DonMateo

I am interested in this as the only reason why I want to get into this is because where I want to set up, Mendoza Argentina, there is no other craft whiskey distillery around. There are 3 other small distilleries making brandy and other sorts of things but no-one making whiskey and the place has 1,5million wine tourists a year. There are some whiskey producers in Argentina but they are the beer companies who take left over NGS and add colouring and flavouring and its horse piss. So I am going to start small and market the place like crazy in the peak months, which are Jan through to March. In those months there are 450,000 tourists a month. If I can sell via the cellar door 250 bottles I am breaking even. I think I may end up selling a lot more but I have to make the stuff first. I really appreciate all the comments and guidelines here. I was wondering if in fact the craft distillery industry in the US was becoming over supplied. I know in South America there are 6 Craft distilleries in Brazil, 1 in Argentina, but way in the south, none in Chile none in Peru and none in Colombia. I am going to do one in Mendoza because of the amount of tourists it gets and if it wasnt for that I wouldnt risk the money. The truth is my day job pays pretty well so I can float the business for a while but I want it to make good money and make happy customers. I really appreciate the comment about getting your second sale. That was great. Anyway great comments and thank you very much gentlemen.

I am only banking o selling 200 cases a month and where I am skill labour is very cheap. So I hope I might be doing something right. Thanks for the comments everyone. I think I will hire two marketing gals to start with rather than one. Matt

I am just curious for to ask the forum as to what are the main reasons that people know of why micro and start up distilleries fail. Just reading on the distilling forums you read of more successes and people eventually expanding than you do of the failures. But then again people dont normally advertise when a business has failed and they have lost a lot of money. I would guess the main reason is goverment regulation, lack of marketing and insufficient cashflow in the first year from non distillery sources to be able to sustain the business until it is self sustaining. Divorce could be another one. I am about to pull the trigger on purchasing my main equipment as I think I have done enough homework and I have the spare cash but I am curious to hear the pitfalls. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

I dont know if this is of any use but I found these stainless steel mesh bags that I am thinking of using inside my still. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P5OQ7HQ/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=X2ISIWV6I3RI&coliid=I26BBT0PTXM97R They seem like a very nice size.

Go to Stilldragon and their forum. They have off the shelf stainless steel clamp gin baskets that are supposed to work brilliantly. I would doubt you can make one for the 500 bucks that they charge for one of those. If your worried about volume of vapor put in two and you can change them out. I

Good Luck Rebecca ! I am sure you would be an asset to whomever hires you. Matt

I am not producing but I have spent a very long time reading everything I can and my budget for equipment is at about 80k. And I will be able to do it cheaply because I live in Argentina. Good luck.

How about cut the domed bottom off on this thing and then get someone to make it a flat bottom and add a couple of Wesco round industrial heaters. They have those things at 15kw and you could easily fit two of them under this tub by the look at it. I am looking at the same problem, and I am leaning towards those big plate heaters as I want to do some moonshines and some bourbons.

How about a stainless steel beer filling gun ?? that will be SS and you might just need an adaptor to match the pipe diameter. That is what I was looking at for my barrels. I am having to consider lots of SS alternative beer equipment because I can get it easily. Cheers Matt

Golden Jellyfish. Great handle mate. I am in the same stage and have been working on a business plan and various studies. I have about 600 hours into it right now. I am about to start the business plan as for now I have just been working on the estimates and cashflows and all that stuff. Good luck to you GJ. Cheers Matt

Why not use excel ? That works for me.

I am just a newbie but there is a lot of great information here. As well have a look at Home Distiller forum as well. I am researching setting up a distillery and it takes a while. I am confused on the courses but I think the solution is to do a couple, or if you want to make Gin, the find a distillery that has a high amount of their sales in Gin and Vodka. I want to focus on whiskey so I am looking to do a week course at a distillery that mainly sells whiskey. Good luck.

Hey Mate, I sent you an email as I really like your kit. Cheers

I realise the importance of the question but the fundamental process involved in the process of fermentation and distillation is the use of Yeast to break down the starches into individual chemical components and convert it into Alcohol. GM or no GM the yeast will eat up and convert the base compounds. Personally I really dislike GM compounds and Monsanto. But that isnt relevant for Distillation.

There are lots of people on the Home Distiller website who are experimenting with accelerated aging techniques and publish their results and methods. It wouldnt surprise me if the successful companies who are doing it are using the same techniques but on an industrial scale. Actually I want to try some of the techniques when I finally have my distillery up and running.

Thanks for the feedback. I think I will try and figure out how to use one of these things once I start buying equipment. Cheers matt

Did this hot plate work ? I am working on my equipment list and I was wondering about these things. I would prefer to go all electric and I want to do some distillation on grain. I know its small but I am only thinking of smaller quanitites to start with.

Acutally I was thinking of doing a nice Malbec Brandys or try and make some Cognacs out of the nice savignon or Chenin grapes they have here. There is a lot of room for experimentation. I cant wait to get going. I just have to keep sucking the fat one in my industry to get enough money for my distillery. Gracias a Usted. Cheers Matt

Hello ladies and gents, I am an Australian who currently lives in Argentina and I am looking to set up a craft distillery here. Mendoza is famous for its wines but no-one is making good whiskey here, which is amazing as this place has everything you need, Most importantly a couple of million tourists a year, as well as great grain from the pampas, clean water off the mountains, lots of cheap barrels and glass manufacturers. I am just starting the research stage of this project and saving money for my distillery and I am going to have to do a couple of training courses. Thanks for all the advice that is posted here. Cheers Matt

Thanks very much for the comments guys. This forum is great. Matt

Thanks very much Aaron, Actually I am an Australian who is currently living in Argentina. Where I live, Mendoza is a world famous wine region and they have a couple of million tourists a year coming to taste the wines. There isnt anyone doing a craft distillery and marketing it well to the tourists. I mentioned the idea to a couple of guys I know who have their own wineries and they thought it was great idea. About 80% of the tourists that come to that region like alcohol so your not getting the buddhist monks. Lets face it after a couple of hours of tasting different wines sometimes you want something a bit different. As far as regulations things are pretty lax in Argentina but I am trying to find out what the regulations are. Because its a winery area they regulations are pretty light on and enforcement is pretty negligible. I am just in the phase of saving up money and then finding a decent location and then putting up a building and getting the equipment. I am going to put a tasting room/Bar on the front of the place I am just trying to work out how to run the tasting room. Thanks.

Thanks. That seems pretty reasonable.

Hello folks, I am just curious as to whether people who have their own distilleries that have whiskey tasting rooms charge for the tastings? If so how much? I am just working on a plan for starting up a distillery and trying to work out how the whole thing works and how much money I will need etc. Thanks for any feedback. Cheers