ageing time

forefold · Post by **forefold** » Sat Dec 30, 2006 1:27 pm

just a quick question for interest sake, How long does everyone age there neutrol spirit on wood chips for before adding the essence, being rum or bourbon. What is your favourite rum or bourbon essence that you use with this method? cheers

CoopsOz · Post by **CoopsOz** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 11:37 am

G'day Forefold,
I'm pretty sure you are supposed to mix up your essences and then add the chips. The chips are there to take away the fakeness (is that a word

) of the essence and they do a pretty good job IMHO. I don't see the point in making oak flavoured vodka and then adding the essence. BTW, the chips sold by Still Spirits are soaked for 10 days.

Bujapat · Post by **Bujapat** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 8:35 am

Forefold, you make bourbon like you want to do it... But the simpliest way is Uncle Jesse's sour mash, aged on oak.

It will give you better stuff than any essence could give.

CoopsOz · Post by **CoopsOz** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:07 am

"Bujapat"
Forefold, you make bourbon like you want to do it... But the simpliest way is Uncle Jesse's sour mash, aged on oak.

It will give you better stuff than any essence could give.

That may be the case, but if your using your spirit as a mixer.....you can come pretty close when making bourbon with the essences and chips, bundy rum on the other hand is a different story!

Aidas · Post by **Aidas** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 3:55 am

I agree with Bujapat.

UJSM is really easy, really good, and usable not only as a mixer, but as a neat drink too.

Believe me, I'm running UJSM constantly (with recipe variations), and I'm drinking it right away, with a bit of aging (I try to control myself, but invariably fail), and every once in a while, some stuff that I've managed to keep my mitts off for a longer period (by hiding it from myself in the basement behing lots of crap that's hard to move...)

I drink it straight, as a mint julep, or with all sorts of mixers.

It is better than anything I've bought before. I'm not kidding. Also -- because I distill with care, I've yet to get a hangover from this stuff, nothwithstanding a generous hand at pouring...

Aidas

hornedrhodent · Post by **hornedrhodent** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 4:06 am

="Aidas"
It is better than anything I've bought before. I'm not kidding. Also -- because I distill with care, I've yet to get a hangover from this stuff, nothwithstanding a generous hand at pouring...

Aidas

This is also true of nasty flavourings - they're shit but give less hangover than conmmercial stuff. But they're nowhere near as good as the real thing.

Aidas · Post by **Aidas** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:01 pm

Hornedrodent:

This is also true of nasty flavourings - they're shit but give less hangover than conmmercial stuff. But they're nowhere near as good as the real thing.

I wouldn't know, I've never used flavorings... Maybe they give less hangover if you're producing better neutral spirit than the commercial stuff... I've always been under the impression that hangovers come from heads and tails (which are in abundance in commercial drinks) and/or sugar.

I wonder what the result of an experiment like the following would be: use the same flavoring for 1) commercial vodka and 2) a high quality home produced neutral. Would the hangover be more/less with nr. 2?

In any case, I'm very happy potstilling whiskey and brandy, so I know I won't be trying the experiment soon (or ever, for that matter).

Aidas

Bujapat · Post by **Bujapat** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:18 pm

100% agree with you Aidas, cheers!

possum · Post by **possum** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:58 pm

Even anhydrous 100% ethanol will give some degree of hangover...if you drink too much. It has been more than 10 years since I drank any.
Ethanol is a diuretic(spelling?)..pushes water out of the body.

Only Star Trek has hangover free hootch.

Cheers.

CoopsOz · Post by **CoopsOz** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 1:48 pm

"possum"

Only Star Trek has hangover free hootch.

That's what I reckon, all these people that say thier product doesn't give them a hangover.....just havn't drunk enough! If your dehydrating yourself with every glass, eventually it will catch up with you.

olcarguy · Post by **olcarguy** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 2:49 pm

If I drank as much store bought as I do my own hooch. I wouldn't be able to function for a week.

possum · Post by **possum** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 2:59 pm

True...Jack is cruel to me ,whereas my own product is much kinder.
But if I drink way too much, I will feel bad the next day.
I'm carefull with the cuts because I drink it.

Aidas · Post by **Aidas** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 11:34 pm

I don't consider a fuzzy feeling in the head as a hangover. Something along the lines of clouds hanging around your head and in front of your eyes.

I'm talking about the headsplitting, "I'll never drink again" type of hangover...

Recently, after a shindig where I let myself go and ended up polishing off about 750 ML of UJSM, I was perfectly functional the next day. Though, like I said, the world was a bit cloudy that day -- but not in a bad way. I shudder to think what would have been my status had I had that much Jack....

Aidas

hornedrhodent · Post by **hornedrhodent** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:24 am

="Aidas"
Recently, after a shindig where I let myself go and ended up polishing off about 750 ML of UJSM, I was perfectly functional the next day. Though, like I said, the world was a bit cloudy that day -- but not in a bad way. I shudder to think what would have been my status had I had that much Jack....

Aidas

Did something similar last night - nearly 700ml of my rum flavoured hooch - no headache.
Tonight i'm on 'Chateau cardboard - medium dry red' - I feel the hangover coming on already.

Froggy · Post by **Froggy** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 4:10 am

I knocked off 1 and a 1/4 of 1125ml of my rum flavoured spirit one night and I felt like I was dead for 2 days after. I did this once before with bundaberg rum and I felt exactly the same. The only difference being the extremely bad after taste of the bundy rum for the next day or so.

I have since found a really good way to not have hangovers, So I'll be ok from now on.

olcarguy · Post by **olcarguy** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 7:43 am

Froggy: Maybe your big head comes from the flavorings that you are using. My rum is clean and I only get the cloudy, fuzzy feeling that Aidas is talking about.

Froggy · Post by **Froggy** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:07 pm

I believe its as Possum and Coopsoz stated. No matter how clean your spirit is, if you drink enough you will become dehydrated cause the bad head.

mtnwalker2 · Post by **mtnwalker2** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:29 pm

I read 'somewhere' that B vitimins taken before, during, and after drinking' greatly improves your outlook on life the next morning!

I wish I had some!

Aidas · Post by **Aidas** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 2:47 am

"mtnwalker2"

I read 'somewhere' that B vitimins taken before, during, and after drinking' greatly improves your outlook on life the next morning!

I wish I had some!

I think it's mostly quality, i.e. if the distillate is exclusively hearts, you're not going to have a serious hangover.

That said, even drinking quality, but in copious amounts, will give you some sort of effect the next day. It's inevitable -- after all we're poisoning ourselves with the finest alcohol available!

But the tradeoff is worth it.

Aidas

mtnwalker2 · Post by **mtnwalker2** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 5:16 pm

Yes Aidas, I totally agree with you. I haven't had a hangover- per se, in some 8 years now. However, one of the reasons alchohal is relatively poisenous and potentialy debilltateing is that it flushes certain B vitamins out of our system. I don't propose this as an antidote, but merely a re-establishment of our bodely needs, not only to feel good the next day, but to retain health years down the line. This is a h--- of a lot safer than some chugging gatoraid and other salts plus HFCS to quench a thirst.
''
And so what, even if it dousn't cost a nickel or dime a day, its good for you, and really progresses your energy level.