smells and tastes like____.

[Laxplayer]

I ran about 2 liters of stripped all bran and well after letting the fractioned portions sit for a few day, after tasting the cuts(small amounts, spitting them out) they all tasted off, i think my washes had to many fusels, or my still wasnt cleaned enough yet, which i ran several cleaning runs of water, vinager, water, wash, and then more washes through?
im oaking it now, but should i filter it over charcole, i feal like its missing that sweet taste whisky has. is it the wash? my still?( 16 qt ss pot, 1' of 3/4" copper stright up, another foot 135 degrees off that to a nother foot of copper at 90.

[Slow & Steady]

Try catching your distillate in 50 to 100 ML containers. Then let them air out for a couple of days. Now dilute some of the very middle of the run to 50% ABV and taste that. That should be your clean heart bench mark. If that tastes bad then you have a problem to solve. If it tastes good then you need to test the collected spirit on either side of the good tasting spirit. Keep sampling a wider selection until you find the Heads & Tails containers that you don't like. Keep the bad stuff in a container marked FEINTS to be cleaned and redistilled at a later date. Add the good tasting Hearts containers into your aging container and then age with charred Oak or if you just want good old fashioned White Dog put it on the shelf to age for a while. Some really harsh tastes turn pleasantly sweet if given a few months to a year to mellow.

The Methanol will be in the first collection container (toss this out), acetone and other sweet burny flavored heads will come after that... The fusels will be in your tails and will smell and taste unpleasant.

S&S

[LWTCS]

Add the good tasting Hearts containers into your aging container and then age with charred Oak or if you just want good old fashioned White Dog put it on the shelf to age for a while. Some really harsh tastes turn pleasantly sweet if given a few months to a year to mellow.

+1

Need to bring your expectation level down a bit. Takes time (and skill) to make what it sounds like you are after.

You'll get there.

[kiwistiller]

i feal like its missing that sweet taste whisky has.

If you want whisky you're probably better off doing UJSM. Or real whisky, but that's a whole other challenge.

[Pamulli]

I have to say that as a newbie I find this part the most challenging. Having never tasted "good" white dog I don't know if what I make is even worth aging. So far I've assumed it isn't since even the hearts have tasted bad, but I'd pay money to have a sample to compare. I don't want to put a bad batch in my oak barrels and have the taste ruin the barrel. I'm fairly certain my first few batches got too much yeast in the still and ruined them so hopefully my next batch will be better since I plan on being very careful about letting it clear and then racking.

[Slow & Steady]

I don't want to put a bad batch in my oak barrels and have the taste ruin the barrel. I'm fairly certain my first few batches got too much yeast in the still and ruined them so hopefully my next batch will be better since I plan on being very careful about letting it clear and then racking.

Racking is good, helps the stripping run come out cleaner, but I have put some raw nasty tasting double run malt whiskey white dog in my 5 gallon barrels and been amazed at the magic that the Barrel works on the whiskey. I have always wondered why making a container out of White Oak, charring the inside, then storing your raw spirit in it for months on end makes such a difference, but it does. I have often though that the Angels' Share is some of the nastiest stuff in the world, and we are lucky they come and claim it.

S&S

[Pamulli]

Thanks for that info. I'm aging my next batch regardless of whether I think it tastes good, but like I said I'm going to make sure I do everything I can to give it the best chance possible since I know I rushed it last time.

[rad14701]

Sometimes that matter of taste has to do with what you are expecting... Starting out with a pot still might be more difficult in that regard as opposed to using a reflux column for neutral spirits... With neutral spirits you know when there is no taste at all and no burn in your mouth and throat - just a warming sensation in your belly... That's when you know you've mastered neutral spirits... From there it's just a matter of putting flavor back in without adding any of the nasty back in there with it... And much of the flavoring comes from the aging process, not directly from the spirits themselves...An off smell usually means you're still missing the cuts or blending by a bit and aging will only remove so much of that...

[Pamulli]

Sometimes that matter of taste has to do with what you are expecting...

That is exactly why I said I'd be willing to pay for a good comparison sample. Now that would be a great mentoring option if it didn't open everyone up to legal issues. I know it comes with time, but mistakes get expensive after a while and of course there is the impatience of a newbie to factor in....

I'm just not interested in neutrals or flavored neutrals. It isn't the kind of alcohol I drink so I'd either be giving it away or it would just sit there collecting dust. Probably not the smartest way to start, but I'm cutting my teeth on all grain since that's what I want to drink. I'm confident I'll get there eventually though.

