swwheat

Drew we look forward to seeing you in the spring.

Thanks Rusty. I will stop in next time I am coming through Ellensburg.

Sure, if you want to be like the big producers and have a batch version of a continuous still, then go ahead.

If the argument is about cost or efficiency, then the big producers will always win out. And your product will be more expensive and it will be very difficult to make it better than theirs. So why would Joe and Jane Doe buy your product?

If you want to hew to pre-Civil War (early Post Civil War) American whiskey making tradition, then a pot still is the way to go. And your whiskey will be different because it helps produce different flavors. Unfortunately, the aforementioned Joe and Jane haven't had this kind of whiskey in almost a hundred years. So there's an "oiliness" to the new make spirit that doesn't seem to be in column still whiskey. That's an opinion, not necessarily a fact.

I'm not anywhere near experienced as Ralph, Todd, Robert and all you others who've been in this business for years. So I probably don't know what I'm talking about. But I have a pot still. Plain Jane pot still with no plates or dephlegmator. And I like it.

just tagging on

I think you should just learn to be the best distiller you can with the equipment you have. I have seen great mechanics that use haywire and pliers. I have also seen high tech shops with a team of mechanics that could not fix simple problems.

I don't think its the still so much as the skill and talent of the distiller that counts. So whatever tools you choose or methods you use just make the best spirits you can. If you find your tools lacking then upgrade. If you methods are not producing product you like for single runs then try doubling. Everyone has a reason for the methods and equipment they use. Just make your best and then keep trying to make it better a little at a time.

Hello We're happy to be members of the ADI and ADI Forums and look forward to being contributors. We are a craft distillery in Moses Lake Washington. We specialize in cherries and apples but have lots of other fruit distillates as well. We are surrounded by Washington farmlands, orchards, and vineyards, that all produce amazing raw products for great spirits.

If you ever driving through eastern washington, make sure to say hi.

Bowman Orchards Distilling "Where the magic happens"

bobb

hey Matt hope your research is going well.