JustAndy

Where are you located? I might be able to help you, we have some destoning machinery we've used for cherries and plums in the past.

Another good thing to do if you are planning to operate on nights and weekends is to make a list of all the things you like to do in your free time: camping, hiking, fishing, bbqs, dinner with friends, spontaneous travel, etc and then imagine not doing any of those things for several years.

Yes, it's around here in Portland I see $75-$150 for single use 53 gal ex-bourbon depending on condition and how many you're buying.

Perhaps they don't have a DSP, and have contract whiskey being stored at a rickhouse that doesn't have a bottling plant. It depends on the label details and frippery, but I've seen about $1/bottle for bottling/labeling, with a setup fee for changing over to your product and some times additional one-time fees if the bottling line needs different jigs to accommodate the bottle.

https://issuu.com/artisanspiritmag/docs/artisanspirit_issue011_web/24

I found using a stir bar on a magnetic stirrer/hot plate was a big help in preventing tarry residue. Also immediately dumping the flask after turning off the heat so it didn't dry onto the glass.

This place did I think http://www.shinedistillerygrill.com/

@Skaalvenn I think this is what you are talking about http://www.spiritopia.com/faq/company-name/

I got mine from Perennial Pleasures in Vermont (https://perennialpleasures.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Perennial-Pleasures-Catalog.pdf). Took a couple of years to get established but looks great now. For a. absintheum I got starts from Loghouse and also grew some from seed from Strickly Medicinal, the Log House plants seem truer to type https://loghouseplants.com/plants/shop/artemisia-wormwood-artemisia-absinthiumn-2/

He's really giving it the hard sell, amazing he has any left in stock.... "This imported Roman, Petite absinthe (Pontica) is the best imported pontica I can source, it looks like saw dust, smells like saw dust and is nothing like what I grow myself"

Depending on your size/goals/products etc, you'll find a much deeper talent pool looking at brewers or winemakers and hiring a consultant to train them on the distilling side. If you don't have any production experience, you should also be hiring distilling expertise well before you being building/equipping your distillery. The 'turnkey' packages that some still manufacturers tout in my experience have included a lot of unnecessary or inappropriate equipment which inexperienced owners don't know enough to push back on.

We've done it, it's good. Gives a bit more mouthfeel and sweetness to it. I prefer our 100% Rye, but I liked the wheated rye over the corned Rye and barley malt Rye we've done.

We've used both, the Kelvin barrels are quite smoky tasting compared to other barrels we've used with similar specs (size, air drying, toasting, charring). They seem to be pretty good quality compared to some other suppliers we've gotten barrels from (Blackswan being the absolute worst). The ISC barrels offer a lot of options these days for toasting/charring/aging, and they also do a lot of research and testing (https://www.amazon.com/International-Symposium-reasearch-Highlights-Symposiums/dp/B005X9KQYS) and if you know the flavor profile you are looking for they can guide you to the right barrel. The barrels are some times a bit rough looking, but every one so far hasn't needed any reworking for leaks. The turn-around was very fast the last time we ordered, and we'll probably get our next lot from them as well

My experience in Cognac and visiting scotch distilleries that still have worm tubs aligns with what Tom says, they using them to produce a specific flavor not because they are easier to make. In Cognac, I know of producers who alter the temperature of the distillate intentionally depending on the volatility of the wine or spirit (similarly the wine distillation is condensed at a lower temperature than the spirit distillation). I'm sure you could achieve this with a tube-in-shell, although on our hybrid pot still it is tricky. I've also seen stainless steel worm tub condenser in chinese baijiu distilleries, although that might be because they are more simple to make.

Increased copper contact (if it is a copper shell in tube) https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/ask-the-professor/14920/condensers-how-do-they-affect-flavour/ , easier to clean, simpler to operate with a reflux condenser.

We've had breweries produce wash for us, and so have many of the distilleries in my area. The trouble gets to be finding a reliable partner, as wash production doesn't make the brewery much $$, so as soon as they have the opportunity to make (and sell) finished beer instead they will drop you to do it. I don't believe you need to pay any taxes if yeast is pitched, if there is alcohol in the wash when you move it you need to do a transfer-in-bond just like receiving wine. Easier to assume no alcohol has been created and it is raw material.

It really depends on what you are trying to achieve, but the German still makers Holstein, Muller, and probably CARL have models which can be heated directly with wood (the ones I've seen have a firebox heating a water bath or jacket).http://www.alambics-sofac.fr/ who make and work on traditional french Armagnac could likely direct you to or build you wood-fired still.

What makes the abundance of ready built equipment not suitable for your location? Hiring someone who has already figured this out will likely be much cheaper, easier, and yield a better quality product than cobbling together a bunch of numbers from random online sources.

Oak additions is not the way to make a top notch product. There are many cooperages in Spain that work with American oak. http://www.tacopal.com/ingles.htm makes charred barrels

https://thewhiskeywash.com/ http://www.spiritedbiz.com/ https://www.winebusiness.com/ http://artisanspiritmag.com/ https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/ http://www.alcademics.com/2017/01/new-booze-2017.html

https://www.etslabs.com/analyses/exports

The House Spirits example was also approved probably 10+ years ago, so there has probably been some turn-over and clarifications to the approval process.

I wouldn't sweat it. 4.5 gallons isn't all that much head space, we see that liquid level in the barrel about a year after filling. We also have some half-filled barrels, in my experience the extra head space helps move the spirit along but also increases the angel share a bit. All the half-full ones are where I can see them in case they develop leaks as I've heard that can happen but haven't seen much evidence of it.

Think about how much easier 12% abv wine oxidizes vs 22% abv port.

http://www.iscbarrels.com/2018/01/30/oxygenation-part-1/ "To add further complication, the effects of these variables are not static throughout the aging process. As the barrel ages, the wood becomes increasingly more saturated with alcohol. As this happens, the rate at which the oxygen can permeate through the wood changes. The diffusion of oxygen in air is multitudes greater than that of its diffusion through water. This suggests that as the barrel becomes more saturated over time, the rate at which oxygen transfers through the wood slowly decreases. Furthermore, the diffusion coefficient of oxygen in ethanol differs from that of water which would suggest that entry proof has an effect as well."