[rad14701]

<<< Okay, I splashed some of my All Bran neutral on my monitor and hit Submit so lick your monitor and tell me what you think... >>>

[Pamulli]

<<< Okay, I splashed some of my All Bran neutral on my monitor and hit Submit so lick your monitor and tell me what you think... >>>

Rad, I think you have a problem. That is alcohol abuse plain and simple.

[rad14701]

<<< Okay, I splashed some of my All Bran neutral on my monitor and hit Submit so lick your monitor and tell me what you think... >>>

Rad, I think you have a problem. That is alcohol abuse plain and simple.

Nah... Makes great glass cleaner...

[ScottishBoy]

Ouch! I got a shock!

No wonder they call it "Lightning"....

[flip]

I like this discussion very much, sometime i think my distilled stuff taste nice, but my wife drinks whiskey on the rocks,it looks better tastes much better and can not be compared ,she sniffs mine and don't touch .the real whiskey is smooth and soft on the tongue ,i don't think its just aging, perhaps more aromatic and thicker. i charred some oak pieces and now it is turning dark , tasted after weeks and is far from what i expect.

[ScottishBoy]

How long are you letting it age and with what aging ingredients? I found that the apple wood I use takes a few weeks before it really makes an impact of any kind. It will color up quick, but the mellow takes a while.

[blanikdog]

I like this discussion very much, sometime i think my distilled stuff taste nice, but my wife drinks whiskey on the rocks,it looks better tastes much better and can not be compared ,she sniffs mine and don't touch .the real whiskey is smooth and soft on the tongue ,i don't think its just aging, perhaps more aromatic and thicker. i charred some oak pieces and now it is turning dark , tasted after weeks and is far from what i expect.

Hmmmmm my wife is the same, sniff it and her nose curls up and she pours a commercial scotch, which I sniff and my nose curls up with the heads. They cannot be compared either, the scotch is shit. She does however, like my gin.

All the more for you when you leave it age for a few months to three years.

blanik

[rubber duck]

Yep, I'm with the 3 year minimum rule, that is if you can wait that long.

[flip]

hallo Scottish Boy
I double distilled grains and maize ,diluted with rain water to 60% strength,add it to a 4.5l whiskey bottle .took a furniture white oak wood, planed off the varnish ,split to fit the bottle ,add 4 of 200mm length after charred with propane torch to dark.apple wood here don't think i can find,here we have mango orange lemon trees.the steeping is about 3 Weeks old,i opened the bottle for a week with a coffee filter on ,and added nothing else,it will probably need a dab of honey and glycerin and spoon of sugar or what can you suggest.
My next wash will be with all-bran.

[olddog]

Maple syrup is the way to go.

[flip]

3 years,huh, shu I think must frees it or heat it to speed up the process.

[ScottishBoy]

Did you say "Furniture" grade?
If so, was it kiln dried?

[flip]

Yes furniture wood [kiln]oven process ? i don't know,but i planed it deep and is white oak.

[Slow & Steady]

the scotch is shit. blanik

Blanik, what brand of Scotch does your wife drink?

S&S

[ScottishBoy]

the scotch is shit. blanik

Blanik, what brand of Scotch does your wife drink?

S&S

Im gonna go out on a limb here and say " Shite Scotch".......what?

[Slow & Steady]

the scotch is shit. blanik

Blanik, what brand of Scotch does your wife drink?

S&S

Im gonna go out on a limb here and say " Shite Scotch".......what?

I'm going to join you on that limb and suggest Blanik buy his wife some proper made Single Malt Scotch.

S&S

[blanikdog]

The last bottle I saw was Grants I think. I don't touch the stuff. Triangular bottle. She seems to get this one mostly.

And as for buying her a bottle of Single Malt, ya must be joking!!! If she doesn't like my handcrafted, liquid gold, why the hell spend all that money when it would be better spent buying molasses????

blanik

[flip]

My wife likes white horse whiskey and pulls up her nose for any of my stuffs

[Slow & Steady]

Yeah... sorry... that was crazy talk...

S&S

Son says to father during a pancake breakfast: "Can I ave some mo lasses....

Father replies: Whad you talkin bout, boy... your to young to ave "had" any lasses?"

[LWTCS]

You crowbared that joke in S-n-S. How long ya been waiting to tell it?

[Slow & Steady]

I was going to use the old stand-by "You want some Molasses"... "What do you mean Mo, I aint had none yet.

Then I decided to decant it a little further.

S&S