Micah Nutt

We perform a two pot distillation, in the Scottish tradition,for whiskey. Our stripping run yields low wines at ~24% ABV. At this abv lipids and the like separate out and float on top. We leave an inch of LW in the receiver in order to leave these entities behind. Our feints yields ~34% ABV which get watered down with filtered water to 25% ABV; again, allowing undesirables to stratify to the surface, though there isn't a lot that separates out. However, this allows for a balanced distillation of almost equal parts low wines and feints (volume and abv).

We occasionally use Wesmar's D-Foam. I don't use the stuff unless I think it's absolutely necessary. Whereas the anti-foaming agent does a great job of keeping the foam down, the side effect is that the proteins, which cause the foaming, coagulate into ropy strands which get tangled on the coils; this makes the wash still much more difficult to clean.

On a spirit label the TTB spirit "type" must be declared. However, a fanciful name or descriptor (if approved) is allowed if not on the same line as the spirit "type." Sometimes incorrect labels are approved. Sometimes unapproved labels are used.

As stated above hops are not a grain and therefor the product does not fall in the category of whiskey but " Distilled Spirits Specialty." If hops are added to whiskey after aging it would be called "Hop Flavored Whiskey."

With regards to Corny Kegs: I would be wary of the O-rings and the popettes not being high alcohol tolerant.

If you look at the 4 stacked barrels at http://oakwoodbarrels.com/#about they are the same barrel photo-edited together. They don't even look like real barrels and, if so, poorly constructed. Most of the photos look like they've been yanked from other sources.

We use a digital density meter, for the most part, during production as it is quicker and, I believe, more accurate than reading a maniscus. However, for reporting, as the hand-held ddm is not certified, the final readings for reporting are made using glass alcohol meters. No experience with overcoming obscuration measurements.

Too many variables: temperature and humidity fluctuations, air or hvac re-circulation, entry strength, years in barrel, selected bottle strength, etc. Guess at an annual volume % loss and abv loss OR gain. Then do some math for your bottle size.

We blow out with filtered compressed air.

Copperworks' low wines are around 24% abv. You're abv will depend on how long you strip. I strip until less than 1% abv is coming out of the still.

We use several Wilden pneumatic diaphragm pumps for spirit transfers and process. The pumps come in a variety of different materials for both the housing and the diaphragms. As our 25 plate column still has been split in two (ceiling constraint) we use one pump to move hot GNS from the bottom of one column to the top of the other.

Well you can't call it whiskey if distilled above 160 proof; however, you can call it "light whiskey." Light Whiskey: Whisky produced in the U.S. at more than 80% alcohol by volume (160 proof) [but less than 95% alcohol by volume (190 proof)] and stored in used or uncharred new oak containers

We use a US Scale FS 4848-5 Platform with a Rice Lake IQ+355-2A Digital Weight Indicator.

We use a filter system for making de-ionized water. No problems.

Most likely, I would surmise, the FDA considers Meadowsweet a toxin, a carcinogen, etc. Check with the FDA.

A material lift (used in the construction industry) may work for you.

As mentioned, gin recipes do not scale linearly. Creating a gin recipe is a very iterative process. After each pilot distillation, adjust one or two, at most, botanical portions (we measure everything by weight) otherwise you might not be able to figure out what has changed. As you do this you'll narrow in on your profile. If you're lucky you can then calculate the average botanical usage for the last N batches and try using those proportions as your final recipe. If it works then you don't have to sewer those last N batches. Also, as mentioned, botanicals change crop to crop; even dramatically from the same source. We started out with Juniper berries from Albany but then they had a bad year and our vendor switched to Italy. They were horrible. Found some comparable berries from Croatia and are now using them. Buy as many batches worth you can afford and store. As the crop to crop and even batch to batch profile varies incredibly. Some of the big gin manufacturers buy 3 years worth at a time. We also employ the trick of not bottling per run. We'll do 5 or 6 distillations (about 550 bottles each), blend them and bottle half. Then we'll do a few more distillations and add to what we didn't bottle. It's hard to be consistent when you are small. Good luck.

One trick is to use 100% peated malt and then blend when it comes of age with unpeated aged whiskey.

We weigh everything.

Just to give everybody an idea about how sensitive the ttb is with regards to the word "aged" with regards to gin, we recently redesigned our labels and the application was rejected solely because the filename contained the phrase "barrel aged." The actual label contained no age statement.

We perform our maceration with 100 proof base. The distilled gin is then proofed for the bottle with de-ionized water. We use d-i water for our gin base (ngs + h2o) as well; "in process" non-d-i filtered water would suffice but you never know when you might have to turn gin base into Vodka.

I read a 2013 article on the UK Telegraph about a tree fungus affecting juniper which would greatly blight juniper berries. As juniper berries take 18 months to mature, we could be feeling the results.

We too take a profile heads cut to avoid some of the harsher juniper oils which come out of the still first. We had been using juniper berries sourced from Albania (through My Spice Sage); good juniper aroma and flavor. The last couple of orders (250# total) we placed were sourced from Italy and these berries are significantly inferior; serious size variance, most are shriveled, many mummified but the most drastic difference is that there is almost no juniper flavor and, instead, a bitterness and astringency. Has anybody else noticed a difference from juniper purchased through My Spice Sage? Juniper berries are harvested, as I recall, in August. Our last shipment was placed in November. It is quite possible that this last years Mediterranean crop is a dud. I've seen the Croatian berries from other vendors. I'm going to get a sample to compare.

At Copperworks we have a Barrel Aged Gin program. It seems that just about everybody that is resting gin in wood uses ex-bourbon barrels. So, we decided to put our gin in everything we can get a hold of except (for the time being) ex-bourbon. Gin goes in at 53% abv. I've put gin in (all 200 liters except where noted): New American (#3 & #4 char) -- 3 months Ex-Gin (the above New American #3) -- 3 months Ex-Malt Whiskey -- 7 months Ex-Peated Malt Whiskey -- 8 months Ex-Rum -- 9 months Ex-Port (Fr. Oak, 220 liters) -- 4 months Ex-Oloroso (Fr. Oak, 250 liters) -- still aging at 5 months Ex-Mescal -- 5 months Ex-Tonic -- 3.5 months I've got a 300 liter Ex-Cognac that will be filled soon. So, as you can see, there is no set aging time. We sample periodically and to decide when to rack off. The Ex-Tonic was original a Heaven Hills bourbon barrel, then Ben at Captive Spirits put gin it, then Brad Feather put some of his Kina Tonic syrup in it, then we put our gin it. Afterwards we gave the barrel to Elysian Brewing and they aged beer in it. Every single barrel aged gin has been radically different. I would say the least interesting were the ex-gin barrels and the ex-malt. Though the later closest to what folks "expect" of an aged gin. As for now, we are not altering our gin recipe for barreling. The barrel takes a toll on the juniper perception. In time, the juniper might be increased for barrel aged gin to make it a bit more prominent. But for now, let the experiments continue...

We macerate in 50% abv liquor at room temperature for 24 hours. abv ranges I've heard of are from 40-55; durations from 15 hours to several days; and some at warmer temperatures.