Home Distiller

Hi im very new to this, i have distilled only three washes so far, i have been using essence to flavour my spirit which is ok but i feel it could be alot better, i have a turbo500 reflux still so dont think using a grain or molasses wash will work, apparently my still will strip all flavours from the wash... i want to make good quality single malt whiskey, ive used the classic finest reserve essence from my local brewshop which was recommended to me which i thought was ok but after giving it to a few veterans to sample have been told its nowhere near good enough! i am a mixer! i know i know butcher! lol
so to me it tastes ok but i would like to produce some good sipping whiskey for the old boys, is it possible using a reflux still and can it be done with essence or oak chunks??? any info would be much appreciated, thankyou!

I'm afraid it's not really possible to 'produce' a really good scotch from an essence.

Well, I suppose it might be possible, but it hasn't been done yet as far as we know.
Sorry,
Kiwi

real flavors are made of 1000s of different chemicals,essence are made of just a few , that is why they will never be the same.
they will always be almost but not quiet the same .

Thanks for that, i want to steer away from essence but not to sure what to do, i was told that using a t500 will take all flavour out of my wash so no point in doing a grain or molasses wash is this true? And if so what options do i have for flavouring? I have seen a few recipe's for gin but sourcing all the ingredients could be tricky, and i am interested in infusion for making some vodka's but is it possible to make whiskey from neutral or will i have to look at getting a pot still? sorry if these questions are abit stupid, there is so much to read on this site and i am trying to find answers before hassling you guys...

I'm not sure about detuning the t500, I've never pulled one apart. If you want to bring it over, I can have a look and tell you. I've got an old power controller that was never quite finished (needs a bigger heat sink and some testing, that's all) that you could borrow if you want to use that thing as a pot still (if it can be detuned easily, of course).

cool thanks, would be good to talk with a pro, im not sure about detuning dont know much about much in the distilling world. there are some pics of a t500 on this site not sure where i came across it though sorry.

pics are never quite the same as pulling them apart yourself though! But yeah, if you want to come over, drop me a pm. I work from home (writing my thesis or procrastinating from it), so I'm around most of the time.

Might be a bit tricky to detune for pot still use unless the coolant routing can be altered or the reflux tube can be replaced with a straight tube without a condenser coil...

I saved those pictures locally so I wouldn't have to hunt for them... Haven't gotten around to using the forum bookmarks...

Excellent, i will definately be in touch in the near future. thanks