sweetT14

Right on Pano, Do you know of any books or could you direct me in a direction that would help me learn more about what causes the shine to be so hot?

I can agree with all of that. I like to have a plan before I jump into it, but I don't want to waste time on planning too much either. I didn't want to go to a distilling school but if they talk about the business side of a distillery also then it may be worth it. I have a good chunk of change that I will continue to build on while im in the process of starting up, and hope to be able to sustain that cash throughout so I can fund it myself.

So you are saying my Mash is what is causing me to drink fire? I thought it was more about the aging process that smooth's it out. Im experimenting with different aging techniques to put the flame out on my whiskey, but I don't want to age it in barrels or wood. I know using apples is very original but I wanted to start at the simplest idea to fully understand as I progress. I thought it would help me come up with better ideas if I have researched and tried every aging technique. I want to get away from the obvious barrel aging. Trying to spark a new idea.

Ok I see. I guess I would rather have more flavorful shine that I don't have to cut to make drinkable. Distill it, throw out the foreshots, and bottle the rest. A corn whiskey recipe that I have been working to refine does call for more barley than usual, that may be the reason I would rather run it in a simple pot still. I enjoy a hint of scotchy flavor, and I feel I loose that when I distill multiple times. I could be doing something wrong on my second distillation though. thanks for the info

So I have recently been experimenting with a moonshine, aged for 72 hours in chopped apples to smooth the harsh taste. Seems to work really well but takes out the flavor of the whiskey and gives just the slightest hint of apple flavor. got any ideas on how to make my shine smoother besides using apples?

I shouldn't say that it is my biggest hurdle.... It is my FIRST hurdle... I know I will face much bigger as I progress...

Im from Arkansas starting a distillery, but I am only in the research stages right now. Still reading, reading, researching, reading, and reading some more. My biggest hurdle is putting together a business plan. How does everyone come up with all of their numbers? is this based on statistics they are finding? and if so where are they finding them at? or is it strictly estimation?

I might be too much of a novice to be posting on this forum but I have a quick question Why not just run a pot still with a worm condenser (yes that simple), and take the large heads and tails cut and savor that flavor rather than distill multiple times and trade the flavor for purity or high proof. What is the other benefit to running these multi-plate stills and continuous stills, dephlegmators, and whatnot. Cant you just run a pot still with a single worm condenser, take the huge heads and tails cut and add them to you next run? or does that just cause an even larger cut of heads and tails for the next run? I would think it actually gives more of a heart in the second run but with the added benefit of more flavor.

I would like to start a distillery that produces true form moonshine, or young whiskey. I say moonshine, because all of the recent buzz over moonshine that has came about has pushed many to produce a "legal" moonshine to be sold in retail stores. Well I have a concern that I wanted to gain some insight on. The moonshine in liquor stores has poor flavor compared to the homemade shine that has been produced in the past. My question is... Does the flavor have that much to do with the distilling technique? And if so, why do people think they are making the whiskey better by distilling multiple times? I have heard that if you distill it multiple times, whether using plates or a stripping run then a spirit run, however you may, that it will cause the alcohol to be more pure and higher proof, with less heads and tails. So yeah distill it over and over but this also causes the loss of flavor, am I right?? I know that they add back in the heads and tails to keep the flavor when they distill it a second time, but it still doesn't have the flavor that homemade shine has. Is this solely from the distillation technique? like a pot still with worm condenser (yes that simple) vs. a column still with numerous plates, dephlegmator, and all the bells and whistles. or is it more about the ingredients used? I might be too much of a novice to even be posting on this forum, but that's why I posted under beginners....

Taking this idea a bit further.... Can you force the aging process in regards to aging liquor in charred wooden barrels. Possibly keep the barrel of whiskey, brandy, or what have ya, in an environment of 100 degrees??? Or heat up your liquor to 100 degrees and add wood chips to age it??? I would think this principal would still apply, the more you heat up your liquor, the faster the atoms are moving around in the solution which in turn causes more contact with the charred wood. of course you don't want to get it too hot where it builds up too much pressure in a container or starts evaporating. .........just thinking