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Some ideas: You didn't describe the water you're using for cuts. Sulfur might be coming in that way...? Try a water, vinegar or neutral run to reduce the number of variables at play. Check/replace gaskets and tubing. Clean everything again, perhaps with a weak caustic.

Walk-ins and airtight storage generally? Not necessarily set to fridge temps but cold and stable.

This is a big "it depends" question but in new construction at US distilleries I'm generally seeing slab floor with containment (either around the barrels or the whole building) and/or a requirement to have a retention pond adjacent (to which spills will run). Each locality has its own regulations and interpretation thereof. I'm sympathetic to your cause, but it may be challenging to convince an authority that you should be permitted to discharge spirits into the environment in the event of a disaster.

One other thought strikes me. If the well water is stored in a pressurized tank as well water often is, that tank's inner bladder will degrade over time and can leach into the water (I think those tanks are a 5-10 year replacement item). And, separately, that tank system can also become infected with biofilm / slime bacteria, which can cause its own issues with proofing down.

I am sorry if my early-morning attempt at levity came across as offensive. I hope you figure out your haze issue! I've been there, and it's no fun.

There are lots of posts about haze & cloudiness - try searching the forum. A lot of them are in a Gin context but the lessons apply. In short: based on the first photo, I'm willing to bet that your well water has significant dissolved solids and/or other quality issues. I wouldn't use it for proofing down unless confirming (each time you use it) with a TDS meter that it's under 10-20ppm solids (solids content can vary over time). Adding citrus to spirits as an infusion is one of the easiest ways to introduce cloudiness/louching, which often appears as you descend below 100 proof. Here's my (snarky) translation of your post: "I just did the two things that most frequently lead to haze in spirits. Why are my spirits hazy?"

The mixture you have created is extremely loaded with sugar. So much so that it is actually poisonous to the yeast that you're pitching. I'd suggest that you add water and mix thoroughly until your specific gravity is under 1.100. You can ferment above 1.100 but if this is a test/early run then you might as well set yourself up for success by aiming for a more reasonable starting gravity. What you'll never be able to do is ferment a 1.4 SG wash. That is simply too sweet, by a large margin. Read up on Osmotic Pressure if you'd like to understand the "why". Here's a paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/j.2050-0416.2003.tb00162.x

@SlickFloss that's some great insight, thank you for sharing. I'll just point out that since 2020, TTB has been approving labels for "Straight Bourbon Finished in Port Casks" and other similar finishes. I don't know that they came out and said it explicitly, but it seems like the cat's out of the bag - there are tons of examples of this in the market now. "Straight" is supposed to mean "unadultered" - nothing has been added or done to the liquid. So it seems to me that secondary finishing should wipe out a Straight label declaration. But clearly that is not actually the case. Here's an example from WT. https://malt-review.com/2020/03/12/wild-turkey-masters-keep-revival/

TTB is certainly out there investigating and auditing DSPs. They enforce federal regulations, which are mostly silent on the topic of safety/hazards. Generally, your municipality/county/city/state will be the ones with safety regulations.

Hi, The appropriate path forward depends on the liquid account where the loss took place (production, storage or processing) as well as the particular circumstances of the loss. Regulation is here: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/27/19.462 You may need to report the loss to TTB and you may need to pay taxes on the loss. You are looking at 160 * $2.70 = $432 in potential tax liability. I usually advise my clients to weigh the time/hassle of trying to get that amount waived vs just paying it and moving on. If financially feasible, I would probably advise reporting as a loss and paying the excise tax on it - out of an abundance of caution. Grab a free 20-minute consultation if you'd like to discuss further. Cheers!

Hi! The TTB has a webinar that covers some of the basics you'll need to know: https://www.ttb.gov/images/pdfs/presentations/part-1-overview-and-permits.pdf I would also invite you to book a free consultation with FIVE x 5 to talk through your plans: https://calendly.com/fx5-consulting/intro-call?month=2023-06 It is totally possible to do this yourself without any help, but getting a gut check now can save you tremendous headaches down the road. You do not need to fear "getting it right the first time". If you don't get it right, they'll kick it back to you for corrections. It happens, and it wouldn't necessarily count against you. Keep in mind that State and local (city/county) permitting is often more challenging and time-consuming than Federal permitting.

Regs require that you must bottle into cases, and each case can only have one "Kind" and proof of spirit in it. If you want to repack such cases into mixed/VAPs, you should remove the compliant (unmixed) cases from bond, incur the excise tax liability, and perform the repack in Tax Paid area or off DSP premises. Once removed from bond, the regulations on case markings are no longer in effect. See https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/27/19.358 . Some producers will have their wholesalers perform the VAP/mixed product repack in order to keep things simple.

I do not, as the tempates are built into the software. You needn't get fancy or overthink it. You can create avery labels at www.avery.com and just fill out the fields, e.g. Serial: ##### Kind of Spirits: Bourbon [etc] If this is not an easy task then you really might want to consider software to automate it for you. Added bonus, you will have far fewer errors compared to doing it manually!

The regulations only require that the marks be legible. Some folks use avery labels (and DISTILL x 5 / Whiskey Systems will generate those for you). I've also had boxes preprinted with all the items other than the serial, and then apply the serial with an inkjet case coder. You could also use a manual serial stamp or even handwriting. The right path forward depends on your bottling volume and SKU mix. IMO, money spent on custom cases is tough to get an ROI on, unless you have a very specific strategy for marketing which places case stacks in front of the public. Most new/craft producers will not get that opportunity. The most space a retailer is likely to devote to you is a couple bottle's worth. Just my 2 cents!

I sent you a private message with a suggestion.

Per AlcoDens, freezing point of 80pf ethanol/water solution is -10 F. Freezers are typically set to 0F. It is not outside the realm of possibility that your vodka is hitting its freezing temp of -10F. The other obvious possibility is that someone is stealing some vodka and replacing what they drink with water and returning the bottle, effectively dropping its proof and increasing its freezing point. At 70pf, freezing point is only -2.3F Final possibility, your gauging instrumentation is way off, although if you are getting matching readings with both hydrometer and density meter, this is not as likely

Per BAM chapter 7, which is outdated and shouldn't really be referenced anymore, you can add up to 2.5% by mass of Harmless Coloring, Flavoring and Blending materials. You should apply for a formula if availing yourself of this allowance. Some producers will use a sweet wine for this purpose while others might use sugar or a syrup. Either way, if it tastes even the slightest bit sweet, you will likely end up with an "obscured" product that requires bench distillation for proofing. Best of luck!

At the craft level, you kind of have to accept whatever variation is going to come with your agricultural ingredients. This is one of the reasons that flavor extracts are popular - consistency. If you have expertise and cash, you can do like big gin producers, and perform lab analysis of your botanical batches and standardize your botanical loading that way. SImplified example: if the essential oil level in your newly-purchased lot of cinnamon decreases compared to your control batch, you know to put proportionally more cinnamon in your spirit to acheive the same flavor density. You have to have a good, repeatable protocol to analyze the key constitutents of your botanicals for this to work. Definitely beyond my expertise!

Hi there, I grabbed this answer from the "TTB Reporting FAQ" page: Your application is unique to your business, so if you need more specific guidance, it's best to hire someone with previous experience. Hope this helps! Thanks for the question.

Another option. https://www.novatech-usa.com/Products/Lab-Instruments/Hydrometers/Alcohol-Proof