Mocker's Mark Recipe
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 9:33 am
This is my go-to recipe. It is a very close approximation of the grain bill in Maker's Mark (70% corn, 14% barley, 16% wheat). Maker's Mark is one of the few Bourbons on the market that does not use rye and does use wheat. If you make this recipe up and single-distill it with a pot still, it makes a very fine sipping whiskey. The recipe is for a 6.5 to 7 gallon batch.
24 hours before mashing, add 8 lbs. Producer's Pride cracked corn and 4 lbs. Producer's Pride Scratch Mix to a pot and add enough hot water to cover at least 2 inches. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and let soak overnight.
The next night, put about 3.5 gallons of water and 1/2 gallon backset in a BOP and start heating. While the water is heating, run the grain through a Cuisinart until it is down to about 1/16" pieces, then add to the heating water. Critical to this procedure is the use of a 1/2" variable speed drill mounted overhead fitted with a plaster mixer. Mine is built so the mixer reaches to about 3/4" from the bottom of the pot, and I used a thumbscrew and nut to make a speed controller for very precise speed adjustment (pics to follow). I start at about 80 RPM while adding the batches of grain. Takes me about 12 batches in the Cuisinart to get it all ground up. When temp reaches 150, add 5 cc of alpha amylase (this is basically pintoshine's enzyme procedure) and continue heating until it hits 180. I have taken it to 190 as pintoshine does, but I found I denatured some of the alpha, so I keep it at 180 for one hour. The iodine test is helpful here, but not absolutely necessary. I've found a solid hour at 180 does the job with this fine grind of grain.
After one hour, add 3/4 gallon of backset, stop the agitator and let the mixture cool until it reaches 150 again. At this point, start the agitator again and make sure the temp is uniform. If too hot, allow to continue cooling until it hits 150 (my thermometer will read 135 or 140 at the top, but once the agitator starts again, the temp picks up at least 15 degrees, so taking temp while agitating is critical). Once you confirm 150 with the agitator on, add 5 cc of gluco amylase. Keep agitating until well mixed, then shut off the agitator, cover, insulate and leave overnight.
In the morning, add 3 lbs. corn sugar, agitate again, then pour into your fermentation vessel(s). I use 2 5-gallon buckets with airlocks. Pitch 2 packets of Fleischman's bread yeast, then aerate by adding water through a pressure nozzle on a hose. Final volume should now be 6.5 to 7 gallons.
I've never pulled a SG, as I'm fermenting on the grain, but typical yield after a thorough fermentation and straining is about 5 quarts of tasty spirit at around 110 to 115. There is no sugarhead flavor as the corn sugar merely adds alcohol with no additional flavor. This goes into quart jars with 2 sticks of homemade charred white oak and a handful of Jack Daniels whiskey barrel chips. I prefer to age this in my attic where the temperature swings wildly. It starts turning a beautiful brown almost immediately and after 2 to 3 weeks, it's very drinkable. I dilute down to 90 and bottle and drink at that point.
Enjoy!
24 hours before mashing, add 8 lbs. Producer's Pride cracked corn and 4 lbs. Producer's Pride Scratch Mix to a pot and add enough hot water to cover at least 2 inches. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and let soak overnight.
The next night, put about 3.5 gallons of water and 1/2 gallon backset in a BOP and start heating. While the water is heating, run the grain through a Cuisinart until it is down to about 1/16" pieces, then add to the heating water. Critical to this procedure is the use of a 1/2" variable speed drill mounted overhead fitted with a plaster mixer. Mine is built so the mixer reaches to about 3/4" from the bottom of the pot, and I used a thumbscrew and nut to make a speed controller for very precise speed adjustment (pics to follow). I start at about 80 RPM while adding the batches of grain. Takes me about 12 batches in the Cuisinart to get it all ground up. When temp reaches 150, add 5 cc of alpha amylase (this is basically pintoshine's enzyme procedure) and continue heating until it hits 180. I have taken it to 190 as pintoshine does, but I found I denatured some of the alpha, so I keep it at 180 for one hour. The iodine test is helpful here, but not absolutely necessary. I've found a solid hour at 180 does the job with this fine grind of grain.
After one hour, add 3/4 gallon of backset, stop the agitator and let the mixture cool until it reaches 150 again. At this point, start the agitator again and make sure the temp is uniform. If too hot, allow to continue cooling until it hits 150 (my thermometer will read 135 or 140 at the top, but once the agitator starts again, the temp picks up at least 15 degrees, so taking temp while agitating is critical). Once you confirm 150 with the agitator on, add 5 cc of gluco amylase. Keep agitating until well mixed, then shut off the agitator, cover, insulate and leave overnight.
In the morning, add 3 lbs. corn sugar, agitate again, then pour into your fermentation vessel(s). I use 2 5-gallon buckets with airlocks. Pitch 2 packets of Fleischman's bread yeast, then aerate by adding water through a pressure nozzle on a hose. Final volume should now be 6.5 to 7 gallons.
I've never pulled a SG, as I'm fermenting on the grain, but typical yield after a thorough fermentation and straining is about 5 quarts of tasty spirit at around 110 to 115. There is no sugarhead flavor as the corn sugar merely adds alcohol with no additional flavor. This goes into quart jars with 2 sticks of homemade charred white oak and a handful of Jack Daniels whiskey barrel chips. I prefer to age this in my attic where the temperature swings wildly. It starts turning a beautiful brown almost immediately and after 2 to 3 weeks, it's very drinkable. I dilute down to 90 and bottle and drink at that point.
Enjoy!
