Barrel Aged Whiskey

White Whiskey

There are a lot of different names for moonshine. White dog, white lightning, and mountain dew are among the more popular terms used to describe homemade spirits. What do these names have in common? Well, they hint at the fact that moonshine is typically crystal clear and typically doesn't have the dark caramel color that store bought whiskey does.

Aged Whiskey

The color (or lack thereof) of moonshine is confusing to a lot of people. You see, most folks think that moonshine is clear because it's made with a different process than store bought whiskey. However, that's not the case. Store bought whiskey (everything from Jim Beam Bourbon to Jameson Irish Whiskey) comes off the still as clear as mountain spring water. That's right, initially, all whiskeys look exactly like moonshine. It isn't until whiskey is aged in wooden barrels that it takes on darker colors. 

Why is Whiskey Aged?

Why is whiskey aged? Well, similarly to many other longstanding traditions, the practice of barrel aging grew out of necessity. Early producers and transporters of wine used wooden barrels to ferment and then ship their products.  Though, the practice has withstood the test of time because, coincidentally, long term storage in barrels has a positive effect on the character and smoothness of most alcoholic beverages. Early consumers of these beverages noticed that (typically) the longer the beverages had been stored in barrels, the better they tasted. Thus, the demand for barrel aged wine and spirits was born.

What Happens During Aging?

During the storage period changes in temperature and humidity cause alcohol to be pushed into and sometime sucked out of out of the wooden walls of aging barrels. As this natural ebb and flow occurs the alcohol is gently filtered by the wood. Some of the whiskey (typically lighter and more volatile compounds) actually evaporate through the wooden container walls (which is called the angels share). At the same time, vanillins and tannin are extracted from the wood and impart their unique flavor and color to the whiskey. The cumulative effect of the intricate process of barrel aging is a final product that has more character and less bite than the clear, fiery spirit that went into it.

How to Age Whiskey

There are two ways to age whiskey. The easiest way to accomplish aging is to add charred oak chips to a jar or bottle of spirits. The chips will naturally absorb and release spirits contained within the vessel, allowing the wood to impart its flavors to the spirit. However, this method will not allow the volatile compounds to escape by forcing their way through the container walls (as happens during traditional barrel aging). Accordingly, one must regularly open and close the vessel in order to allow trapped alcohol vapor to escape and be replaced by air. Amazon.com actually carries inexpensive, high quality, american oak aging chips.

A less involved but slightly more expensive method of DIY whiskey aging is to purchase an actual charred barrel. This method should be a bit easier to manage because evaporation of spirits and the resulting oxygenation will happen automatically. There will be no need to open an close the container to allow more volatile substances to escape. Once you have your barrel make sure to first fill it with warm water and leave it sit until the wood swells enough to prevent leaking between the staves. The hydration process could take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. It's very important that you do this to prevent your spirits from leaking out of the barrel when you initially fill it. Again, Amazon carries inexpensive, high quality wooden aging barrels.

How Long Does Barrel Aging Take?

Fantastic results can be achieved in a relatively short amount of time with home aging. This is because the surface to liquid ratio of DIY aging kits is much higher than that of commercial outfits. The commercial whiskey industry ages their product in 53 gallon barrels to achieve a better economy of scale. In a small half gallon barrel there is 4-5 times more wooden surface area in contact with the whiskey. It's less efficient from a materials standpoint (which is why commercial distilleries age in 50+ gallon barrels) but much more efficient from a time and aging standpoint. All of that extra surface area rapidly accelerates aging of the spirits. Aged perfection that takes years to achieve in 53 gallon barrels can be accomplished in a matter of months with a half gallon barrel.

The benefits of aging can be negated if too much of the wood flavor is imparted to the whiskey. "Over oaking" your spirit is a definite possibility. Every few weeks, a small sample should be drawn from the vessel to ascertain quality of aging. Once the whiskey has achieved the color and smoothness of your liking, transfer it to a glass bottle or jar for long term storage.

Here's a great summary of the barrel aging process written by the American Distilling Institute.

Distillers Yeast Review

We get a lot of questions about yeast. Folks want to know "which yeasts are the best" for making high quality whiskey and other spirits.

Admittedly, our experience with distillers yeasts is somewhat limited. We found a yeast we liked using a while back and stuck with it. We hadn't really done much side by side experimentation with other yeasts...until recently. We decided to test the 4 most common yeasts used by home distillers (with the exception of a wine yeast) and pitted them head to head against one another. Here's how we did it.

We made a 2 gallon batch of rum mash using 3 pounds of pure cane sugar and 2 pints of unsulfured molasses (with a potential alcohol of 12.9%). We then split the mash into 4 glass carboy's and added a different yeast to each container.

We tested bread yeast, champagne yeast, super start distillers  yeast, and Turbo Yeast.

We let the batches ferment for almost 3 weeks (to make sure we had maxed out the potential of each yeast), then we conducted a taste test. We were never able to actually distill the batches of wash because mother nature just wouldn't cooperate with us (it was too damn cold outside).

Our assumption was that the bread yeast had not met its alcohol potential and would be sweeter than the rest of the samples due to excess sugar. We also assumed that the turbo yeast might taste and smell a bit funky, because that's what a lot of people report about it. We also have some experience with turbo's ourselves and have noted these characteristics. We thought the champagne yeast would be dry, and weren't sure how the super start would taste among the rest of the samples. We hadn't taken a final specific gravity reading before the taste test, so the alcohol content of the samples was not known to us as we were sampling them.

As it turns out, our assumptions were dead on, with one surprising exception. Here's what we noted:

Turbo Yeast

We tested Liquor Quick's Turbo Pure X-Press (dehydrated), which is rated to produce up to 18% alcohol. According to the manufacturer, this yeast was created to produce "a very clean wash with minimal congeners." We disagree with the first part of that statement.

The wash was anything but clean. It smelled and tasted absolutely awful, most likely due to excess nutrients that weren't used by the yeast. In defense of Liquor Quick, perhaps if we had added more sugar and the yeast were able to work longer (using more of the nutrients) the wash would not have tasted so bad.

We actually agree with the second part of the above mentioned statement. The wash contained very few congeners. Congeners is a fancy term for all of the tasty ingredients found in the mash. The more congeners, the more mash flavor, the less congeners, the more devoid of taste the wash and final product will have. There was hardly any trace of the cane and molasses flavors. However, remnants of the nutrients were still very present and the wash tasted and smelled terrible.

In summary, we don't recommend turbo yeast for making high quality spirits. If you're making gas for your lawnmower, turbo will work just fine. Otherwise, we recommend you avoid it at all costs.

Champagne Yeast

We tested Red Star's Pasteur Champagne Yeast (dehydrated). The champagne wash sample was extremely dry. Molasses and cane flavors from the wash were almost completely gone. A very slight bitter taste from the molasses was all that remained, which is definitely not the best part of the molasses flavor. The yeast itself also imparted little to no flavor to the wash, making this sample extremely clean. If one is striving to make a neutral grain spirit, such as vodka, we think champage yeast would work very well. However, it is now apparent to us that this yeast is not appropriate for flavorful spirits such as corn whiskey, full bodied, authentic rums, etc..

