Hello from the Great Lakes!

[exotica59]

HI there. I'm so glad I found this site. I only wish I had found it before I ordered my still.( more on that if and when I get the thing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things will be Ok).
I am a rank novice when it comes to using a still. I have made beer and wine back in the late 60's early 70's as a young girl, with the help of my wonderful Grandma.I didn't care to drink it back then-just loved the process.
In 2005 I joined a organization that in part celebrates the art of making cocktails. I don't mean using some nasty overly processed store bought stuff, but high quality ingredients. Mostly drinks made with our own homemade sryups, liqueurs, spirits. I like making liqueurs and have used, fruits, herbs, nuts, flowers, and spices.
Well all those things have to soak in high grade spirits, so it only seemed natural to take my hobby to the next level.my favorite spirit is rum--all kinds from all different countries.I'd love to produce something drinkable by my own still.
It sounds like a fun hobby. I'll be reading a lot and probably asking some questions once my still get here.
I really do intend to build my own simple still at some point once I learn more.
If anyone out there is interested in making their own flavoring or liqueurs, I'd be glad to share my recipes and experiments with you.
Ok, better get back to reading...just wanted to take a couple of minutes and introduce myself.

[Whitedog]

Welcome Exotica59! Glad to have you here on the forum. About those recipes..... I sure would like your opinion on a Pineapple liquer and a Strawberry liquer! Thanks and good luck with the elevation of your hobby, I think it will be most fulfilling to you! WD

[rad14701]

Greetings, exotica59...

Nice introduction... It sound like the women of you family have been at this hobby/craft for several generations... While I'm not a fan of liquers I'm sure many here would be interested in your recipes...

[LWTCS]

Welcome Exotica59,,,,,welcome welcome.
Very nice to have you here as we don't get much women folk (that we know of) round here.

My personal opinion is that the ladies are gifted with a genetic predisposition that allows for a superior pallet more often than not.

You have found the place to be. And it does sound like we may also benifit from the perspective that you may be in possession of some quality point of view.

Shall we see?

[Mud Mechanik]

Welcome exotica59, glad you found the forum. What still did you order? MM

[Dnderhead]

welcome, the grate lakes, that's wine country I beleve? if so then some brandy is in order.

[Fastill]

Hello right back at you from the Great Lakes!!
Lots of people here more than willing to share recipes with, one of the great things about this site.

[kiwistiller]

Welcome, I for one am very interested in any liqueur recipes you'd care to share.

[rednose]

Welcome, good to see a "she" distiller in HD.

Joe

[exotica59]

such a warm welcome. Thank-you so much!
Yes, the women from my family have all had very close ties with the land and have enjoyed making things that good old mother nature gives us. I've tried to continue to learn what I can, which is why I'm here to learn from you guys.
I don't know that I will be able to build my own still, but I'm game to try. Hopefully the still I just ordered will will give me a good visual aid and some hands on experiance as to how the basic distilling works.
Whitedog, you mentioned Strawberry liqueur, and as it happens I am just finishing up a berry mix that I put together from some left over berries that I used to add some flavor to the spring violets I gathered and turned into a liqueur.
I used strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries with a little bit of orange peel. I slightly mashed the berries and then pour grain alcohol over them and let them steep until I get to a flavor that I like. Then I take 2 part sugar to one part water to and cook on the stove to make my sugar sryup. Strain out the berries through coffee filters till booze has a nice clear color , add the sugar sryup, bottle and let it mellow a bit. Don't toss those berries. They're good on ice cream or sponge cake, or just snackn'.

Now, here is where I start wondering.....Could you take this liqueur add yeast ferment, and distill? Or would this be used much the same way I do now-only instead of having to buy the alcohol it could be produced in a still. Just trying to grasp the basic principal.
I need to spend some time this weekend and just read and learn.
I looked on Amazon at distilling books, but couldn't decide which would be right for me. Again, I think I saw that there is a section here where I can get a listing of good books to read.
And I am really interested in trying to make some rum.
Thanks again for the welcome!

[Dnderhead]

either way, you can redistill in a pot still and you whould have schnapps/brandy or you can make a wash and use a reflux still and produce 80-95% (160-190pro)
and use as vodka or flavor as you want. we have most all covered,and always looking for other recipes both for wash/mash and final product.

