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Guys, what's your favourite all grain vodka recipe?
I'm not looking for neutral spirit (yes, I've tried TPW, TFFV, kale), I am looking for a vodka with good flavour profile.
I'm not expecting to make another Belvedere, but I definitely want not to make another Smirnoff, which is a piece of sh*t in my book.

As equipment, I have a pot still and reflux column.

i've made a vodka with all wheat grain in the hope of getting something like grey goose.
i mashed the wheat, fermented, stripped and refluxed it.
maybe next time i will YLAY the grain, strip and then do a pot still (or two) and see what flavours that brings out.
according to my son, the wheat vodka was better than just a plain FFV.
i don't think i'd use a tpw for vodka.

⅔ Wheat and ⅓ oats.
At least half of the wheat malted

nikolav wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2025 7:01 pm
I'm not expecting to make another Belvedere,

Why not ? I believe I can, and do, on a regular basis.

My favorite grain: soft white wheat

If Belvedere is the benchmark, why not shoot for that?
It's made from 100% rye, so the mash bill isn't complicated.

It's just about dialing in a process

I use 25kgs corn meal (flour) And 10 kgs fine grind roll steamed oats.
140 L water and enzymes

Makes a smooth vodka and gin base.

Haven’t made it yet but found this recipe and thought I would give it a try. Like you for just vodka I am not looking for a neutral flavor. For my liqueurs that is a different story.
Vodka
10 gallons water
50% Corn. 10 lbs
30% malted Barley. 6 lbs
10% flaked Oates. 2 lbs
10% Rye 2 lbs
2.5 TBS yeast

I don't have a favorite recipe yet. But if you're looking for "character" in your vodka spirit, try opting for more than one grain.

Also, I'm convinced fermenting with Yellow Label Angel Yeast is the way to go for a refluxed vodka. It's on my docket to make; I haven't worked it out yet, but I'm thinking 2-3 pounds per gallon of grain, maybe all corn or corn and wheat (both are cheap!)

If you just pot-stilled it, in my opinion, it's not a vodka but a light whiskey. Which I have done before, and used it for many things.

howie wrote: ↑Sat Jan 11, 2025 12:25 am i've made a vodka with all wheat grain … i mashed the wheat, fermented, stripped and refluxed it.

i don't think i'd use a tpw for vodka.

+1.

Wheat makes a delicate “vodka” … with a soft, creamy character. But, you must be very careful with your cuts, eliminating the early and late heads as well. You want just the clean hearts for a nice tasting spirit.

As an aid to making a wheat neutral spirit, I use both malted and unmalted (raw) wheat. But before mashing the raw wheat, I pre-gelatinize it in my rice cooker, just like when making white rice. This will soften the berries making it ready for the malted wheat when added to the mash tun. My recipe uses 40% unmalted wheat with the balance malted. Makes a very tasty “vodka”.
ss

EricTheRed wrote: ↑Sat Jan 11, 2025 6:35 am I use 25kgs corn meal (flour) And 10 kgs fine grind roll steamed oats.
140 L water and enzymes

Makes a smooth vodka and gin base.

Hi Eric
What enzymes and yeast do you use?

Bolverk wrote: ↑Sat Jan 11, 2025 5:59 am If Belvedere is the benchmark, why not shoot for that?
It's made from 100% rye, so the mash bill isn't complicated.

It's just about dialing in a process

So, if I get it right, I should use a ray whisky mash, up untill the spirit run part?

The Booze Pipe wrote: ↑Sat Jan 11, 2025 8:47 am I don't have a favorite recipe yet. But if you're looking for "character" in your vodka spirit, try opting for more than one grain.

Also, I'm convinced fermenting with Yellow Label Angel Yeast is the way to go for a refluxed vodka. It's on my docket to make; I haven't worked it out yet, but I'm thinking 2-3 pounds per gallon of grain, maybe all corn or corn and wheat (both are cheap!)

If you just pot-stilled it, in my opinion, it's not a vodka but a light whiskey. Which I have done before, and used it for many things.

I tried the yellow label wit 50/50 mix of flaked wheat and oats. As seen on still it YouTube channel. Didn't work that well. Maybe I screwed it. Up until day 3 or 4 the taste of the wash was very nice, like a wheat beer I reckon, but it was reading 1.030, so I left it for a few days more. At the end (a week maybe) it was reading close to 1, but the taste was off. Very sour and unpleasant. I did very conservative cuts, but still I got some unpleasant aftertaste in the vodka. I'll definitely give it another try. Bug I have no idea how to determine the sugar/alcohol content of this thing.

still_stirrin wrote: ↑Sat Jan 11, 2025 9:33 am

howie wrote: ↑Sat Jan 11, 2025 12:25 am i've made a vodka with all wheat grain … i mashed the wheat, fermented, stripped and refluxed it.

i don't think i'd use a tpw for vodka.

+1.

Wheat makes a delicate “vodka” … with a soft, creamy character. But, you must be very careful with your cuts, eliminating the early and late heads as well. You want just the clean hearts for a nice tasting spirit.