Super Start Distillers Yeast

We tested Crosby & Baker's Super Start Distillers Yeast, now known simply as Distillers Yeast (UPC: CB 9904A*). This stuff is available by the pound and is given no description by the maker. Over the years this is the yeast we've become accustomed to using, partly because it's sold by the pound (and It takes a long time to use an entire pound of yeast) and partly because we experienced what we felt were good results. Our assumption was that this yeast was going to blow the competition away. However, we were wrong.

The Super Start wash tasted almost exactly like the champagne yeast wash. They were actually a bit difficult to tell apart. The only difference was that the champagne yeast had a slightly cleaner taste and smell. Yeasty smells and flavors were a bit more prevalent in the SS sample. In our opinion, because these samples didn't taste anything like cane or molasses, these yeasts are probably better suited for making high alcohol, neutral grain spirits than they are for making sippin' whiskeys. Because the champagne yeast had a cleaner taste than the Super Start, we'd venture to say that it'd be the better choice between the two.

The performance of Super Start in this experiment is actually good and bad news to us. It's bad news because we have a lot of Super Start on hand. It's good news because we're always looking for ways to make better whiskey, and moving away from SS is an obvious change we need to make. Accordingly, due to the results of this experiment, we now no longer exclusively recommend Super Start as our yeast of choice. We're currently planning our next yeast experiment and will re-test champagne, super start, and a few other high alcohol yeasts to determine which we think is the best for making high alcohol, neutral grain spirits.

Bread Yeast

The surprise of the day was bread yest. We tested Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast. Our initial assumption was correct: the bread yeast tasted slightly sweeter than the others. Much more of the cane sugar and molasses flavors were present. Overall, this was actually the best tasting wash, which we kind of half expected. We assumed that the bread yeast sample tasted better because the yeast had hardly done anything and hadn't produced much alcohol. However, we were dead wrong.

The ABV of this sample was on par with the rest of the samples (see below). This means that bread yeast had managed to produce as much alcohol as the rest of the yeasts, but had done so without stripping out as much of the natural mash flavors. This wash tasted great and we see no reason to recommend against using bread yeast for creating flavorful spirits. However, in our next experiment we're going to test bread yeast against other yeasts designed for crafting full bodied whiskeys.

Alcohol Yield 

We determined potential alcohol using a beer hydrometer. We also did some calculations by hand to back up hydrometer readings (and to prove how smart we are). Also, our brix refractometer was missing on test day, which is the other reason for the hand calculations.

Our beer hydrometer displayed a starting gravity of 1.10, corresponding to a potential alcohol of 13%. Between the molasses and the cane sugar, we ended up adding a total of 969 grams of sugar to a total of 3785 grams of water, for a brix of 25.6 and a potential alcohol of 12.8%. Because the result of both calculations is so close we're very confident that the potential alcohol was somewhere around 12.9%.

The final gravity measurements of wash samples were almost identical. The samples were all within a half percent of 12.5% starting alcohol, with champagne being slightly higher than the rest. In other words, each yeast essentially maxed out its alcohol production potential by eating more or less all of the sugar present in the wash.

These results convey absolutely nothing meaningful about the alcohol production potential of champagne, turbo yest, and Super Start yeast. It's obvious that these yeasts should be able to produce 12.5% ABV or higher. If we wanted to compare the alcohol yield potential of these yeasts we'd need to bump up the sugar content of the wash and give the yeast samples more to work with.

However, the experiment sheds some interesting light on the alcohol production potential of bread yest. We assumed that bread yeast would have stalled out well before consuming all of the sugar in the mash. We can now say with confidence that bread yeast (at least the brand we used) is able to produce 12.5% starting ABV, and maybe even higher. This is surprising news to us, as our previous (limited) experience with bread yeast suggested a much lower potential ABV.

Additional Yeast Resources

We strongly suggest purchasing a copy of the book "Yeast" from Amazon.com. This books is 300 pages long and was written by professional brewers and scientists. It's an awesome resource on the topic of yeast. We've been reading this book and have learned a ton of stuff about yeast. Yeast is just as important as the other ingredients (corn, barley, sugar) in fine spirits, and without it, there'd be no spirits, as yeast is solely responsible for making alcohol during the fermentation process. Get this book if you want to improve the quality of your whiskey.

Essential Distillation Equipment Gear Guide

We aspire to provide the highest quality all-copper moonshine still kits at the best price possible. We’re 100% focused on that goal so we don’t carry additional distilling equipment in-house. Basically, we don’t want to be distracted trying to manage a big inventory of odds and ends. 

However, we’ve definitely made our fair share of moonshine whiskey and are happy to provide recommendations on all of the stuff you’ll need if you’re going to distill. We’ve found the best priced, highest quality goods (the stuff that WE prefer using) and have provided links to everything below.

Basic Distillation Equipment (Level 1):

Here is a link to a turn-key kit (actually made for beer) that includes everything necessary to complete simple recipes (Corn Whiskey recipes, Honey Shine, Rum, Sugar Shine). It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles necessary to make all-grain batches (like Rye Whiskey) but it’s plenty enough to get started. You'll need to use a few items around the kitchen during, but most of the essentials are provided in the kit.

• Gold Complete Beer Equipment Kit (includes 7.8 gallon plastic primary fermenter, 6 gallon glass secondary fermenter, fermentation thermometer, stopper and air lock, hydrometer, bottle brush, sanitizer, free bottle capper)

Intermediate Distillation Equipment (Level 2):

Here are higher quality versions of all of the items included in the “turn-key” kit listed above, plus a few extra items.  If you already have some of these items, it’d be a good idea to complete your basic kit by picking up the rest of the stuff in this section. This equipment will allow you to the same beginner to intermediate recipes listed above, but you’ll be able to dial in the process a bit better with this stuff and the finished product should be a higher quality if you do things right.

• Making Pure Corn Whiskey (A great intermediate to advanced book)
• 8 Gallon Boil Pot (for heating water or making simple 5 gallon mashes)
• 15 Gallon Boil Pot (heating water or making simple 10 gallon mashes)
• Boil Pot Thermometer (measuring water temp during boil)
• Wort Chiller (for cooling mash before introduction of yeast)
• 6.5 Gallon Primary Fermenter - Plastic Bucket (for initial fermentation)
• 6.5 Gallon Secondary Fermenter - Glass Carboy (for more refined fermentation finishes)
• Carboy Thermometer (measuring fermentation temp)
• Carboy Brush (cleaning carboy)
• Rubber Stopper (for air lock / glass carboy)
• Air Lock (get two, one for both fermenters)
• Auto-siphon (for sanitary, easy siphoning
• Racking Cane (a must have for proper siphoning)
• Racking Cane Clip (another must have item)
• Vinyl Tubing (for siphoning, etc.)
• Beer Hydrometer (for determining starting alcohol)
• Spirit Hydrometer (for determining final proof of whiskey)
• Hydrometer Test Jar (for use with hydrometer)
• Cheese Cloth (filtering mash and wash)
• Large digital scale (for measuring grain, etc.)
• Small digital scale (for measuring yeast, etc.)

