Jonathan Forester

Roger, welcome. I'd love to chat with you when you get back to the states.

New York, but only with the class d farm permit. not with the other permits. (possibly with the brandy permit, not sure on that one.)

I just pulled mine out of the barrel two days ago. Will be on the market as soon as label COLA comes back.

Pete- That small a barrel, recharred, for two years is a long time. It may get way overwooded.

Not to tear you down, but to give some solid feedback. I really think that this 'paper' needs to be re-researched, using more professional quality sources. DISCUS, TTB, some of the major texts on the subject, and more than some quotes based on a few phone calls, and the ADI forum. if I had turned in a paper like this in college or grad school I would have been ripped to shreds by the professor, and if I tried to sell this as an article to one of the publications I used to write for I would have been laughed at. Please go and do some real research on this topic, and check your facts with multiple, valid, sources, before putting it out before professionals or the public. On a side note: We have had no problems getting financing, loans, investors, grants, etc. for our distillery. We haven't used loans, but have them available. Partly I think it is our extremely detailed, over 100 page business plan, covering every possible situation. Partly a great team of partners. And part a really knowledgeable start-up staff.

From US TTB: Whiskey- Spirits distilled from a fermented mash of grain at less than 95% alcohol by volume (190 proof) having the taste, aroma and characteristics generally attributed to whisky and bottled at not less than 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof). Corn Whisky is produced at not exceeding 80% alcohol by volume (160 proof) from a fermented mash of not less than 80 percent corn and if stored in oak containers stored at not more than 62.5% alcohol by volume (125 proof) in used or uncharred new oak containers and not subjected in any manner to treatment with charred wood. (So Corn whiskey can be unaged, or as stated above, aged in used charred barrels, or new uncharred (toasted or plain) barrels) Bourbon Whisky is produced in the U.S. at not exceeding 80% alcohol by volume (160 proof) from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent corn and stored at not more than 62.5% alcohol by volume (125 proof) in charred new oak containers.

Now that's what I like to see!

There are basically three coopers in the US making smaller barrels; Black Swan, Gibbs Bros, and The Barrel Mill.

In part this depends upon Australia's laws, part on where you plan to sell it, and lastly what style of rye whiskey you want to make. In the US, Rye Whiskey, using that standard of identity, has to by law be stored in New, Charred, Oak barrels. To add the term "Straight" it must be stored in those barrels for a minimum of two years. To make a traditional US style rye whiskey, with the flavor profile associated with it, you have to use the new, charred, oak barrels; but, depending upon your laws and where you plan to sell it, you can age or store as you see fit. From the US TTB 5.22 The standards of identity: (1)(i) “Bourbon whisky”, “rye whisky”, “wheat whisky”, “malt whisky”, or “rye malt whisky” is whisky produced at not exceeding 160° proof from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent corn, rye, wheat, malted barley, or malted rye grain, respectively, and stored at not more than 125° proof in charred new oak containers; and also includes mixtures of such whiskies of the same type. (iii) Whiskies conforming to the standards prescribed in paragraphs ((1)(i) and (ii) of this section, which have been stored in the type of oak containers prescribed, for a period of 2 years or more shall be further designated as “straight”; for example, “straight bourbon whisky”, “straight corn whisky”, and whisky conforming to the standards prescribed in paragraph ((1)(i) of this section, except that it was produced from a fermented mash of less than 51 percent of any one type of grain, and stored for a period of 2 years or more in charred new oak containers shall be designated merely as “straight whisky”. No other whiskies may be designated “straight”. “Straight whisky” includes mixtures of straight whiskies of the same type produced in the same State. (2) “Whisky distilled from bourbon (rye, wheat, malt, or rye malt) mash” is whisky produced in the United States at not exceeding 160° proof from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent corn, rye, wheat, malted barley, or malted rye grain, respectively, and stored in used oak containers; and also includes mixtures of such whiskies of the same type. Whisky conforming to the standard of identity for corn whisky must be designated corn whisky.

Thanks for the quick response. I have used Malt Products / International Molasses before. (Different branches of the same company.) Very good quality, but a bit pricey. they do have the largest variety of molasses i have come across. I checked out Zook and they are very good on the pricing, but I wonder about quality since they are mainly cattle feed. They only have table molasses and blackstrap. Isn't Bundaberg in Australia? They also seem to be cattle feed. Batory is next on my list to contact.

You may want to try Dutch Valley

I'm looking for a small distributor for New York City and NY State. Any suggestions or recommendations?

Who are you referring to?

I'm looking for some new sources of bulk molasses. Drums and totes. I've used international Molasses and Dutch Valley. Any other suggestions? I based in lower NY State. Thanks Jonathan

I have the same question, what makes you think this tiny building would make a good distillery? 2,000 sq ft is about as small as you would want to go with a distillery. What town is it?

Impressive project, but them handing down the cost of almost $47 for 375 ml isn't.

Qr codes are starting to get wider acceptance. They are being used at State and National parks, and other areas for walking tours. And in viral marketing plans. I think that if more are made, more will be used by the public. There are some sites that charge a low fee to track scans made through their sites. I haven't looked in to Microsoft tags, I'll do so.

For GS1, that's the annual fee, but it starts at $760 to apply. Basically if your annual revenue is under $250,000.00, and you want 100 or less barcodes, then it's $760 to apply, and $148.00 a year. If you use up your barcodes, then you move up to the next level, and your annual fee goes up slightly. GS1 is the only bar code registry. You can also us QR codes, these are free, generated on several free sites, and can be used for many types of info. Each code carries exactly what type of info you want. They are read with a special QR code reader... OR by an app on many cell phones with cameras. I am having both types being printed on my labels now. Example: ADI Home Page QR Code

You may want to track down Jared Brown and Anistatia Millers book, The Soul of Brazil, about Cachaca, it is pretty detailed.

The wines that you use for brandy, especially cognac, are actually ones that aren't fit to drink. You use high acid, thin, dry, weak wines (7-8%abv), with little flavor. So bad drinking wine can make the best brandy.

That's the traditional way cognac was made in France. There were dozens of these mobile distilleries, wood fired, going around Cognac making the brandy. Now the focus is away from small family wineries making brandy, and a focus on mid-size, with huge production, and their own stills. There are only a few mobile distilleries left in Cognac, but I think much Armagnac is still made this way since it tends to be small family producers. There is at least one mobile brandy distillery in South Africa. As for legality in the US... I want to see his TTB DSP. If so, I will build a mobile operation in a heartbeat.

I'll see if I can get any contacts in that area. But with over 35,000 small and large distilleries in Brazil, I think you can't swing a cat without hitting one, and you shouldn't have a problem locating them once you are down there.

Pete- I have no idea what the legality of shipping from Australia is. I will check my contacts of Australian bartenders and cocktail consultants and see what I can do for you there.

I used plain vegetable oil (cooking oil) in my 60 gallon direct flame heated pot still. Worked just fine. Only used a cup or so.

You ever step barfoot in goose crap? yuch!