TuftedTurtle

Good Day! We bought some totes of USVI rum and are changing up our program. Got 3 for sale, 2 still have the transport ties. See pictures, asking $2800 per tote, will take, $8000 for all three. Cheers, James

We are selling the building we are in and want to offload a good chunk of the equipment we have. Already listed the tanks in another post, but will be included in this list. We'd like to move the stuff sooner then later, so prices are negotiable, especially if you buy multiple. 125 Gallon Alembic Still (propane fired) $5,000 2x 550 gallons Stainless tote $800 (each) 350 Gallon Stainless Tote $700 2x Insulated 50G Stills (includes power controls and 4 plated column) $6,000 (each) 2x 50G Stills (old power controls and 4 plated column) $3,000 2X 1950 Gallon Stainless Tanks $7,000 (each) 1x 2500 Gallon Stainless Tank $7,000 1x Pallet Scale $600 1 HP Air Direct Drive with Bridge Mount $1,200 TCW Pedestal Mounted Filter Housings $800 4X Stainless Drum $300 (each) Let me know if anyone would like more pictures or details. Cheers, James

Good Day! Bought this tanks last year off another distillery and never got around to using them. 2 tanks are 1950 gallons and were made by Atlantic welding. Got new gasket and comes with attached valves. Asking $9,000 a tank. Other tank is 2500 gallons and made by Industrial Air Inc. Asking $8,000. All tanks were used to hold rum and are now clean. Willing to do a deal if buying multiple/all three. Cheers James

Good Day Everyone! Bought some tanks off another distillery and I'm looking to replace/upgrade the gaskets. The gasket is a "full face" gasket. I've only be able to find it on this website: https://www.brewerygaskets.com/full-face-gasket-for-19-5-doors-black-epdm-manway-gasket/ I was hoping to find one in Silicon or Viton gasket, but not sure how to go about finding it. Anyone know if it's an option to get this gasket in other materials? Cheers, James

I've used the FloJet G70 to fill my Mori. I have hooked it to the bottom valve, but found it a hassle, so I ended up putting the hose through the top. That way, you keep an eye on it and close the valve on the FloJet when full. You may not have the set up for this, but elevating a tank for the gravity filler is the best. We've started putting a tote on a platform just above the filler, gets us constant flow. The Mori has a float valve that (mostly works) cuts off the flow when full. Cheers, James

For the first 5 years of our distillery, I ran my still off propane in a metal shed away from our bottling building. We build a fire box, and left it open in the front with a flue going out the top of the small building. The building was built from 2 inch steel tube and the walls were all metal. So, nothing to burn there. Worked rather well, never feared for our safety. We are in Texas, so can't speak to much to fighting off the cold. James

Good Day Everyone! We've decided to off load some of our barrel stock. We are a small distillery specializing in Rum. Attached is our barrel inventory list, it ranges from rum we fermented on site and has been aging for 5 years to some Venezuelan rum that's approaching 3 years in Bourbon casks. There is a fair amount of French Oak finishing in the mix. Take a look at the inventory and shoot me a DM with any questions. Thanks, James Davidson Island Getaway Rum Barrels.xlsx

I'm primarily a rum distiller, but have dabbled in Grape Brandy from time to time. I find they run similarly. Silk's advice is on point. Cheers, James Hye Rum

I have a 5 year old Pit that I use for special fermentations. It's sealed up in a 330 gallon tote that I only open to add to and pull out off. It's well molded over. For my flagship fermentations, I will use hot dunder from the still to melt some sugar for the next fermentation. I even hesitate to call it dunder as it doesn't age. James Davidson Hye Rum

Good Day! We are starting to go into wider markets and finally decided it's time to put batch numbers on the bottles incase of a recall. We are also looking to get a semi-auto labeler. The Primera AP362 has been suggested to us. We haven't focused much on labeling in the past as our bottles were screen printed. Now we have some product lines that have paper labels and I worry about the time it takes labeling. Is it possible to get a coder with a labeler under $4k? Our bottles are simple and round. Cheers, James

Good Day Fellow Distillers! Just moved my distillery and I'm in the process of setting up my new space. While I'm designing my new workflow, I've decided to build a workbench (I do some woodwork). I've already constructed the top, it's 6 foot by 30 inches. It's build from gluing staves together. Now I'm working on the storage area for the table. My current plan is to have 1 shelf below the top with sections for my graduated cylinders, tasting glasses and hydrometers. The top will have a tray cut in so the bottle top press will sit flush and it will also serve as a spot for my hydrometers to sit so they don't roll off the top. Below the shelf, I'm thinking of making a hanging rack so I can slide in storage boxes that can hold shrink capsules and t-top corks. My question for ya'll is, what would you want to see in a work bench? What are the tools you want to keep at hand while you are working? Cheers, James