Expert Distillation Equipment (Level 3):

For the advanced distiller or for the novice distiller who isn’t messing around, we’d suggest picking up everything on the “intermediate” list above AND all of the items in this category. You’ll be able to make any kind of spirit you want (everything from Sugar Shine to Scotch Whiskey).

• Grain Mill (for milling your own grain)
• 20 Gallon Mash Tun (for 5 or 10 gallon all grain runs)
• Mash Paddle (long paddle for stirring mash)
• Brix Refractometer (determines sugar content of liquid)

Heating Sources

 Get either a gas heating system or an electric.

• Electric Heating Source (the preferred method if power is available)
• Gas Heating Source (for when power is not available)

Increase Final Proof by Packing Still Column

Copper Mesh, Raschig Rings, and Glass Beads

Pot Still vs. Pot With Thumper vs. Packed Column vs. Reflux

We intentionally left the reflux coil out of our design because our stills are made for making sipping whiskey, not fuel alcohol. At a minimum a true reflux still would have a reflux coil at the top of the column. As vapor comes into contact with the coil, much of it condenses and drips back down through the column. Kind of like our design...on steroids. Some even have advanced features such as perforated plates for fractioning, needle valves for reflux control and controlled output, etc. This stuff is used to maximize single run proof while simultaneously stripping nearly all of the flavor from the end product, creating a "neutral grain spirit." Again, we don't offer this stuff because we think it simply isn't necessary for making good whiskey. If making high octane racing fuel is the goal, then one should consider a true reflux still. (Warning: shameless self-promotion ahead). Though, if making smooth, flavorful sippin whiskey is the goal, Clawhammer stills are optimal.

Copper: The Best Column Packing Material

• Add 1-2 scrubbers to column of a 1 gallon still.
• Add 4-5 scrubbers to the column of a 5 gallon still.
• Add 6-7 scrubbers to the column of a 10 gallon still.

Other Packing Material: Glass Beads and Raschig Rings

How to Install Copper Scrubbers / Mesh

Where to Buy Copper Scrubbers / Mesh for Columns

          

How to install a Thermometer in a Moonshine Still

The number one question we get asked VIA email and over the phone is this: "How do you add a thermometer to the still and where is the best place to install it?" When making moonshine it isn't critical, or even absolutely necessary to measure temperature, but there are a few benefits. A thermometer can be used to help detect the presense of methanol in moonshine and can also be used to determine when to shut down the still at the end of a run

Here are the 3 best options for installing a thermometer in your moonshine still. Please note, we don't stock this equipment, but we've found the highest quality equipment for the most reasonable price and have provided links below.

GOOD Option: Measure Vapor Temp With a Digital Thermometer

This is by far the easiest method of installing a thermometer in a moonshine still. Measure vapor temperature by Installing a small digital thermometer in the column, or install one in the cap plate next to the column.  Drill a hole through the copper just barely big enough for the thermometer.  Don't try to solder it.  All you'll do is destroy the thermometer.  Just install the thermometer after the still gets warmed up at the beginning of a run and seal it with flour paste. 

BETTER Option: Measure Liquid Temp With a Weld-less Thermometer

The second (better) option would be to purchase a stainless steel weldless thermometer kit and install it in the boiler wall to measure liquid temperature.  Simply drill or cut a hole in the boiler wall just big enough for the threaded end of thermometer (as shown in the video above) and install it using a weldless thermometer kit. Make sure to use high temperature, chemical resistant teflon tape when assembling.

 

Buy all of these for the second option:

 

        

 

BEST Option: Measure Liquid Temp VIA a Permanent Copper Fitting

Solder the copper fitting into the boiler (as shown in video above). Apply teflon tape to threads on thermometer and screw thermometer into copper fitting. Hand tighten and then snug with pliers. Do not over tighten.

 

Buy all of these for the third option:

 

        

 

Top Secret Pro Tip: Use a Stepped Drill Bit For Boiler Wall Hole

After we created and published our thermometer video someone emailed us and mentioned that we should use a stepped bit to make the hole for the thermometer in the still boiler wall. If there is a right tool for this job, the stepped drill bit is it! We managed to get by with our tin snips, but it's not the easiest thing to do and also doesn't produce a very clean opening. Stepped bits are self piloting and they make a super clean hole in the copper. We definitely picked one up for the shop after seeing how awesome they are.

 

How to Make Moonshine Mash

Here are three easy ways to make moonshine mash. The first two methods are based on traditional corn whiskey recipes. The third method is a cheap and easy (and a good starting point for folks new to distilling), but isn’t recommended for someone serious about making a high quality product. Speaking of making good whiskey - make sure you're using a high quality copper distiller.

1- Corn Whiskey

Early American farmers found that the same amount of corn sold for a few dollars at market could easily yield a few hundred dollars after it was mashed, fermented and distilled.  Corn also yields more sugar than other grain crops.  Thus, mashing corn and turning it into alcohol became the standard method of alcohol production on the early American frontier, and “corn whiskey” was born.

At Clawhammer Supply we’re sort of picky when it comes to moonshine and believe that pure all grain whiskey is the way to go when whipping up a batch of homemade hooch.  We also prefer corn whiskey because it's naturally sweet, it’s smooth, and it’s tradition.  Here’s a simple way to make a corn whiskey mash with some additional options for the advanced distiller:

Ingredients:

5 gallons of water

8.5 pounds of flaked maize

1.5 pounds of crushed malted barley

Procedure:

Heat 5 gallons of mash water up to 165F.  Turn off heat when target temperature is reached and stir in the 8.5 pounds of corn.  Stir the mash continuously for about 5 minutes then stir for a few seconds every five minutes until the temperature drops to 152F.  Once the target temp is met, stir in the malted barley.  Cover and leave it be for about  90 minutes, uncovering only to stir every 15 minutes or so.  At this point all of the starches should be converted into sugar.  Leave it sit for a few hours or use an immersion chiller to cool the mash.  At 96 degrees add two tablespoons of Alltech Super Start Distillers Yeast, aerate (by dumping back and forth between two containers) ,cap, and add an air lock. In a week or two fermentation will be complete. Leave it settle for another week and you’ll be ready to distill.

Advanced distillers should consider adding 2tsp of gypsum (CaSO4) to the mash water and adjusting the pH of mash water to somewhere between 5.8 and 6.0 before adding any ingredients.  After adding gypsum, add citric or tartaric acid to adjust the pH of the mash water downward.  If the pH needs adjusted upward, add calcium carbonate (CaCO3). 

A second trick for advanced distillers is using tincture of iodine to determine if all starches have been completely converted into sugar.   Drip a few  drops of the clear yellow liquid (not the solids) from the top of the mash (after the 90 minute rest) onto a white plate.  Drip a drop or two of the tincture of iodine on the sample on plate.  If it turns blue, there is still starch in the mixture.  Rest it longer.  Discard the sample.

