Recipe's for neutral!!!

[kronikbud]

Hi all sorry if this is covered somewhere else, i have had a look around and have come across a few but they all seem to be scattered. Alot of people here seem to have pot stills, so im hoping people will add some recipe's for bourbons whiskeys gin rum whatever. What are my options with a reflux still what can i make??? Is it possible to make these from neutral or am i stuck using essences. Ive looked elsewhere like tried and true but alot are for people with pot stills. I just want any info on flavouring neutral thats out there please. Im a newbie so its all useful to me...

Thanks All....

[blind drunk]

How many ways can one ask the same question

[kronikbud]

Yeah i know sorry about this... Im just not understanding what i can do with a reflux still? Everyone says make grain mashes and what not but i thought a reflux still strips out any flavour from the wash!..

[Fastill]

If you cook all your washes into neutral, then you left the flavors you need in the boiler. If you try to oak neutral, you get wood flavored neutral. You are going to have to flavor with escences to make whisky or rum flavored neutral, but the true whisky flavor comes out of the wash, improved with age and oak.

[kronikbud]

Thanks so basically i need to buy a pot still or learn how to detune my reflux still, if i want to make a proper whiskey or bourbon or gin or something like that, is that right?

[Fastill]

Yeah i know sorry about this... Im just not understanding what i can do with a reflux still? Everyone says make grain mashes and what not but i thought a reflux still strips out any flavour from the wash!..

I don't know of many reflux stills that can't be unpacked and pushed to allow more flavor through. I run a reflux still, Ofset head Nixon Stone, and it will make anything from 55-60% to 96% depending on how I pack the column and run the boiler.

[kronikbud]

Ok. People have told me to take out half of my packing in the column and this will act like a pot still letting alot of the flavour from the wash through... Im new so i didnt want to go tinkering with it just yet but im getting sick of drinking essence flavoured spirit....

[kronikbud]

How much would you recommend taking out? 80% of the packing is ceramic saddles and 20% are copper saddles... should i just take out half of the ceramic saddles? And what sort of % would i expect to get once they have been removed? Sorry again if these are all dumb questions but ive read alot of different threads with alot of different opinions... cheers!

[rad14701]

Take it all out...

[kronikbud]

Ok sweet... so what sort of % & volume could i expect??
At the moment im getting no less than 94% @ 3.2 - 3.5 Litres... Would it be around the 55-60% mark?

[Fastill]

My last answer for you, you gotta start reading the parent site!!
It depends on how hard you run the still and what the ABV of the mash is that you are cooking. No real way of knowing until you run it and learn Your equipment.

[sparky marky]

From what iv read in this thread It sounds to me like you are running a brew shop reflux still with turbo yeast, probably the t500.
I reccomend taking out all the packing, fiddling your water hoses so there is no water going through your reflux column and ditchin the turbo for a tried and true recipe for whatever you wanna make. Double run it and collect in jars and make strict cuts to start off.

[mash rookie]

KB,

Get yourself a parrot and alcohol meter if you are going to detune a reflux column. It is the only way you will know what you are getting done.

You can make the best damn whiskey wash ever and strip out all the flavor if you take off at too high ABV.

Mash Rookie

[kronikbud]

yeah i have got the t500, i might have to give this a go in the near future... thanks for all the info everyone!