My take Bourbon

[jpparts]

I am very new to this hobby, and have only done three runs and all of them being all grain. My third run I used 15# of crushed corn, 3# Weyermann oak smoked wheat, 2# Carafa II, 1# CaraRye and 2# Pilsner malt mashed with 8 gals of water. My SG ended up being 1.063. It all seemed to go well. I used a sous vide to hold water at 130f and put the jars with oak chips in for 6-8 hours. Then into the freezer over night. Back and forth 5 or 6 times. The taste and aroma are surprisingly nice already. Now sitting in a 3L barrel, and has been in there for 3 weeks so far. I use a simple SS pot still, that I bought an 8" extension for that I put copper mesh into. All my runs have just been a single run. Being new to this, is there any tips you guys can offer as far as making a quality....""WOW"" you made this whiskey?.

[Deplorable]

Tips?
All the required readings at the bottom of every page.
Double distilling.
Good cuts.
Proper aging.
Don't judge any spirit until it's a minimum of 6 months old 10 to 12 months is better.

[Stonecutter]

+1 Deplorable
This hobby is so much fun and there is a lifetime worth of tinkering one could do with whiskey alone. If you think about the millions of man hours that the popular commercial distillers have put into their spirit. Yeast development, mash bills, fermentation protocols, Still design, distillation theory and practices and finally aging. Literally teams of people all dedicated to the brand.
My tip is to just take your time eating the elephant and really focus on a double distillation practice. Cuts. And a quality aging process.
The term has been coined here….” The hardest thing to put into a bottle is time”.

[Deplorable]

Another good quote I've seen here is "The best way to make good whiskey, is to make a lot of whiskey." Or something like that.
Take a lot of care in fermentation control, learn to drive your still, and understand what makes good cuts for your tastes.
Stick with the same mash bill, like a T&T, and learn all the aspects above on the same mash bill. That way, if you have questions the answer is likely in that thread. If it isn't, then someone likely has an answer.

[Twisted Brick]

Another good quote I've seen here is "The best way to make good whiskey, is to make a lot of whiskey." Or something like that.
Take a lot of care in fermentation control, learn to drive your still, and understand what makes good cuts for your tastes.
Stick with the same mash bill, like a T&T, and learn all the aspects above on the same mash bill. That way, if you have questions the answer is likely in that thread. If it isn't, then someone likely has an answer.

+1

The importance of tight mash and fermentation controls cannot be overstated.

[jpparts]

Using my 35L SS kettle to I cook my mash, and so far I've done all of them BIAB. Also, I use an electric inductive hot plate. That allows me to hold temp for a long time. Say corn at 190f for 90 mins, then lower the temp to 145f. Then letting it cool naturally, when it gets to 145, I can hold it there. It takes me a long time....like it is an all day thing. By the time I lifted the bag out and pitched my yeast was around 10-11 hours.

[Deplorable]

Using my 35L SS kettle to I cook my mash, and so far I've done all of them BIAB. Also, I use an electric inductive hot plate. That allows me to hold temp for a long time. Say corn at 190f for 90 mins, then lower the temp to 145f. Then letting it cool naturally, when it gets to 145, I can hold it there. It takes me a long time....like it is an all day thing. By the time I lifted the bag out and pitched my yeast was around 10-11 hours.

Yep. A 25 gallon mash for me is a weekend plan.

[OtisT]

Good wood. You need good seasoned oak.

Otis

[Deplorable]

Good wood.

Otis

Thats what she said,,,