Home Distiller

I have just started using a reflux still and am pretty happy with the results so far. I know what good clean vodka should taste like, and the alcohol I am getting certainly tastes fine. I also want to make a range of spirits and liqeuers, but at this stage want to keep it simple by just using a sugar wash and adding essences or wood. The only filtering /carbon treatment I am doing is running the diluted 40% alcohol through a Still Spirits EZ Filter. 2-3 weeks later the alcohol tastes clean and has virtually no odour. My questions are:
1) How long do you generally age spirits in the bottle after adding the essence?
2) Should I still run the alcohol through the EZ filter if I am making rum, whiskey or bourbon?
3) Am I doing enough to carbon treat the spirit? It seems some people go to a lot more effort so am I missing something here?

I would appreciate hearing what you have found to make a real nice bourbon, and if it is a combination of essence and wood.

Thanks,

Aaron

don't know even where to start,, ez filter? is not that made of plastic? if so not recommended and if you flavor then filter you will remove the flavor.
good essence never herd of it. don't use it never have and never will, I make real stuff.
age in bottle? unless you have a head space and some sort of o2 exchange it wont age at all. all but some types I age in barrels for at least a year.
good vodka/neutral should not need aging. that is what your using and then flavoring.

If you are looking for flavored spirits, why did you buy a reflux still?

OD

The only 'cheating' drink that I've had that I thought was actually good was the essencia bourbon barrel chunks, and the price prevented me from doing it again. Gin and rum are easier to just make traditionally than get right with an essence I think.

liqueurs from neutral are also IMHO better made from scratch rather than an essence.

a bit of airing for your neutral before flavouring (essences or otherwise) will probably help it smooth out, but any more than a week or so will probably not have any additional improvement.

Thanks for the comments. The EZ filter is plastic, and I realise you need to filter before adding any flavouring. Is it a bad thing to use? I got a reflux still as I believed pot stills were more suited to whiskey, bourbon etc and the main thing I want to make is liqeuers, vodka, flavoured vodka etc. I know that I will not be able to make "genuine" bourbon but hope to make a very acceptable tasting drink. As I said, the quality of the neutral spirit seems great. After distilling and before diluting and filtering I leave it to stand in open containers for 2 weeks.

It came down to (as this stage) buying either a pot or reflux still. Now I would like to make the most of what I do have.

azza69 wrote:The EZ filter is plastic

Plastic and high proof alcohol are not a good mix, it looks like you fell into the Brewshop trap.
Try one of the recipes for neutral from Tried and True, you will not need to filter.


OD

olddog wrote:

azza69 wrote:The EZ filter is plastic

Plastic and high proof alcohol are not a good mix, it looks like you fell into the Brewshop trap.
Try one of the recipes for neutral from Tried and True, you will not need to filter.


OD

Ah yes, the brewshop trap. I recently went into a brewshop to buy a roll of copper mesh because, as I said to the owner, the product coming out of my new SS homebuilt still was 95.6%, but had a slightly "farty" smell to it (sulphides I suspect), no matter what recipe I was trying. He told me that he had actually researched this topic and that it was all a big load of bulls..t and that the only way to clean it up was to filter it thru carbon. Long story short, I ordered a roll of copper mesh thru the internet and now my product is smelling as clean as it should, no filtering neccessary.

amphora society? or do you have another (local)source?

Something I found out about when it comes to airing your hooch. If you air too long the alcohol evaporates. Yep I started with 130 proof and in 10 to 12 days it was down to about 90 proof. I thought the longer the better cause it would smooth it out and air off some of the other stuff that I did'nt want, so learn from my mistakes, 36-48 hours will be my next attempt at airing.

" If you air too long the alcohol evaporates.""
how long it takes will depend, on humidity and temperature.and the size of opening , low humidity water will evaporate faster if any is in it, then of coarse in hi heat all will evaporate faster,

It's winter here at the moment and I have the alcohol sitting in a cupboard, so I'm thinking the rate of evaporation is probably fairly low. I'm basically doing what the guy at the local homebrew shop recommended so I hope tht the advise is reasonably good. However, the more you read the more you see there are many different ways people do things.

azza69 wrote: the more you read the more you see there are many different ways people do things.