2- Thin Mash Whiskey

Cooking a thin mash is an easy way to double the quantity of mash while retaining some of the natural grain flavor of corn whiskey.  It's made by starting with an actual mash, such as the one above, and then adding water and granular sugar to increase the quantity of wash.

Ingredients:

10 gallons of water (5 gal to start then 5 more)

8.5 pounds of flaked maize

1.5 pounds of crushed malted barley

6-8 pounds of sugar

Procedure:

Creating a thin mash is accomplished in two steps.  First, cook the standard corn whiskey mash described above.  However, after the final rest period, add 5 gallons of cold water and 6-8 pounds of sugar.  Once the mash temperature has dropped to 96 degrees, it  is ready for aeration, yeast and fermentation, as described in the Corn Whiskey recipe above.

Advanced distillers should shoot for a specific gravity of about 1.08.  Dilute with water if high.

3- Sugar Shine

5 gallons water

8 pounds of white sugar

Procedure:

Heat 2 gallons of water (to no more than 120 degrees) and add sugar a few pounds at a time.  Stir until dissolved and add more sugar.  Keep adding sugar until all sugar has been added / dissolved. Dump this mixture into a fermenter and add 3 more gallons of water.  Shoot for a final temperature of 96 degrees an adjust heat of additional water accordingly. Add 2 tablespoons of Alltech Superstart Distillers Yeast once final liquid temp is 96 degrees. Aerate by dumping back and forth between two buckets a few times. Shoot for a constant fermentation temperature of 90 degrees for the shortest fermentation time and highest alcohol yield.  If your house / garage / basement / wherever / isn't this warm, wrap your fermenter in a blanket and use a heating pad if necessary. Leave it sit for a week to ferment and another week to settle.  

A Brief History of Moonshine

The depression, prohibition, and limited access to the mountainous region of Appalachia gave rise to an almost forgotten yet legendary beverage called moonshine.   “Moonshine” is a generic term for homemade whiskey.  The term was coined due to the fact that early “bootleggers” often made their whiskey in the middle of the night, under the light of a full moon – out of sight of neighbors and the law.  There is no standard recipe for moonshine;  it can be made from any combination of grains in any type of still.  However, moonshine made in the mountains of Appalachia was traditionally un-aged corn whiskey and was made in copper pot stills.

How to Distill

We've had a ton of requests for a simple video on how to distill with our moonshine still kits.  It may seem counter intuitive, but we've resisted for a few reasons.  First, there is already a lot of information out there on distilling using just about any kind of still imaginable (column stills, pot stills, fractioning stills, reflux stills, etc, pressure cooker stills, keg stills - you name it). Also, there is a lot to learn on the topic of distilling.  

We'll never be able to explain everything there is to know about making moonshine in a YouTube video.  We also don't have the time to make a feature length film on the art of distilling, so we've always just suggested that one purchase a book on the subject.  

However, distilling isn't rocket science, and we've received so many requests that we decided to put together a simple video. Here it is:

Making moonshine is pretty dang easy stuff once you get the hang of it, but to make the highest quality, best tasting stuff, and (more importantly) to make sure you're doing it safely, do the following before you actually start making your own hooch: make sure to read our article on moonshine safety and also get yourself a good book on the topic.

As always, feel free to call or email us with questions on this article or questions about our moonshine still kits.

How to Make Honey Moonshine

We purchase honey from a local producer and get it for roughly $75 per gallon. This makes honey whiskey about the most home distillation one can undertake, but its darn good and is definitely worth the cost and the effort.

Honey Whiskey Recipe

Transfer to a glass carboy, install air lock, and allow to ferment for 2 weeks (maintaining at least a 90 degree F liquid temp.)

B.F.'s Rebel Rum Recipe

If you want to know how to make rum, you're in the right place.  Here is a recipe from our friend BF.  It's his favorite rum recipe and here's a word straight from him:

"I will say as a bit of a warning to pass on to others, rum made from a pot still has some wildly different characteristics than Bacardi or something like that. Pot distilled rum is much closer to Myers rum or a local rum found anywhere in the Caribbean."

Ingredients:

Mash / Fermenting / Distillation Procedure

Heat water to 120 degrees Fahrenheit  stirring sugar in a pound at a time.  Add molasses, a jar at a time, once once most of sugar has been dissolved.  Stir thoroughly while adding so molasses does not burn. Once finished, allow to cool to 90 degrees Fahrenheit and add "Super Start" distillers yeast. Aerate, then transfer to carboys.  Install air lock and allow to ferment for 2 weeks. Let it settle and then distill! Age in a Bourbon cask for a more mellow drinking experience.

Flavored Moonshine:

Sugar Shine Vs. the Real Stuff:

How to Make Moonshine Safely

Folks often ask us how to make moonshine.  It isn't rocket science, but there is definitely a lot to consider.  In fact, one of the first things to consider when making moonshine is safety. Here is a list of 10 of the most important safety issues that moonshiners should know and understand:

Only use a pure copper moonshine still assembled with lead free solder 

Stills made from old radiators, sheetmetal, plastic barrels and other such materials are questionable at best and extremely dangerous at worst.  Always insist on using stills that are made from pure copper.  Old time moonshiners in the Appalachian hills used copper and modern commercial distilleries use it too.  Also, always use lead free solder and water based flux to assemble a still.  There are plenty of guides and videos on the internet on how to make a moonshine still.

NEVER distill indoors

The best way to avoid being featured in the whole house barbecue section of the 5 o'clock news is to not operate a moonshine still indoors.  Following the safety procedures outlined in this article will keep one relatively safe, but from time to time even the most experienced moonshiners encounter dangerous situations that they haven't planned for.  If you do happen to make a mistake while distilling, and your moonshining session turns into a fire drill, it's going to be a lot less of a downer outdoors than it will be in a kitchen or living room.  When it comes to location, always follow this one simple rule: always distill outdoors!

Control alcohol vapor

A leaky moonshine still could allow precious wash to drip onto the ground before the alcohol is separated, wasting the time and money invested in brewing it up.  Even worse, a leak in a still's column could allow explosive alcohol vapor to escape.  Always be very conscious of the fact that alcohol vapor is highly explosive and potentially very dangerous.  Before using a moonshine still, run a batch of water through it to clean it out and make sure there aren't any leaks.  If leaks are found, seal them with a bead of solder.  If a leak develops during the distillation process, seal it with some flour paste.  Here is a tip from Popcorn Sutton, one of the most famous old time moonshiners to ever live: applying some flour paste and then tying a rag around the leak may help seal larger leaks.  Though, if the leak persists, it's best to shut the operation down and properly repair the leak with some solder.

Never leave a still unattended

An unattended still is an accident waiting to happen.  Murphy's law states that any thing that can go wrong will go wrong.  This doesn't always hold true, but why tempt fate by leaving a still unattended?  When planning for a distilling session, make sure to calculate how long it is going to take to run the batch.  Set your TiVo to record Moonshiners, make sure you have plenty of leftovers from dinner, a few jars of goodness from your last run, perhaps some fiddles and banjos to pass the time, and stick around for the long haul.  This actually brings to light another rule which we'll include here as a bonus.  If you're one of those people who feels like running around naked in the streets after taking a few sips of the good stuff, you probably shouldn't be drinking it while distilling it.

