Marc

Have any of you submitted samples for the laboratory analysis by the TTB? They state that the average is a 21 day turnaround time. What are your experiences with lab sample submissions?

We use the Label-Aid from Label One. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3gp5Liuw1E0/SPty...-h/PICT0082.JPG It's very simple to operate, built tough, and has very few parts. A big plus for us is that my wife and kids can operate it.

Done.

I'm with Paul on this one. I use GNS and make awesome craft products with it. I know other producers who also use GNS and make fantastic distilled products with it. It's utter crap to consider what I do not to be craft.

Absolutely well stated.

I disagree with that statement in the most strongest way. I, like Gwydion, make absinthe and gin in my distillery following the age-old methods he describes. To make a superior gin or absinthe requires me to use the best neutral spirits. Craft definitely comes into play in the growing and/or selecting the botanicals that I use in my craft of gin and absinthe making. Craft comes into play while distilling in my alembic, making cuts, and secondary infusions (in the case of absinthe). It's utter BS to insist that what I do is not "craft."

Everything is set up and good to go. Feel free to contact me and drop by for a look. Marc

That sounds really good to me.

I agree with "micro" instead of "craft." Micro seem to better imply smaller, lower volumes. "Micro," as a term, seems to have worked for the craft beer industry.

Does this aspect of the definition leave out those that choose to purchase neutral spirits and redistill them into products such as gin, etc? Because if so, then I do not support such a definition. By the reading of that definition it appears to leave out us distillers that choose not to make our own wash. When I make my gin and absinthe using neutral purchased spirits, I'm just as much of a "craft distiller" as someone who manufactures their own wash. FWIW, I do not support including into the definition of "craft distiller" those who purchase neutral spirits and water them down to make "vodka."

Add Pacific Distillery LLC, Woodinville, WA This is indeed a worthwhile endeavor and we fully support it.

No...not yet.

We submitted our TTB paperwork on June 12, 2008. Most of the last six months was finding a place and putting all the equipment together.

NEWS FLASH: Pacific Distillery, as of today, is fully licensed by the TTB!

Outstanding. I wish my state (WA) had decided to that route when our "craft" distiller law was passed.

Calamus contains beta asarone. Beta asarone has been shown to cause cancer to laboratory rats when fed huge, huge, huge amounts of of it. FWIW, the native calamus grown in the USA has been shown to be beta asarone free.

Thanks. I have a 4 head Enolmaster (with Pyrex option) due for delivery in mid-June. I'm hoping the unit will work well as our first unit for bottling. I'd also be interested in how well your new filler works once it's been in use for a while.

What bottle filler do you use now?

Most use hibiscus.

For the post distillation coloring you add Roman wormwood, Hyssop, and Lemon Balm. Add them to about half of what you collected and heat the macerate to between 50-60 degrees C, filter, and add back to the main distillate.

My name is Marc and I'm in the process of opening a distillery, Pacific Distillery LLC, in Woodinville WA, just outside of Seattle. I have the building set and am negotiating the lease. I plan to specialize in Gin and Absinthe.

Is it possible any of you who have been through this gamut could give us a "down-n-dirty" synopsis of what happened during the actual Federal inspection? Questions asked by the Feds, what they wanted as "major equipment" (I get a different answer from each person I talk to at the TTB), what did they look at, etc.