Correct. I too started out trying to extract some sense out of the local brew shop but normally left more confused than before I walked in the door. Some solid reading on here will answer more of your question's (truthfully and accurately, without trying to make a dollar out of you) than a trip to the shop. There is a wealth of knowledge available on here, all you need to do is find it.

I am in Hamilton as well. I am part way through building a boka, you are more than welcome to come around and have a look to figure it all out if you like. I am FAR from as knowledgeable as most people on here but if it helps I'm happy to assist.

Hoody

Thanks Hoody, that would be great. Would be good to get some first hand advice from someone experienced. I will PM you with my contact info.

Like I said I am FAR from experianced, but if you are anything like me, I learn ALOT better from being shown something. My build is a fair way off yet and is not much to look at but hey, any excuse for a chin wag!?

I will PM you.

Hoody

kiwistiller wrote:amphora society? or do you have another (local)source?

I ended up buying mine from these guys...

http://www.spiritsunlimited.co.nz/produ ... pment.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Product H113 + delivery = $29.00. I think I will get some more from them to put a bit up the stripping column.

Is there any point in aging spirits made from essences?? I think not, but perhaps I'm wrong again.

In my experience-little as it may be-i found that if the neutral isnt the best,then a little time does wonders.Had a few bottles that were made up with a scotch whiskey essence that had a bit of a bite(some like the bite),after a month it was quite smooth,i had left them in the cupboard and forgotten about them...or maybe i ran out of booze to drink .....So in saying that,if the neutral is very very clean,im not talking double or triple filtering(who has time to do that-and costly) i mean a bunch of neutral from a BW wash for example,you wouldnt need to.just my opinion.have kept my mouth shut long enough been doing lots of reading.
well then back at it.

edit-Looking at making a pot still head Blanik,want to try making a real bourbon.

marc83 wrote:edit-Looking at making a pot still head Blanik,want to try making a real bourbon.

Way to go, marc. )

Lets get to it marc. If you want to do a all grain whiskey your going tot find plenty of help here.

RefluxFan wrote:

olddog wrote:

azza69 wrote:The EZ filter is plastic

Plastic and high proof alcohol are not a good mix, it looks like you fell into the Brewshop trap.
Try one of the recipes for neutral from Tried and True, you will not need to filter.


OD

Ah yes, the brewshop trap. I recently went into a brewshop to buy a roll of copper mesh because, as I said to the owner, the product coming out of my new SS homebuilt still was 95.6%, but had a slightly "farty" smell to it (sulphides I suspect), no matter what recipe I was trying. He told me that he had actually researched this topic and that it was all a big load of bulls..t and that the only way to clean it up was to filter it thru carbon. Long story short, I ordered a roll of copper mesh thru the internet and now my product is smelling as clean as it should, no filtering neccessary.

I wish more folks would figure this out. If you need carbon you shouldn't drink it. If your doing a gin then maybe....

Not even for gin, RD. Trouble is that many try to emulate the commercial piss, when we should be trying to be better than the commercia, IMHO.

It really isn't hard to do.

I made some brandy with the still spirits Classic series,

VSOP? , I think, the one in the cardboard sleeve

about a year ago and put it into a 5 litre wooden keg

I wanted to take some away on a trip and had a bottle of genuine Hennessey cognac with only a nip left

so I put it into a glass

put some of my stuff into a glass

taste test

not the same , but definitely in the same style

good enough not to want to buy the genuine

azza69 wrote:I have just started using a reflux still and am pretty happy with the results so far. I know what good clean vodka should taste like, and the alcohol I am getting certainly tastes fine. I also want to make a range of spirits and liqeuers, but at this stage want to keep it simple by just using a sugar wash and adding essences or wood. The only filtering /carbon treatment I am doing is running the diluted 40% alcohol through a Still Spirits EZ Filter. 2-3 weeks later the alcohol tastes clean and has virtually no odour. My questions are:
1) How long do you generally age spirits in the bottle after adding the essence?
2) Should I still run the alcohol through the EZ filter if I am making rum, whiskey or bourbon?
3) Am I doing enough to carbon treat the spirit? It seems some people go to a lot more effort so am I missing something here?

Why don't you ask your LHBS for advice - that's meant to be their speciality!

Thats a bit rough.....