Keep a fire extinguisher handy

When distilling, the biggest single risk, as one might gather from reading the other safety rules in this article, is fire.  Distilling not only involves the presence of a heat source for heating the wash, but also potentially explosive alcohol vapor and highly flammable ethyl alcohol.  A heat source malfunction, a leaky still, or a spilled jar of high proof moonshine could lead to an out of control fire.  Always have a fire extinguisher handy to put out flames.  Like an oil fire on a stove top, alcohol fueled fires should be put out with a fire extinguisher.  Having a bucket of water on hand is not sufficient.

Use a glass collection vessel

A now experienced moonshiner posted a story from his early days as a distiller on a popular moonshiners forum that describes exactly why moonshine should not be directed into a plastic collection vessel.  The still operator was standing in his kitchen watching shine drip from the condensing arm and noticed that the plastic collection vessel appeared to be melting before his eyes.  He thought that the shine was so strong it instantly started breaking down the plastic and melting it!  That, however, was a dangerously incorrect assumption.  It was definitely some strong shine.  So strong, in fact, that when it caught on fire the flame could not be seen (very high proof moonshine burns with an invisible flame).  The operator grabbed for the plastic bowl and spilled some while attempting to pour it into another container, starting a kitchen fire and burning his hand in the process.  Moral of the story: always use a glass collection vessel.

Direct the finished product well away from your moonshine still

Always use a glass, small mouth collection vessel and place it away from the heat source.  Small mouth collection vessels minimize the amount of alcohol vapor that escapes from freshly distilled product and will also minimize the amount of product that gets spilled in the event that the container of moonshine gets knocked over.  If a container does happen to end up on its side, the further away it is from heat the better.  Also, if distilling over an open fire there is always the risk that an ember will pop off of the fire and land in the collection vessel.  Experienced moonshiners will tell you: always locate collection points at least 10 feet away from any heat source.

Always discard the "foreshots"

One of the risks associated with making and drinking moonshine is creating or getting a hold of a batch that is laced with methanol.  Methanol is a potential byproduct of the fermentation process and its presence in a wash is a legitimate danger.  Fortunately if there is any methanol in a batch of shine, it should boil off before the ethanol because methanol has a lower boiling point.  For this reason, the old time moonshiners would always discard the first bit of shine that comes off of the still.  This part of the run, known as the foreshots, smells like high powered solvent, tastes even worse, and is potentially poisonous. There is absolutely no reason to keep it, so always make sure to discard this portion.

Never sell moonshine

The risks associated with making moonshine don't stop after one has successfully transformed a bushel of corn into a few jars of tasty moonshine.  Always keep in mind that home distilling is illegal unless one has a fuel alcohol permit and selling alcohol is illegal unless one has a federal and state distillers permits.  Whether one chooses to navigate the permitting process or not is their own business, but we suggest that you retain the proper permits.  Permitting laws vary from state to state, but in most cases a distillers permit is too cumbersome and expensive for the average moonshiner.  That said, if one does not have a permit to sell whiskey, they should not sell whiskey.  We've never heard a story about the casual moonshiner getting a knock on the door from ATF or ABC agents, but a simple Google search will produce dozens of stories about "for profit" moonshiners getting busted for selling illegal liquor.  In most states selling moonshine is a very serious offence that could result in thousands of dollars in fines and jail time.  The easiest way to avoid becoming the target of a federal raid is to NEVER SELL MOONSHINE.  

Make sure you have the proper permits for distilling

Thanks to prohibition era laws and other legal precedents set in the early 1900's, the only way to legally distill at home is to possess proper state and federal permits.  There is only one federal distilling permit that needs to be obtained and it can be found.  State permits vary from place to place.  In North Carolina, for example, one must possess a distillers permit or a fuel alcohol permit, both of which can be found here.  For information on distilling laws and required permits for a particular state, try searching for "distilled spirits" and "fuel alcohol" in state general statutes, which can usually be found online.

How Much Moonshine Will a Still Produce?

We often get questions like these: "How much moonshine will 5 gallons of mash make?" and "How much moonshine will be produced by a 10 gallon still?" The answer is simple: it all depends on starting alcohol and final proof. In this article we'll explain how to determine how much alcohol to expect from a run.

For the instant gratification seekers in the crowd, here's the short answer:

• A 1 gallon run will yield 3-6 cups of alcohol
• A 5 gallon run will yield 1-2 gallons of alcohol
• A 10 gallon run will yield 2-4 gallons of alcohol

For the researchers, science nerds, alchemists, and truth seekers, here's why:

Starting Alcohol

Starting alcohol can vary significantly, having a big impact on the final yield. Starting alcohol is generally expressed as "alcohol by volume" or ABV and it can vary greatly from one batch of shine to the next. It's simply the percentage of alcohol in a solution of alcohol wash. For example a 10 gallon wash that contains 1 gallon of pure alcohol will have an ABV of 10%. The higher the starting alcohol, the higher the potential yield.

The starting alcohol of a wash is dependent on two things: the amount of fermentable sugar produced by the mash, or added in lieu of making a mash, and the type of yeast used.

Fermentable sugar

Fermentable sugar is exactly what it sounds like - the amount of sugar available to be eaten by yeast that can later be turned into alcohol. If there isn't very much sugar then there won't be much alcohol. However, too much sugar is wasteful. The amount of sugar needed depends on the recipe, the size of the batch, and the potential alcohol production by the yeast. Though, in general, the more fermentable sugar there is in the mash, the higher the potential starting alcohol and the higher the yield.

Yeast

The type of yeast used is very important as well. Bread yeast (the kind that can be purchased at a grocery store) will produce starting alcohol in the 10% range, whereas a strong distillers yeast may produce starting alcohol as high as 20%. This is due to two factors. First, distillers yeast has been bread to withstand higher concentrations of ambient alcohol. Where a bread yeast might die off once starting alcohol has reached 10 or 12%, a distillers yeast will still thrive, and will do so until ambient alcohol has increased to a much higher level (20% or so). Second, some distillers yeasts are packaged with loads of yeast nutrients i.e. Turbo 24, 48, etc. This can actually be a bad thing, as the excess nutrients contained in turbo yeasts can cause off flavors in the final product.

In short, good yeast will allow for a higher starting alcohol and a greater final yield without producing off flavors.

Final Proof

Final proof can also have a significant impact on yield. If 10 gallons (with a starting alcohol of 10 gallons) is distilled, the amount of pure alcohol collected will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 gallon. However, the collected spirit won't be 100% pure (200 proof). It usually gets proofed down to somewhere around 100 proof, or 50% pure alcohol. While the total amount of alcohol collected remains the same, there is now twice as much "product" and the "yield" is doubled. The higher the final proof, the lower the final yield, the lower the final proof, the higher the final yield.