It sounds like ya'll are just starting to look into Rum. It's a very complex and deep category. Without some understanding of what your final goal is, your question really can't be answered. Cheers, James

Thumpers are an interesting piece of equipment. In my experimentation, I've used thumpers quite a bit and still use them from time to time in small batches. There is no good, "Here is exactly how you use them" answer. I suppose I can answer the second part of your question. The remaining liquid in the thumpers is waste. Thumpers are a bit tricky to use if you don't have experience with them. You should be able to find out how Jamaican distilleries use them if you do a bit of searching. In the end, how well the Thumpers effect your product will largely be based on your skill. I'd recommend getting a small set and experimenting with them before buying large scale equipment. Turtle

I'll be using a 53 gallon stall for a while and eventually a 125 gallon. Only reason I'm hesitant to let the botanicals free in the still is that I have internal elements. Eventually, I plan to move to a still with a steam jacket, but not for a while yet. I like the idea of this bag, but I'm worried about the material. Maybe my worries are unfounded as ya'll aren't having problems. This is kind of what I was thinking, but didn't know how to find it! Thank you! Thanks ya'll for the replies, I now have some good options to look into. Cheers, James

Good Even My Fellow Distillers! I released a Gin in a small batch and it went off well. Now I'm trying to run larger batches, but need some advice. In the smaller still, I'd keep my botanicals in a hop canisters you can acquire from a homebrew shop. That works "okay" for small batches, but don't think it'll work for the large. Does anyone have their botanicals in their still? If so, how do you manage them? I've seen large hop baskets that breweries use, but they don't have tops. Any helps would be grand. Thanks, James

If anyone has some extra Idaho bottles laying around, I'd be happy to buy them. Running low and didn't know they'd become in short supply. Cheers, James

It would be a new location, so still working out the details. My hope is that would could get propane at some point. I didn't see any tanks on property.

Seems like a steam boiler is the way to go. I'm worried as I don't think natural gas is available at my potential new location.

For the past 4 years, we've been using a 500L Hoga with direct fire. Now we are moving to a new building and I'm looking to get off direct fire and upgrade the size of my still. We have a 2500L stainless tote that already has extra ports welded on top that would be good mounts for an agitator and product pipe. My brother owns a machine shop and is very talented with stainless steel. My idea is why not add ports for electrical elements? I'm not entirely sure what we would need and I can't find a direct correlation in previous posts. For those that would suggest an oil or steam jacket still, why? We only make rum, so the possibility for scorching is almost zero. I don't have a steam boiler and not sure it's in the cards, what would be the benefit to heating up oil instead of having the elements going straight into the still? I'd appreciate any advice on this. We aren't in a rush, but would like to get the build started. Cheers, James

You pretty much have your answer. Will want to add it to the next batch. Some distilleries make bad cuts and attempt to filter them out with activated carbon. It doesn't really work though. Might just chuck this one up to learning the cuts. Cheers, Turtle

Looking for a distiller or someone willing to learn. The work is largely production of rum. Other work includes tasting room in which we have a limited menu of cocktails. Tips are pretty good as we are in a tourist location and the weather is turning nice. We are located in the Texas Hill Country west of Austin, Texas. Hit me up to learn more, James

I run a rum distillery in Texas and we've been working with a small distributor. Long story short, we aren't happy with the relationship and are looking at our options. There seem to be a fair number of options, but we aren't sure which way to go. We are debating trying for a big distributor, but fear being lost in the shuffle or that their demands might be to high for our capacity. Does any one have any recommendations or advice what to look for in a distributor?

Hey Patrick, Youngest distiller in craft distilling? Maybe not. I just hired a guy to by my assistant distillery and he's 24 too. I guess it depends when your birthday is. I'm one of the owners/distiller at Hye Rum about an hour north of San Antonio. You should stop by sometime, or heck, maybe I'll come to SA. Cheers, James

Hey Eddie, I'm one of the owners at Hye Rum on 290 in Hye, Tx. I'm glad to see someone working with the wineries to bring us some Texas brandy. Do you have you location and licensing yet? Cheers, James

Hey Everyone! I wanted to keep this thread updated with our changes in the hopes that it may help someone else. We brought back the bricks with a large opening in the front to pull in air. The vent is still attached, but we are considering a dampener in the future. We got the hoses to handle the heat, but there has been a delay with the pump. It's pretty frustrating as I'm sure many of ya'll are familiar with delays. As a stop gap, I am depending on a small still to get us enough rum to keep our tasting room/cocktail bar open. Also, I am stirring the wash in the still until about 170 degrees then I seal it up. Not ideal, I know.