Salishseaorganicliqueurs

As a licensed bartender turned distiller I can attest to hearing many of these things and even saying a few myself. But then again there is a market for unique flavors and personality in mixed drinks.

We use cold maceration to make our liqueurs and it really is a hit and miss process. I've been making them for about 5 years now and sometimes it's taken me upwards of a year to truly perfect a recipe. The one important thing is to ALWAYS dilute your NGS to below 60% ABV if you are going to do a long maceration (more than a day or two). I've found that it pretty much destroys any flavoring if left at 95% ABV during the maceration.

So, Is there a detailed list of botanicals that are GRAS certified on the FDA website somewhere because I can't seem to find it? As a future absinthe maker I am very curious since I hadn't ever heard of this before.

We're currently going into a 2340 square foot space and it's right about the ideal size for us and we'll only be able to produce 4800 cases out of this space. 1422 sq. ft. warehouse area for the bonded space. 918 sq. ft. front area for tasting room, bathroom, and office.

Troy, I would suggest talking to pharmo-aaper, they are a national supplier of neutral grain spirits which you can then dilute to vodka proof and or run through your still. The washington rep is named Nancy Smith (nancy.smith@pharmcoaaper.com) and they ship from their warehouse in Vancouver, Wa. or if you are looking for straight up bulk vodka tailored to your specific tastes there is also DR inc. out of Rigby, Idaho. ( (http://www.waytogoidaho.com). They are great, however, their minimum order is rather large. Neither of these will meet the "craft distillers" 50% requirement though. We scoured Washington for a source of vodka for our base, however, we were only looking for certified organic vodkas so it is possible that there is a large non-organic supplier out there.

We're going to be using a Primera AP362 labeling machine. You can buy one on amazon for $1200. I've seen them in use and they are definitely worth the price. http://www.amazon.com/Primera-AP362-Label-Applicator/dp/B001O82I02/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374043556&sr=8-1&keywords=ap362

ah, you are right. It was the DMA-58 and similar larger models that were approved. However, it is still an invaluable resource as far as general operation of a distillery. Just confirm using a hydrometer.

GW kent sells a nice gravity bottle filler pretty cheap. http://www.gwkent.com/6-spout-gravity-filling-machine.html

GW kent sells a 6 spout gravity bottle filler that works really well and fits various shapes and sizes of bottles. http://www.gwkent.com/6-spout-gravity-filling-machine.html

Thank you everyone, I have found a source for IBC totes (Thanks Bioviper) and larger barrels, however I am still looking for a source of small 5 gallon used White wine barrels! Please let me know if you have a source.

We're going to be using a casing designed by Nether Industries out of Enumclaw, Washington. It's almost Identical to what Jwymore linked. Costs around $300 and works wonderfully. 3"x24" with an adapter down to 1" to match our water lines. As for the filling we use Norit ROX 0.8. they both work wonderfully. The filter was recommended to us by Rusty Figgins at Batch 206 in Seattle. (BWFiggins on here). He's used it in his distillery for years. http://www.netherind.com http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/bulk-premium-rox-0-8-aquarium-carbon.html

Hi, You want a digital density meter or Densitometer. My suggestion would be to get an Anton Paar DMA 35 densitometer. They are TTB approved for ABV measuring for tax and record keeping. http://www.anton-paar.com/us-en/products/details/portable-density-meter-dma-35/ Or you could get a Microptix spectrophotometer. They are not TTB approved but I have heard good recommendations. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00440CZ0K/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2Z7N7C86SZGVX&coliid=I3O31CVZ1H3970

Washington is good! The laws are changing here and there are already 80+ distilleries in the state.

We'll store them in our garage for now but I was curious if you could send me some pictures of them just so I'm sure they're what we are looking for and there is no confusion before we rent a truck and drive out to sumner to get them. You can mail the pics to salishseaorganicliqueurs@gmail.com or text them to me at 360-701-4085. I will also be giving you a call on monday to set up a time next week to pick them up.

Thank you Bioviper, I will give you a call soon and we can work something out. At this point we probably won't be buying them yet since we don't currently have the space to store them and our distillery is still under construction. What were the totes used for? were they food grade to start out with? I'm afraid that I have no use for the whiskey barrels at the moment. If you had a little 5 gallon one I might take to do R and D with but we're currently only looking for used white wine barrels, of which I already have two suppliers who have messaged me on here.

What is the name of the company in Tacoma? I am looking into making a Salal berry liqueur further down the road, but I've got 21 different flavors to push out the door already. I could always attempt to make a small batch for research and development though. so check back in 8-10 months and we'll see if we can start a small batch. I don't really know the flavor of Salal that well so I might want a flavor consultant. I would also need a source of USDA certified salal berries.

Perfect! thank you so much!

Thanks, Natrat, I will look into it. Do you have any specific companies that you would recommend?

Liqueurs is all we do at the moment. It is a large market that is difficult to get into if you don't find a niche and really really really REALLY work on the quality of your product. We are currently making 21 flavors of both single and multi-tone organic liqueurs and marketing them simultaneously to several different markets. For most distilleries which produce mostly the big 5 alcohols (vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and whiskey) a liqueur is a great way to differentiate yourself from everyone else. There are a million vodka and whiskey makers out there.

We will be using the city water provided here, however, we will also be using a custom built activated carbon filtration system which will clean our water and remove any chemicals added by the city/state such as fluorine and chlorine and other things that generally don't go well in organic products. The entire system only costs about $300 and then the cost to replace the carbon which is maybe $50 a year depending on how heavily you are using the water line. Perhaps the city/state wouldn't have a problem with you using the well water if you filtered it adequately first?

Well that is absolutely gorgeous! I know who I'm coming to if I ever need a second still.

I'm in the Olympia area and I've never heard of him, maybe he didn't make it or relocated? can't find him anywhere online either. Would be a pity, I would love to have another distillery in Olympia, it would compliment us well.

Hi everybody, I'm looking into making certain berry based liqueurs and have run into the problem of removing the pectin present in these berries. All my products are USDA certified organic and I have been told by the USDA that I cannot use inorganic chemicals and enzymes to remove this pectin without risking the loss of my certification on the product. Does anyone know of any organic ways to remove said pectin?

My suggestion would be to use a Millipore Filter to remove the additional sediment. I've ran into the same problem and here's what I've used to solve it. http://www.millipore.com/catalogue/item/kvhla10tt1

Hi everyone, I am looking for a good local supplier for a few items. We will be located in Lacey, Washington. 1. Looking for 3-9 55-gallon or larger French Oak used white wine barrels. These barrels will be used for making a barrel aged line of absinthes. Cannot use barrels used for red wine. 2. Looking for 5 5-gallon or smaller French Oak used white wine barrels. These barrels will be used for research and development. Cannot use barrels used for red wine. 3. Looking for 2 275-gallon food grade IBC totes at a reasonable price. We are looking to place these orders within the next couple months.