Collection efficiency

One final note is that all of the alcohol produced during fermentation will not be collected during the run. Generally only about 85 or 90% is collected because it takes too much time and energy to get the last little bit...and it isn't the good stuff anyway. For example, if there is 1 gallon of pure alcohol in a wash and it is distilled with a collection efficiency of 85%, then .85 gallons will be collected.

Here are a few examples of yields that one might expect when running 1, 5, or 10 gallon batches:

• A 1 gallon run with a starting alcohol of 10%, a final proof of 100, and a collection efficiency of 85% will yield 2.72 cups.
• A 1 gallon run with a starting alcohol of 20%, a final proof of 100, and a collection efficiency of 85% will yield 5.44 cups.
• A 5 gallon run with a starting alcohol of 10%, a final proof of 100, and a collection efficiency of 85% will yield .85 gallons.
• A 5 gallon run with a starting alcohol of 20%, a final proof of 100, and a collection efficiency of 85% will yield 1.7 gallons.
• A 10 gallon run with a starting alcohol of 10%, a final proof of 100, and a collection efficiency of 85% will yield 1.7 gallons.
• A 10 gallon run with a starting alcohol of 20%, a final proof of 100, and a collection efficiency of 85% will yield 3.4 gallons.

State Distilling Laws

Is it legal to make moonshine in your state?

If you are considering making your own moonshine whiskey, it would be a very good idea to make sure your state allows it. The thing to keep in mind is that there are federal and state laws regarding home distilling. Click here for a good summary of federal distillation laws. For state laws, see the list below. It's currently not a very big list, but we'll add to it as we have time. 

Also, we know a lot about distilling, but we ain't lawyers. Please don't call or email us to ask about your state, because we will NOT able to help you! Sorry!

Is it legal to make moonshine in...

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Guam

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Northern Marianas Islands

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Puerto Rico

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Virgin Islands

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Moonshine and Blindness

We get a lot of questions about how to distill safely. One of the most frequent questions we get is "can moonshine make you blind?" The short answer is this: when made in small batches while following a few simple safety precautions, moonshine will NOT cause blindness, death, or even a bad hangover. 

In the article below we'll explain what could cause moonshine to make someone go blind and we'll also explain how to be absolutely, positively, 100% sure that this won't happen.

Methanol Toxicity

Methyl alcohol (methanol) is the bad stuff that could be found in moonshine. Pure methanol is very dangerous and it is definitely able to cause blindness and even kill people. As little as 10 ml of pure methanol could blind someone and as little as 30 ml could kill someone. 30 mililiters is equivalent to the amount of liquid in a standard shot glass.

How is Methanol Produced?

Methanol is found naturally in certain fruits and vegetables. It may also be produced as an unintended byproduct during the fermentation process. Spirits distilled from fruits, such as apples, oranges, and grapes, are more likely to contain methanol. Both beer and wine generally contain methanol. Studies have determined that wine can contain as much as 329 mg/L and beer may contain somewhere on the order of 16 mg/L. This makes distilled wine (grappa, brandy, etc.) potentially more dangerous than all grain shine - such as corn whiskey.

Why is Methanol A Concern for Moonshiners?

If wine contains methanol but doesn't pose a risk of methanol poisoning then why is it potentially dangerous to drink once distilled? The difference is that the methanol concentration in, say, 5 gallons of wine, is evenly distributed among the 5 gallons. For someone to ingest a potentially dangerous amount they would need to ingest more than 5 gallons....or 28 bottles! 

During the distillation process methanol is concentrated at the start of the run because it has a lower boiling point than ethanol and water. The boiling point of methanol is approximately 148 degrees farenheit, which is quite a bit lower than ethanol (the good stuff). This means that methanol (148F boiling temp) will start to boil before the ethanol (174F boiling temp). This is why moonshiners always throw out the first bit of shine they produce from each run (more on this below).

Here are a few examples of the dangers of methanol:

• If 5 gallons of wine containing the abovementioned concentration of methanol (329mg/L) were distilled, there could be as much as 8 mL of methyl alcohol in the first jar - a potentially dangerous amount.
• Scale this up to a 100 gallon batch, distilled all at the same time in a large still, and you could potentially have a very big problem if the methanol was not discarded. Distilling 100 gallons of wine containing 329 mg/L of methanol could result in the concentration of 40ml of methanol, which could be fatal if someone drank it all at once.

How to Remove Methanol from Moonshine

One way to determine the presence of methanol is to monitor still temperature. If anything is produced by the still before wash temperature reaches 174 degrees, it's methanol. Discard it. Again, methanol boils at a lower temperature than ethanol and will concentrate at the beginning of distillation runs. Additionally, experienced distillers have determined that simply discarding a standard amount per batch, based on batch size, is enough to keep things safe. The rule of thumb is to discard 1/3 of a pint jar for every 5 gallons of wash being distilled.

How much initial product to discard:

• 1 gallon batch - discard the first 2/3 of a shot glass
• 5 gallon batch - discard the first 1/3 of a pint jar
• 10 gallon batch - discard the first 3/4 of a pint jar

Regardless of still temp, it's a good idea to always follow this rule of thumb. Methanol or not, the first stuff to come off the still tastes and smells like rubbing alcohol. It's by far the worst stuff in the entire run and it isn't going to impress anyone. If you drink it, it might not kill you or make you go blind, but it'll surely contribute a fair amount towards a nasty hangover.

Thanks for reading and happy distilling! For more safety tips, check out the 10 most important safety tips for moonshiners.

Good moonshine doesn't need help from mixers, but we recently heard about a crazy drink made with pickle juice and hot sauce. Well, it's not normally made with hot sauce, but we couldn't resist adding some. It's called a pickleback, and it's pretty darn good.

Ingredients:

1 part moonshine

1 part pickle juice

A couple drops of "O" face hot sauce. 

Last summer we went a little crazy with food preservation. Countless evenings and weekends were spent canning, pickling, and freezing. Our goal was to make enough grub to sustain us through the entire winter and we have an entire deep freezer full of food to prove it. We also have an abundance of canned pickles, roasted tomatoes, and jam...oh, and moonshine...we've got a bit of that too!

What better way to fully enjoy the fruits of our labor than by mixing up a drink made entirely from homemade ingredients. Moonshine and pickle juice doesn't seem like it'd be a great combination, but what the hell, we figured we'd give it a shot. As it turns out, the pickleback ain't too bad.

Know Your Rights - Moonshine Laws

Unless the thought of digging ditches with chains around your ankles is appealing, you better read this article on the legalities of making moonshine very closely. There are federal and state laws regulating home distilling. To avoid trouble with the revenooers and your local sheriff, it is best to follow both sets of laws. We'll summarize federal laws in this article, which are important to know. However, also be sure to check out laws regulating distillation for your state.

Federal Distillation Laws

Federal law states that it is legal to own a still of any size. It doesn't matter if you have a 1 gallon still or a 100 gallon still. According to the feds, it is legal to have a still for decoration, distilling water, distilling essential oils, etc. The still does not need to be registered with anyone and no permits are needed. However, it is illegal to distill alcohol without having either a "distilled spirits permit" or a "federal fuel alcohol permit." It does not matter if the alcohol is for personal use only, not for sale, etc. 