[kiwistiller]

Now, here is where I start wondering.....Could you take this liqueur add yeast ferment, and distill? Or would this be used much the same way I do now-only instead of having to buy the alcohol it could be produced in a still. Just trying to grasp the basic principal.

welll sorta kinda maybe. it's already got alcohol in it. you could macerate alcohol with berries and then distill to make a berry vodka (don't bother adding your sugar before distilling), or ferment berries to berry wine then distill to get a berry brandy / eau de vie / schnapps. Or you can make neutrals and create liqueurs from them like you've been doing. This gets tricky to talk about because a lot of the names mean different things in different places.

The compleat distiller is a good book to get your head around, but failing that a read through or two of the parent site and a good solid look at the novice area of the board should give you a basic understanding.

So which still did you buy? I gather it's not a good one...

[posting same time as dnder]

[blanikdog]

What thet all said exotica, and welcome.

blanik

[Whitedog]

Thanks for the recipe. I will most certainly try it! As for fermenting the mixture you mentioned.... you give grain alcohol as an ingredient which is typically high ABV which in itself would prohibit fermentation. I have seen yeast that claimed to be able to achieve around 20% but not any higher. The other guys mentioned different ways to get there.... I think you already have a handle on that. I recommend that you make some neutrals and use some of your "tried and true" drink recipes to get started in the distilling end of this craft. With that said, you can always de-tune a reflux and potstill with it... hoping you ordered one capable of doing this... Also, one of the "tried and true" recipes from the so-named section on this site will give you a very good place to begin. We use "Birdwatchers" quite often... I have 25 gallons fermenting right now!! Good Luck, Be Safe, and Enjoy!! WD

[exotica59]

ahhhh, I am starting to understand about the liqueurs/distilling. Thanks guys for answering what is probably pretty dumb question. I promise to read up and wise up.
I learn the best from "hands on". so once I finally have something to work with for good or for bad I'll give it my best shot. As this is a hobby for me, I have plenty of time to get better. I'm not out for quantity, but quality. Any craft that you want to be good at takes time, patience, mistakes, or time, more mistakes, then you hopefully learn from the mistakes, rinse and repeat.
I have ordered two books to try and get an over view.
"Making Pure Corn Whiskey: A Professional Guide For Amateur And Micro Distillers"
by Ian Smiley

"The Art of Distilling Whiskey and Other Spirits: An Enthusiast's Guide to the Artisan Distilling of Potent Potables"
by Bill Owens

I bought my still from Turbo Stomper stills it is the venom combo. I'm waiting for it to arrive. the man said it would be a couple of weeks.
Does this man post on this web board by chance? Do any others here have one? and most importantly, do you think a novice such as myself will be able to use this?
I was really torn..I have used the brew huas before to purchase small items for my liqueur making and I really liked the looks of the Essential Extractor Pro Series II- Complete Distiller. I just couldn't go that high in price. Where I bought from had a phone number which I called and he seemed like a nice guy who had made many different stills and said he would have lots of info and I could call if I had any questions as I got started.

[rednose]

Oh oh , wait what other that purchased there have to say.

There is also a thread that treats about those bandits, just make a forum search.

I bought my still from Turbo Stomper stills it is the venom combo. I'm waiting for it to arrive.

[olddog]

It's another case of buy first, and research later unfortunately.

OD

[exotica59]

sigh...I was afraid that you were going to say that this was the same guy. I was holding out hope. The man told me that it was a different guy who had taken his plans and ran the place into the ground. When I read the thread about the stills that I think you are referring to, I didn't see the exact name of the still I ordered, so I hoped that it wasn't the same guys. When I read that their ads had women draped all over the stills and the bad grammer and spelling, I thought to myself, "uh oh.."
sooo...is the design of the still even plausible to work?
Since they have my money, and I do not yet have the still, I think I will keep a friendly, hopeful thought that they would not cheat a sweet old lady who only wants to make liqueurs on the weekend.( did I lay that on too thick, guys? I'm a desperate women who just wants something in return for the hard earned money she just spent. )

[kiwistiller]

Ah well, hopefully it arrives at all! I suspect you'll probably be building / getting someone else to build something for you after not too long

[rednose]

If you have someone that is good in copper DIY you might get something useful out of it, like it is I wouldn't fire it (if it ever arrives).

