Still 173

Is there a state in the Union that allows a small/farm/artisan distillery to also hold a wholesaler's license (ability to sell to retailers). One of my state lawmakers is attempting to create a small wholesalers license. As an answer to the bigger wholesalers not willing to take product in small batches. In my state farm wineries can sell to retail but artisan distillers cannot. The tree tier system also disallows ownership of more than one of the tiers.

I'm researching which states allow sales from distillers to retailers - it looks like: New York Colorado possibly Illinois and Florida? If you have links to legislation - you would include it? Thanks Nate Still 173 Distillery

Hey Jim, I'm 100 miles north in Vermillion, SD I'm interested in co-oping bottle shipments tab me back: nbrady at still173.com Nate Brady Still 173 Distillery

I bought my copper mesh from Amphora Society I asked Mike how to clean it email from Mike Nixon ################ Dear Nate, Many thanks for ordering four (4) pounds of the mesh. Your card has been charged US$70.00 ($60.00 for the mesh with $10.00 shipping)). This will appear on your statement as NZ$94.72 at the current exchange rate, as payment to Silver Key Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand, the parent company of the Amphora Society. Your mesh will be shipped to you from our US distribution center immediately. As for looking after the mesh, you need to clean it occasionally as it turns black. This is a deposit of sulphides, which every carbohydrate ferment has, and you want to remove it from the vapor and liquid as it can lead to some rather nasty smells and tastes. Cleaning is both simple and easy. Best done by carefully sliding the slugs of mesh from the column, but not unrolling them. To a liter of hot water, add two heaped teaspoons of citric acid (as used in baking the white powder) and the same of common table salt. Now soak the mesh in this solution. Periodically, remove the mesh and reheat the solution in the microwave (not to boiling!) as chemical reactions proceed quicker at raised temperatures, and citric acid is a very weak acid. The salt is there to promote molecular activity withing the solution, so helping the reaction along. You'll find that the mesh looks almost like new after 20-30 minutes. Rinse it well, then leave it to soak in a bucket of clean water overnight to get rid of the last traces of chemicals (add a teaspoon of baking soda if you like). If you don't soak it, then you'll probably find it turns a bit gray after time, this being due to oxidation in the presence of traces of citric acid. After soaking, you should find it looks just about the same as new mesh. The reaction does remove a small amount of the copper, but only a few parts per million. In 6 years of repeatedly cleaning the same slugs of mesh, I have not noticed any perceptible diminution in the threads, nor have we had any reports of others suffering damage. All the best, Mike Nixon

For capsules without grapes embossed on them - I use http://www.piwine.com/store/home.php?cat=284 Nate New information 10/16/2008 I previously ordered capsules from piwine.com Exactly what i wanted - looked like the picture on http://www.piwine.com/store/home.php?cat=284 I reordered the same SKU - CAP6BK I received 500 capsules - with grapes embossed on the top This is their response: At this time the only capsules we can get are what you received. We have had to change our supply source. We are expecting our new stock to come in from Italy sometime after the first of November. If you are not happy with the capsules you can return them, but we do not have plain tops to exchange them.

The Analogy of the Snake When I try to explain how I am different then the big distillers like JD I usually respond by saying “They throw the whole snake into the bottle – I just take the heart of the spirit- or the heart of the snake” I don’t know where I read or heard it – but the analogy of how to make cuts - that I learned - goes something like this. Imagine the spirit run coming out of the coil like a snake coming out of the coil head first. The first thing to come out is the teeth (methanol and acetone) these are pulled from the snake and discarded. This is the part of the snake that can hurt you. Next comes the head of the snake – without the teeth not very tasty but not very dangerous. Cut off and save for later batches (you use your nose and taste to determine the head from the body). For anyone who has butchered a real snake – the good meat is the long extension of meat (flaky like fish – a bit firmer – a cross between fish and chicken – dependent on how you cook it) between the head and the tail or the “heart of the spirit” for our purposes. The “ethanol run” that we are here for. The ass end of the snake comes next - brackish and rich with propanol, butanol, fusels and a wet cardboard smell. The nose first - then tongue will identify the tail of the snake. Miniature oil slicks on the top of my 1 gallon collection jars show me the heavier alcohols. The tail is also kept for later batches (and contributes to the flavors of some spirits). Can anyone point me to this “snake analogy reference? I don’t think I dreamed it up myself. It must have been out of a book or “Modern Marvels” episode. Thanks Nate still173.com