As an aid to making a wheat neutral spirit, I use both malted and unmalted (raw) wheat. But before mashing the raw wheat, I pre-gelatinize it in my rice cooker, just like when making white rice. This will soften the berries making it ready for the malted wheat when added to the mash tun. My recipe uses 40% unmalted wheat with the balance malted. Makes a very tasty “vodka”.
ss

Do you reckon I can substitute the unsalted wheat with flaked wheat? And I guess I wouldn't have to gelatinize it first?
In the brew shops around me I can only find flaked wheat and malted wheat.
Also what yeast do you use and do you use any enzymes or the malted wheat takes care of this?

Personally I think you are better off following forum recipes and techniques, in my opinion it is much better than YouTube. Some of the distilling rubbish on there is just that, rubbish.
Just my opinion.
You can produce a top shelf spirit following the guidance of experienced members and tried and true recipes.

Copperhead road wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 1:22 am Personally I think you are better off following forum recipes and techniques, in my opinion it is much better than YouTube. Some of the distilling rubbish on there is just that, rubbish.
Just my opinion.
You can produce a top shelf spirit following the guidance of experienced members and tried and true recipes.

That was the first place to check, but couldn't find anything. Did I miss anything?

nikolav wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 12:57 am So, if I get it right, I should use a ray whisky mash, up untill the spirit run part?

Yup!

Just keep in mind rye is just about the hardest grain to work with so you really need to have a process in place to ferment and distill on grain (bane marie or steam injection), but the result are very worth it.

nikolav wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 1:09 am

The Booze Pipe wrote: ↑Sat Jan 11, 2025 8:47 am I don't have a favorite recipe yet. But if you're looking for "character" in your vodka spirit, try opting for more than one grain.

Also, I'm convinced fermenting with Yellow Label Angel Yeast is the way to go for a refluxed vodka. It's on my docket to make; I haven't worked it out yet, but I'm thinking 2-3 pounds per gallon of grain, maybe all corn or corn and wheat (both are cheap!)

If you just pot-stilled it, in my opinion, it's not a vodka but a light whiskey. Which I have done before, and used it for many things.

I tried the yellow label wit 50/50 mix of flaked wheat and oats. As seen on still it YouTube channel. Didn't work that well. Maybe I screwed it. Up until day 3 or 4 the taste of the wash was very nice, like a wheat beer I reckon, but it was reading 1.030, so I left it for a few days more. At the end (a week maybe) it was reading close to 1, but the taste was off. Very sour and unpleasant. I did very conservative cuts, but still I got some unpleasant aftertaste in the vodka. I'll definitely give it another try. Bug I have no idea how to determine the sugar/alcohol content of this thing.

Every finished wash/mash I've made is sour and (subjectively) unpleasant. I have yet to try making it so I don't know about the unpleasant aftertaste. Others on the forum are successfully brewing YLAY whiskey. I think it should work for a vodka.

Did you grind the grains? The finer the grind the more efficient YLAY is. Some grind to flour, but I'll mill to a cornmeal consistency.

nikolav wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 1:09 am

The Booze Pipe wrote: ↑Sat Jan 11, 2025 8:47 am I don't have a favorite recipe yet. But if you're looking for "character" in your vodka spirit, try opting for more than one grain.

Also, I'm convinced fermenting with Yellow Label Angel Yeast is the way to go for a refluxed vodka. It's on my docket to make; I haven't worked it out yet, but I'm thinking 2-3 pounds per gallon of grain, maybe all corn or corn and wheat (both are cheap!)

If you just pot-stilled it, in my opinion, it's not a vodka but a light whiskey. Which I have done before, and used it for many things.

I tried the yellow label wit 50/50 mix of flaked wheat and oats. As seen on still it YouTube channel. Didn't work that well. Maybe I screwed it. Up until day 3 or 4 the taste of the wash was very nice, like a wheat beer I reckon, but it was reading 1.030, so I left it for a few days more. At the end (a week maybe) it was reading close to 1, but the taste was off. Very sour and unpleasant. I did very conservative cuts, but still I got some unpleasant aftertaste in the vodka. I'll definitely give it another try. Bug I have no idea how to determine the sugar/alcohol content of this thing.

You mention that you tasted "Sour" at the end of the ferment.
Did you then run that sour finished ferment through your reflux setup as it was?

The Booze Pipe wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 9:39 am ...Did you grind the grains? The finer the grind the more efficient YLAY is. Some grind to flour, but I'll mill to a cornmeal consistency.

Nope, but I guess I should've.

MooseMan wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 11:55 am ...You mention that you tasted "Sour" at the end of the ferment.
Did you then run that sour finished ferment through your reflux setup as it was? Should've I done something different?

Yes, I didn't throw that away.
For the bad aftertase, I wonder if I went into the tails too far. I redistilled this again yesterday and removed some more tails. Will give it a try in a couple of days to see if it got any better now and if it lost a lot of the taste.

This was m y first ever distillation of something different from a sugar wash, so I guess the chances of screwing the cuts is/was very high.

nikolav wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 1:08 pm

MooseMan wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 11:55 am ...You mention that you tasted "Sour" at the end of the ferment.
Did you then run that sour finished ferment through your reflux setup as it was? Should've I done something different?

