I wanted to start by saying Hello to everyone. I feel like I actually know A LOT of folks on here because I have been reading your post for years. I had a login about 10 years ago but can't remember which email address I used, since I believed at the time there was a high risk of being tracked by the government, so I used a disposable email address at the time. Honestly that was more stupid than anything since the government can trace any email address you use..........I digress, so back to my intro. I have been distilling for about 5 years now, maybe a little longer and decided that I needed to get a login, again, so I could really show my gratitude to several guys who made some amazing recipes and were willing to share them. If it wasn't for users such as: "uncle jesse", who's simple UJSSM, "Odin" whose world famous Odin's Gin, "Buccaneer Bob" with great Rum recipes, "Tater" with his simple "Birdwatcher's Sugar Wash" and "Shineoncrazydiamond" with my all-time favorite "Honey Bear Bourbon" then I wouldn't be at the place I am right now.
Like a lot of guys, I started with a crappy still that came from Amazon, made in China, shaped like a football/alien and at the time thought I was going to be able to change the world, making the best shine ever. I had watched several years of Moonshiner's on TV and figured if they could do it in the woods, using some old parts they found and made great moonshine, then to be sure I could make even better shine in my kitchen using the latest and greatest technology that China could ship to me for $185. Hell, my still was made of stainless chine Sium and didn't require any flour paste, so it had to be better, RIGHT?? Well after starting off with Birdwatcher's Sugar Wash and some Turbo Yeast, capable of handling high alcohol levels, I eventually turned some simple ingredients inside of a 5 gal bucket, into alcohol. That alcohol didn't taste that great, I didn't know what heads, hearts or tails were, I was just in total awl that I was able to create alcohol in a contraption on my kitchen stove (first lesson about the infinite amounts of parts I would need as the round bottom of my pot rocked back and forth on my stove every time the heating element kicked on). Eventually I drilled a hole in my shitty Chinese pot and put an internal element in it, built a power supply (hooked up to 2 different leads in my house to create 220 from 2 single 110s) and slowly figured out how to keep things cooled down. After a few years of learning to make "good liquor" from some relatively shitty parts, I decided to change up.
I eventually decided on a Milk Jug style cooker with an internal element, 2" TC that I have grown to love. Currently I do have a thumper (which I am slowly learning to use, Gin Basket (learning to use it) and a simple VM system. I had been making a lot of Rum and UJSSM, because I was a little intimidated by all grain mashes (plus I lacked the tools to do a high temperature wash in large scale). After successfully making 3 batches of Honey Bear Bourbon, I am now hooked on that all grain liquor.
I am looking forward to continuing to grow, eventually learning more about the recipe development. It's one thing to follow another person's tried and true recipe but to learn the expected outcome from different Malts. I guess a lot of that is just going to come with time and experience. Thanks for the community. Without this website, it wouldn't have been possible for myself and many others to become successful distillers.
Hey from Eastern NC
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