Also, we'd like to take this opportunity to correct some misinformation reported by "ehow.com," which is a website dedicated to scraping high quality, original content from other sites and repackaging it in poorly written, thinly researched, trash. Sorry if we seem a bit worked up, but sites like "ehow" exist solely to steal information from original content creators and make money from ad revenue, which diminishes the power of the web by putting spam roadblocks between individuals who seek good information and the accurate information they seek.

A recent "ehow" article on distilling suggests that only stills 1 gallon and smaller are legal. This is simply not true. The actual law merely states that stills 1 gallon or less are not tracked by the TTB (see more on this below). However, this does not mean that larger stills cannot be owned. As we mentioned above, there is absolutely no federal restriction on owning a still larger than 1 gallon. Anyone can own any size of still without being in violation of any federal law. Furthermore, the TTB does not necessarily track all stills larger than one gallon. TTB registration, reporting, and information collection is explained below. 

Federal Distilled Spirits & Federal Fuel Alcohol Permit

There are two alcohol distillation permit options to satisfy federal requirements. The first is a Federal Distilled Spirits Permit. This is the permit that industry giants like the Jack Daniels and Makers Mark distilleries possess, which makes it legal for them to distill and distribute to the public. As one might imagine, this permit is very difficult to get.

In short, unless you're opening a distillery with the intention of selling your product in a tasting room or liquor stores, don't even bother looking into getting a distilled spirits permit; it's way to expensive and complicated for a home distiller to obtain. Instead pursue a fuel alcohol permit (which we'll describe next).

The Federal Fuel Alcohol Permit (link below) is free and easy to get. We've never heard of anyone being denied the permit and have never heard of anyone even being checked up on. Just be advised that the feds will expect that you're putting your alcohol in you lawnmower, and not drinking it!

Federal Fuel Alcohol Permit

Here's the link for the federal fuel alcohol permit: http://www.ttb.gov/forms/f511074.pdf If you happen to build a Clawhammer moonshine still kit, you'lll write "owner" in the manufacturer line and make up a serial number (e.g. "001"). List the type as a "pot still with column." The capacity is the size of boiler (i.e. 1 gallon, 5 gallon, 10 gallon, etc...).

Note, if you're not planning to use your still for alcohol you do not need to get a permit or register the still with anyone. Federal rules state that stills only need to be reported / registered if the Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau asks the manufacturer to do so (more on this below). Though, again, if you are using it to distill alcohol, it's best to at least get a fuel alcohol permit so you've got a leg to stand on if anyone ever does come knocking.

State Distillation Laws

State distilling law is different in every state. Some states have no laws on owning a still, but prohibit the distillation of alcohol (such as Colorado, which charges a small fine if one is caught doing so) while other states prohibit possession of a still unless it's for fuel alcohol (such as North Carolina, which requires a state fuel alcohol permit). Some states may prohibit possession of distillation equipment and distilling altogether (we're not aware of any, but it's possible). You'll need to Google the laws in your state.

Still Registration and Reporting

Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau regulations state that still manufacturers need to begin providing customer info, upon request, if asked to do so. This does not include information on past customers. The rules merely state that manufacturers need to begin reporting once asked to do so (which only applies from that point forward).

Clawhammer Supply is NOT required to report customer information. We don't anticipate ever needing to do so either. The TTB only requires manufacturers of finished, functional equipment to report (again, only if asked). They define a still as, "Any apparatus capable of being used for separating alcoholic or spirituous vapors, or spiritous solutions, or spirits, from spirituous solutions or mixtures..." Clawhammer's product is a kit. As it leaves the door from our shop, it's nothing more than a collection of strategically cut flat copper sheet and unassembled pipe. In the condition that it is sold, it's certainly not capable of being used for boiling or separating alcoholic or spirituous vapors.

The bottom line is that Clawhammer Supply manufactures and sells boxes of copper parts. The parts aren't good for much more than scrap unless they're fabricated into something more useful by the purchaser. It's certainly possible, and perhaps even likely, that our kits will be assembled into stills and used to make alcohol....but that's really none of our business. Long story short, we do not have to report customer information. We contacted the TTB several years ago to confirm this, which they did, and we haven't heard from them since.

Click here to read the actual federal laws on the subject of distillation. If you have the time to read the rulings, do so very carefully. Pay attention to the details in part 29. What you'll notice is that manufacturing your own still or purchasing a still in the form of a kit has a LOT of advantages if your goal is to fly under the radar. There is absolutely no legal mandate for parts manufacturers to collect information and there is no requirement for homemade stills to be registered.

Veterans of the distillation world will tell you that a growing trend among commercial mega-distillers is the flavoring of cheaply manufactured neutral grain spirits. Some products are comprised entirely of flavored neutral grain while other products blend neutral grain products with products distilled using traditional methods. Again, coloring agents, sweeteners, and other additives are included to fake the taste of traditionally distilled and aged products. 

Fortunately for the masses, craft distilling is the new craft brewing. The number of micro distilleries in the US more than doubled between 2006 and 2012. With these new entrants into the spirit manufacturing market have come a whole host of new and unique products. Some of the new products have been made using the "new age" methods now described above. However, others have chosen to differentiate themselves by spicing up old fashioned distillation processes with exciting new ingredients. One such example is the Balcones Distillery's "Baby Blue," blue corn whiskey. The ingredients list: 100% atole blue corn.

Before I offer my take, i'll note that Baby Blue has won more than half a dozen awards, including a gold medal at the 2010 American Distilling Institute Whisky Competition. Though, here's my opinion: Baby Blue is fresh, unique, and bold, and every bit of this can be smelled and tasted in the final product. In other words, it's a bit too bold for me. In the words of one critic: "Why this wasn’t left in the barrel for another three or four years is a mystery to me." 

I've honestly tasted much smoother (and better) whiskey made by good ol boys under the light of the moon. I was surprised to learn that it has ranked well in competition and among most critics....but maybe this is why i'm not an expert. Despite the fact that I don't care much for Baby Blue, i'd encourage that you have a taste of some and decide for yourself. I also applaud Balcones for going way out on a limb and making a whiskey comprised solely of truly unique atole blue corn.

Although most folks will just take what they're given, home distillers have the opportunity to buck the system and bypass "government approved" suppliers, making their own high end, traditionally distilled spirits. The beauty of home distilling is that the sky is the limit when it comes to making unique, one of a kind, super small batch whiskeys. If you're interested in making your own blue corn whiskey, we'll give you a head start. Here's a company that sells blue corn seed for a reasonable rate (as far as rare heirloom seed corn goes): Heirloom Acres Seeds. It's about 10 times as expensive as yellow feed corn, but odds are you'll be the only kid on the block with homemade blue corn whiskey, which may just be worth the extra 70 bucks you'll pay for the amount of grain you'll need to make a gallon!

