of the sugar washes are OK. Pick one that is easy and cheap for you to make. If you stick to the one recipe you will be an expert at it in no time. Don't do what I did and try to make an individual sugar wash for everything you want. It will do your head in.

Just remember, unless you are using grains and NO sugar, you will only ever end up with a flavoured sugar wash.

In saying that, I have different sugar washes for specific flavours. (I don't use SS essences).

I use corn, wheat and barley for a sour mash bourbon sugar wash.
I use corn, rye and barley for a sour mash whiskey sugar wash. I also oak and flavour it differently to get a faux scotch.
I use blackstrap molasses for my dark and spiced rum.
I use a wheat wash for my triple distilled vodka.

scarecrow

[kiwistiller]

You're goin' to get two answers.
People who make neutral (vodka) in a reflux still then flavor it with essences will say 'no'
People who make grain spirits in a potstill will say 'yes'

Doubt you'll find many pushing essences around here?

Say i was making each of these Rum , Whiskey, Bourbon, Gin, brandy and vodka
what would the corresponding best wash be for each of the above.

there's a lot floating around on tried and true that you really can't go wrong with.
Rum - pugirum. hooks rum, harrys great great great granddaddy's rum. all use molasses / sugar in various ratios.
Whisky (I'm assuming you don't want to do all grain?)- DWWG with added barley malt makes a nice faux scotch.
Bourbon - UJSM, with a modified grain bill, add 20% barley malt (just my opinion)
Gin - neutrals flavoured with your botanical blend. I tried to start a thread of different blends but it died and I went back to sit in my gin drinking corner
Vodka - just make a nice clean wash and reflux it. Neutrals. Birdwatchers sugar wash, with a nice long cold ferment made the best neutrals I've ever done, just my opinion. DWWG refluxed is darn good as well.

[posting same time as scarecrow]

[CletusDwight]

Doubt you'll find many pushing essences around here?

I dunno. Seems a awfull lot of folks run full-on reflux stills. So whatever they puts in is goin' to come out as vodka more-or-less.
Don't rightly see where you go from there except (hawrk - spit!) essences.

[kiwistiller]

loads of places to go. just plain vodka, gin, absinthe and all those types of things, liqueuers, liqueuers, and more liqueuers, danish style schnapps, fruit / flavoured vodkas... I've just done a mental tally, I have 14 different drinks in my cupboard that I can remember that have all been made with neutrals, and not a one has a drop of essences in it .

I can never seem to make enough of the stuff.

[CletusDwight]

Aw, ya mean soda-pop and the like - them things city folks drink?
Don't never touch it.

Cousin Merl gave me some gin to drink once. Damn near choked to death.

[kiwistiller]

haha well each unto their own.

[CletusDwight]

That's the great thing about this hobby. There's just so many ways you can take it, things you can try.

Getting back on topic - I think you got to give that a yes/no/maybe answer. It depends on what sort of still you're running and what you're after in the final product.
Personally, as a potstiller, I go for all-grain every time using backset to stiffen it up - it's the only way I can get the flavor I need.
I tried part-sugar washes early on and was just disappointed. Well, not entirely - molasses based rum needs some sugar to work I think. But that's understandable.

[Hawke]

For vodka and gin, a simple sugar wash, then run it again with juniper berries, corriander, etc for the gin.
Rum, molasses is the only way to go.
Whiskey and bourbon, UJSSM with a few modifications and propper oaking works great.
If you have any all-grain experience, rye, scotch and Irish should not be a problem.

[gary.angie]

Thanks so much for your help people
A lot of it , I had no idea what you all were talking about, distiller talk i not been learned yet no doubt !
But i think i get the drift of it .
I was so focused reading and practicing the distilling process , i thought once you had the end product you just tipped in the flavor. (how wrong i was)
(head hung low).
I see the errors of my ways .
but i see i must read and read the forum more!
so if i got this right, for a scotch as such, you use a gain wash in a pot still and colour it with some toasted ok chips ?

or reflux a vodka and then re-run it again with juniper berries in the still ?

or am i way off the tit sucking air here ??

Gary

[CletusDwight]

You got it right.

For the real McCoy scotch or corn whiskey, you need the genuine raw materials - barley, corn, rye and you distil in a traditional potstill, probably at least twice, doing a 'stripping' run followed by a (very careful) spirits run. Then you age it on toasted wood (usually oak). Rum's the same - you use Molassses with some sugar.
There's a half-way shortcut where you make a sugar wash but add corn for flavour. IMHO it isn't worth it - may as well use whole grain for the trouble - t'aint hard.

The other camp makes vodka from sugar washes then flavours that with 'whatever' to make gin and other fancy drinks.
They use real fancy stills with all sorts of geegaws to get stuff that tastes of nothing. (Sugar wash tastes like a rancid sock if it ain't purified)

You get into trouble when you get between the two and try to make whiskey in a reflux still (like I did ) Or pure neutral vodka in a potstill.

Some folks buy 'essences' to add to the vodka and make it into ersatz whiskey - won't comment on that 'less I upset people.