want to make the best brandy

[mrsipper]

I am located in central Virginia in the U.S. I have enjoyed home brew from my friends and neighbors for most of my life. I have always wanted to make my own sippin whiskey, so finally about 9 months ago a friend showed me how to make a small pot still and I have been experimenting ever since. I have really been impressed with the process because on one hand it is simple, but on the other it is complex. The cooker portion of my still is made from a pressure canner. The worm( 1/4 " copper tubing) runs from the removable lid into a 6" diameter PVC pipe. The pipe is approx. 30" tall and has a rubber boot on the bottom. At the bottom of the pipe I have installed a garden hose fitting. At the top I have also ran some smaller pipe to take the hot water away. Cool water comes in at the bottom from the garden hose and the hot water is taken away to always keep the worm cool. There is a 1/4 " hole drilled at the bottom of the PVC pipe as well that the worm comes through and this is where I collect the condensate. I have a gas grill that has a side burner and it is set up in my well vented shop. It seems so far to work very well.
I am most interested in learning how to make the best apple/peach brandy possible. I am going for quality since my still can only hold 3 gallons of mash. Any advice anyone would offer I would like to hear. My typical mash is usually a 1 gallon mix of apple juice from the shelf. I mix this with sugar and yeast(7 grams). However some of my mixes have used brown sugar, and/or corn syrup. I use a 1 gallon pickle jar to ferment this mixture. I have drilled a hole in the top of the jar, then purchased a one way valve and tubing in the pet/fish supply section of Walmart. The valve lets the gas out and keeps the bad bacteria from getting in the mix. I have built several of these and they also work well and I can make multiple batches. This usually take about 25+ days to finish working, but in the end all the yeast sinks to the bottom and all I have to do is carefully siphon off the clear liquid. I put 1 gallon at a time to distill and collect 1.75 oz in the beginning and throw this out. I generally collect 14-20 oz going on taste and proofing by lighting a small sample in a spoon. The finished product generally has a fruity aroma and a very light fruity aftertaste. Since I don't have a alchometer I am not sure of the real proof. However I have enjoyed some very nice sippin.
Is there anything I could do to improve on the fruity flavor? Does anyone see anything wrong with the process I am using? I am hoping for helpful hints.

Thanks to all

[MuleKicker]

i have the same issue. I made a couple bottles of blackberry brandy a few years back. Been sittin on oak ever since. It has the nicest fruit smell, but not as much of the flavor. Good stuff though.
Cheers, and welcome to the forum.

[Tater]

That is really a small still to try to make pure brandy with .50 gallons peach wash only gonna make around 3 gallons and would need to be ran more then once.Dont think much of pressure cooker type stills if rubber ring is used . Id make worm outta 3/8 though. Sounds like ya aint doing bad for what ya got to work with.

[Dnderhead]

"" My typical mash is usually a 1 gallon mix of apple juice from the shelf. I mix this with sugar and yeast(7 grams).""
that is the problem,make a mash with all fruit, very little or no sugar .(depending on fruit.the more flavor the more sugar you can use.according "real brandy" cannot have sugar added to mash)also try "real"fruit those off the shelf seem to lack something.
5-6% is fine,many brandy's are made with less.(3-4%)
I usually make one slow run when doing fruit.trying to "hit" the % I want to
drink/age at.(also distilling on pulp/skins will add flavor)
many brandy's in US are flavored ,they are grape brandy's cut with juice then redistilled.
then some are just flavored after..