Home distillers everywhere should aspire to the level of quality achieved by the folks at DownSlope Distillers.  These guys really know their stuff and pride themselves on making a great tasting product using traditional, old-world technology and methodologies. They turn their noses up at techniques used by large scale commercial distillers (and even some craft distiller start-ups) including the addition of coloring, sweeteners, and other additives in order to "fake" the results that a good old fashioned copper still, a solid understanding of mashing, fermenting, and distillation fundamentals, and bit of time will produce.

I was lucky enough to attend a distilling class at DownSlope late in 2012.  By "lucky enough," I mean that I had enough "fun money" laying around to be able to afford the $400 fee for the weekend-long workshop. The knowledge I gained on the topic of distilling made it well worth the expense. They move at a pace even novice distillers will be able to keep up with, but are dedicated masters of their craft and are able to answer any question you throw at them. In addition to taking home as much new info on distilling as my brain could handle, I decided to pick up a bottle of some of their best on the way out the door. I grabbed a $37 bottle of Double Diamond.

I admire professional reviewers, and hardcore whiskey fans alike, for their ability to detect and dissect nuances of flavors such as vanilla, agave, anise, tobacco, cherry, vanilla, fruit, pepper, nutmeg, leather, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon....all while assigning number ratings to things such as the nose, mouth, throat, finish, etc.  I know good whiskey when I taste it, but I definitely do not have the ability to spout off an accurate list of subtle flavors (let alone a grocery list of the ingredients) and a scaled rating of nose, etc. That said, my amateur opinion is that Double Diamond is some damn good stuff. Period.

DownSlope is going for a high end Irish Whiskey with this product. Best we can tell, the lion's share of the raw material in the Double Diamond mash is malted barley, and it's rounded out with rye. It is aged for two years in medium toast oak barrels (actually used wine barrels). Their head distiller pays very close attention to the whiskey as it ages.  They rotate the barrels and regularly aerate the whiskey, which they insist produces a smoother final product. 

Double Diamond won 3 silver medals in 2011 and we can see why; it's a very nice whiskey. It's smooth, subtly sweet, provides the perfect amount of flavor, and offers just a tiny bit of spiciness. Our recommendation: go out and get a bottle for yourself. You won't regret it. Also, consider attending one of Downslope's distillation classes.

Organic Alcohol Tincture - Ginger Moonshine

Moonshine ginger tincture - it's not generally what comes to mind when we think of medicine these days.  More common images would be a bottle of pills or a container of commercial cough syrup. Likewise, when we think about moonshine, we're more likely to conjure up images of friends and campfires. However, in the early 1900's moonshine was just as commonly used as medicine as it was a social lubricant and a form of entertainment. In fact, alcohol tinctures were some of the best medicines available for treating common illnesses. 

Alcohol tinctures have been used for generations "to cure what ails ya," as the saying goes. Mountain folk and doctors alike would mix ethyl alcohol (moonshine) with everything from tree bark to american ginseng, ginger, golden seal, honey, and even candy. Candy was used to flavor the alcohol to make it sweet, in the event that it needed to be given to a child to ease a cough. However, tinctures were most often made with native plants known for their medicinal properties. One of the most common tinctures was made with ginger and moonshine.

Wild american ginger is found as far north as Maine, as far South as Georgia, and all the way from the east coast to the great plains. It grows in the shade, beneath dense canopies of deciduous forests.  Ginger leaves are shaped like hearts and its flowers are small, red cups, with three wispy tips. Early American settlers, and many other cultures before them (such as the Native Americans), used ginger as medicine, as well as a spice for foods. Settlers concentrated the potency of ginger's beneficial compounds by soaking it in high proof alcohol. Alcohol is able to dissolve substances which are less soluble in water.  It also acts as a preservative.

The best kind of ginger and alcohol to use in tinctures is organic ginger and organic grain alcohol. Why? Well, if you're taking something because you're sick and you want to get better, it's best to leave out the pesticides, herbicides, and other junk that isn't going to help you feel better. And if you're going to use organic grain alcohol, you better plan on making your own because it'll currently run you more than $100 per gallon (http://bit.ly/Q9zNMJ) to buy!

Modern science has actually proven the validity of many of ginger's traditional medicinal uses. Ginger has been shown to exhibit antibacterial qualities - with the ability to treat staph infections, it is an aid for several types of nausea and digestive issues, and is also a natural anti-inflammatory and can be effectively used to help ease complications and pain associated with many diseases, such as osteoarthritis.

How to make it:

Slice organic ginger roots into quarter inch chunks and fill a glass jar 3/4 full.  Top with 100 proof organic grain alcohol (non-organic will do if you can't get your hands on or make organic) and seal tightly.  Leave it sit and mature for at least 6 months before using.

North Carolina High Country Copper Moonshine Stills

A recent episode of the TV show Moonshiners (on Discovery) featured a "North Carolina High Country Still," which is nothing more than a traditional pot still with a thump keg (or thumper) and a coil condenser (or worm). A lot of folks ask us how our copper moonshine still kits are different from traditional pot stills. The answer to the question is, "not a lot." Clawhammer moonshine still kits were actually modeled after traditional pot stills, such as the North Carolina High Country style shown in this picture.

We love traditional copper stills. Copper looks good and it's easy to work with. However, the best characteristic of copper is that it reduces sulfide content during the distillation process, as alcohol vapors react with boiler, vapor cone, and condenser walls. As a result, the final product should taste better, it will smell better, and you'll feel better the next morning. These are the primary reasons our still kits are made from pure copper.

The difference between Clawhammer stills and high country stills lies is the way our stills improve purity and then condense alcohol vapor back into a liquid. Traditional copper pot stills use a thumper or thump keg to increase proof (improve purity). In the thump keg, the liquid is essentially re-distilled before it is condensed back into a liquid. Because the addition of a thumper effectively distills alcohol twice during one run it's sometimes referred to as a "doubler." Clawhammer stills produce the same effect as a thumper they do so using a different method. Our stills utilize a column that gets packed with pure copper scrubbers. The addition of the scrubbers causes liquid with a higher boiling temperature (i.e. water) to condense out of the vapor before it reaches the top of the column. This means, that as alcohol vapor moves up through the column, it is further purified by the removal of water caused by the temperature difference of the copper packing material.

Another big difference between our stills and North Carolina high country pot stills is the condenser. Clawhammer stills use an inline liebig condenser on the drip arm to turn alcohol vapor back into liquid. Traditional pot stills use a copper coil or a "worm."  Although the worm looks really cool, it isn't necessary and is a fairly inefficient way to condense the alcohol vapor. The addition of a worm requires another vessel for water storage, it uses a lot of material, and it isn't as easy to work with as a liebig condenser. Clawhammer inline condensers are compact and effective. Simply supply the lower side input tap with cold water using a garden hose (straight from a spigot, or from a cool body of water using a small pump) and drain from the top side tap. Trickling water through the condenser is enough to do the trick.  

Here's a video on how to distill using one of our still kits which highlights all of the similarities between traditional copper stills and our copper column stills.