There are a lot of good designs here, my favorite for beginners is the bokakob.

You can also make a simple potstill out of it.

You say that you love to learn by hands on.

[blanikdog]

Isnt't this still from the stilldrinking.com rogues? If so, I hope you haven't parted with any money yet. exotica. There's a thread in the forum which is a rogues gallery and I'm sure they're in it.

blanik

[mrhooch]

Hi from the north side of the Great Lakes. Yup the stil will work to produce alcohol, It's a doubler, so you should be able to squeeze 80% at some point in the run. The nice thing is that you can add botanicals to the jar and get a vapour infusion, something I've been itching to do with mine for some time now.

Hooch

[Whitedog]

Hopefully you paid with a credit card as you would have some recourse if it doesn't show up on your doorstep. WD

[rednose]

Hooch, the still don't produce alcohol, the yeast do.

We only seperate the ethanol from other alcohols and water.

The honey jar doubler has plastic seals.

Hi from the north side of the Great Lakes. Yup the stil will work to produce alcohol, It's a doubler, so you should be able to squeeze 80% at some point in the run. The nice thing is that you can add botanicals to the jar and get a vapour infusion, something I've been itching to do with mine for some time now.

Hooch

[northcountry]

Greetings- am also from the northern great lakes (yooper). Also made the "stilldrinkin" mistake. Just finished the rebuild yesterday, using some of the "stilldrinkin" parts. Their solder joints are ok, I checked for lead. Didn't use the thumper, as rednose pointed out-rubber seals a no no. I'll be posting my rebuild shortly for mentors input. Will be doing cleaning runs this weekend. Good folk here and lots to learn, been pouring over the info for many moons.

[mrhooch]

Yes fermentation by yeast produces alcohol, but distilling the wash allows you to concentrate that alcohol to whatever percentage your equipment will let you. I had a raised eyebrow at the jelly jar they used for a thumper/doubler, there is a gum rubber seal in there that likely won't last for too many batches. I personally don't like to slam people too much for the stills they buy, even if they are close to being junk, cause that just cheeses people off. Could those stills be built better? For sure, for all the "structured packing" it is not a reflux still either.

It is pretty amazing what will produce some form of distilled alcohol, how good it will be is another question entirely.

Exotica don't take this personally, the world is full of scam artists and $300 for a still "kit" (there is way too much plastic in what he is using, starting from from the 2 liter bottle carbon filter, and the seals in the doubler jar.)

Hooch.

[exotica59]

ahhh, don't worry fellas, I appreciate the fact that you are being honest with me, that won't bum me out or slow me down. We'll see what I actually get--maybe it can be saved or who knows, maybe the guy will decide that he'll have better business if he doesn't sell crap. and I'll get something better than expected. I least I am prepared for the worst case senario.
No matter....moving on....thanks for the tip on the Bokakob still. I looked at a diagram today, and I really think that this is something I could deal with. Seems simple enough.
Question: I have a diagram of a Bokakob with a 1 1/2 " copper pipe, but I see that some guys go with a 2 inch pipe. Why would you choose one over the other?
It doesn't say in the diagram I have, so I need to also ask what size lidded pot and I am guessing it should be stainless steel? Gong to the hardware store and get the parts, and have a friend solder for me.
Sounds like a better plan-who knew I could have something made that is simple much cheaper than I just paid.
Thanks.

[rednose]

Good thing is that you landed here, would have been better more early but that's life.

I would go for the 2" version of the bok, it runs very smooth and give you reasonable quantity/quality.

Keep the head up like you do, all will be fine with all the good folks helping here.

Joe

[kiwistiller]

(simplifying a bit here) the diameter of the column relates to the production speed you're able to acheive. Think of it like this - there is more area for the vapour to occupy with a larger diameter column, so you can throw more power at it to fill that space, and run your column faster without the risk of flooding it (which is bad). But then the 1 1/2 fittings and pipe are much cheaper. Just depends where the budget / performance spot is for you. I think probably most go with 2". A few go bigger. might be a good option to sketch up a plan and get it checked before you go buy any parts

[posting same time as RN]

[LWTCS]

Rubber seals AND the glass thumper. Are they sending you some safety glasses with that order?