Yes, I didn't throw that away.
For the bad aftertase, I wonder if I went into the tails too far. I redistilled this again yesterday and removed some more tails. Will give it a try in a couple of days to see if it got any better now and if it lost a lot of the taste.

This was m y first ever distillation of something different from a sugar wash, so I guess the chances of screwing the cuts is/was very high.

Do you make cuts with distilled water?

The Booze Pipe wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 2:17 pm ...Do you make cuts with distilled water?

Do you mean with what I dilute? I use spring water from the supermarket.

My go-to vodka has been a corn/oat all grain.

• 37 Gallons water
• 60 lbs fine-ground corn
• 15 lbs rolled oats (milled)
• 18 tsp high-temp alpha amylase
• 8 tsp gluco amylase

I do 3 strips, then run the low wines through a CCVM with marbles and copper mesh.

I used to keep true to the vodka “rules” and bring it off at 190+ proof, but lately have de-tuned my column a bit to bring more flavor at around 185 proof.

This may not compare to the big names flavor profiles, but my preferences have always been a bit “corny”.

-Fletching

nikolav wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 1:08 pm

MooseMan wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 11:55 am ...You mention that you tasted "Sour" at the end of the ferment.
Did you then run that sour finished ferment through your reflux setup as it was? Should've I done something different?

Yes, I didn't throw that away.
For the bad aftertase, I wonder if I went into the tails too far. I redistilled this again yesterday and removed some more tails. Will give it a try in a couple of days to see if it got any better now and if it lost a lot of the taste.

This was m y first ever distillation of something different from a sugar wash, so I guess the chances of screwing the cuts is/was very high.

Sorry Nikolav, I should have been more clear.

When the YLAY ferment was finished, did you?
Let it clear as much as possible before putting into the still.
Strip the cleared wash in a pot still setup, to get it off all of the bad flavours from the ferment.
Put the stripped low wines into your reflux still, diluted to 30% and run at 95% ABV+
Research, and practice, the best way to run a reflux still to get clean product.

If you did all of these things, I believe you would make a very nice quality product from wheat and oats using YLAY. I have.

nikolav wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2025 7:01 pm Guys, what's your favourite all grain vodka recipe?
I'm not looking for neutral spirit (yes, I've tried TPW, TFFV, kale), I am looking for a vodka with good flavour profile.

Wheat germ makes a good faux vodka.
My favorite all grain vodka recipe is made from 100% malted wheat.

MooseMan wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 2:43 pm ...
When the YLAY ferment was finished, did you?
Let it clear as much as possible before putting into the still.

I freaked out a bit because of the bad taste (and there was some slimy goo on the surface (https://scontent-akl1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/ ... e=678A5019) so I run that immediately when the reading was ~1.0
I stripped, then did a spirit run (T500 reflux column).

nikolav wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 12:55 am

EricTheRed wrote: ↑Sat Jan 11, 2025 6:35 am I use 25kgs corn meal (flour) And 10 kgs fine grind roll steamed oats.
140 L water and enzymes

Makes a smooth vodka and gin base.

Hi Eric
What enzymes and yeast do you use?

I use liquid enzymes. Extremely active. Thins the concrete out in seconds

nikolav wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 8:04 pm I freaked out a bit because of the bad taste (and there was some slimy goo on the surface so I run that immediately when the reading was ~1.0
I stripped, then did a spirit run (T500 reflux column).

Normally a YLAY ferment will start at 1.000 and end somewhere lower. Since the conversion and fermentation happen in parallel there won't be much unfermented sugar around to measure so you're just watching the effect of the alcohol on the density.

Personally I made a batch of neutral from wheat and YLAY. Stripped to 25% and refluxed it. I was surprised by how much flavour carried over despite the reflux and kept a couple of jars from the early hearts which had too much flavour for neutral as a sort of light whisky. YMMV but I found that as long as you're prepared to make several cuts which you can use for different purposes YLAY wheat makes a good neutral.

nikolav wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 2:27 pm

The Booze Pipe wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 2:17 pm ...Do you make cuts with distilled water?

Do you mean with what I dilute? I use spring water from the supermarket.

Yes, I meant to ask, what do you dilute with to make your cuts? I've found it is much easier making a vodka with distilled water. Spring water can add "sweetness" or other flavors. I'm referring to selecting what cuts from the still you want to include in your final product. Once you have a final product, you can use whatver water to dilute.

NormandieStill wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2025 3:00 pm ...Personally I made a batch of neutral from wheat and YLAY. Stripped to 25% and refluxed it. I was surprised by how much flavour carried over despite the reflux and kept a couple of jars from the early hearts which had too much flavour for neutral as a sort of light whisky. YMMV but I found that as long as you're prepared to make several cuts which you can use for different purposes YLAY wheat makes a good neutral.

Well, I'm giving YLAY another chance. I'm planning to experiment with two different washes. One 100% oats (quick oats from the supermarket) and the other one 100% wheat (unmalted, but cracked whet from the brew store). Any tips for the wash? Do you bother using hot/boiling water and wait to cool down before pitching, or do you use just cold water?

Cheers,
Nick