Anybody Have Experience Making Whiskey

Printable View

21-11-2009, 08:50 PM
BillyBobThai

Anybody Have Experience Making Whiskey

I am considering, as a hobby, the making of whiskey from corn and rice here in Thailand. I know that is probably not a kosher thing, as far as the BIB are concerned, but will only be doing it as a hobby at home. Having never made whiskey before, but have done a lot of research on the topic, I would like to talk to someone who has done it before. BG, I understand that your bro-in-law was making some at one point, but stopped due to high taxiation. What I am looking for is a recipie for the finished product, after it has been distilled.

Thanks in advance.

Billy Bob
21-11-2009, 09:18 PM
blackgang

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyBobThai

finished product, after it has been distilled.

after it has been distilled, it is a finished product here, they like it young.
Yea, and even have the whole still for sale if you interested, Bro will show you how it is done and the whole 9 yards.
Fact I think he has the corn mill too, did have unless he has got rid of it.
21-11-2009, 09:32 PM
blackgang

https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
22-11-2009, 12:18 AM
the dogcatcher

Distillation by freezing is great. My old man used to make barley wine, Then i showed him distill by freezing and he spent 10 years pissed.
22-11-2009, 12:22 AM
Happyman

Find an expat who works for Aramco in Saudi and ask him to send a copy of 'the Blue Book'
My copy is so worn out and thumbed that It won't scan - otherwise it would be on its way right now !
22-11-2009, 08:44 AM
Perota

My uncle started making alcohol when he retired and I helped him from time time when my busy schedule as a student permitted (actually I was much more interested in consumption than production). He was making fruit alcohol (pear, prune, ...)

The theory is no rocket science. But even with a boiler / cooling system made by a professional, it took us more than a year to get a "quality" product. From the quality of what you're going to distilled to the "cooking" time, temperature, ... it takes a lot of fine tuning before making something that is actually drinkable. And based on my own experience, I strongly advise you against drinking the hot alcohol straight from the distiller ...

And same as BG, after it has been distilled, it was a finished product that we bottled almost right away. Maybe you should start like that before thinking about aging a product you're not so sure about the quality.
22-11-2009, 09:03 AM
blackgang

One week on a pack horse bringing it from the still to market in small wooden kegs will age it about 4 years, best way is to use as ballast in kegs abaord a sailing ship.
22-11-2009, 10:55 AM
chitown

That is quite big. I pictured it to look like Hawkeye Pierce's set up in his Mash 4077 tent. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackgang

https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
22-11-2009, 11:33 AM
blackgang

It was a commercial operation, he was just fucking around there trying to get a batch of corn to try.
22-11-2009, 02:11 PM
DrAndy

Quote:

Originally Posted by the dogcatcher

Distillation by freezing is great. My old man used to make barley wine, Then i showed him distill by freezing and he spent 10 years pissed.

yes, it's an easy and safe way to get drunk

Home Distillation of Alcohol (Homemade Alcohol to Drink)
22-11-2009, 02:13 PM
DrAndy

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyBobThai

What I am looking for is a recipie for the finished product, after it has been distilled.

as has been said above, that is the finished alcohol, but not the finished product

most distilleries the age the alcohol in a variety of ways to add flavour and take off the raw edges

3 years in a nice oak barrel is a minimum, 10 is better!

another way is putting various fruits and objects in the drink, to take off the edges
15-12-2009, 09:47 PM
Larn

Happyman your excellent book "The Blue Flame" is online at expats.org.uk Do a quick search and you'll find it. (I'd post the link but not sure if it's allowed)
15-12-2009, 10:01 PM
sabang

Theres kits and things to make your own hooch. Theres flavourings and things to copy iconic brands. These would have to be smuggled. In this country you embark at your own risk, because if you are sprung you're anyones bitch.

I knew an old guy that did it in the Adelaide Hills. He did OK- I caught him out when he tried to pass off a hooch as Hennessey (which I happen to know) that turned out nothing like it. It is a worthy hobby, but you carry the risk. Gov't does not smile on that which deprives it of excise.
15-12-2009, 10:25 PM
jandajoy

We have a couple of local, in house/village illegal distilleries.

40 bht a litre for fresh.

We have 2-3 liter demijohns, fill em with hooch and add stuff.

To date;

Oranges studded with coffee beans, leave it a month, delicious.

Basil, pretty good.

Mint, very good

Pomello, not very good.

Lime, Ok but it was nothing special.

Banana, surprisingly good

Tap tim - No, I don't know what this is - small, white fruity sweet things with a pip. BLOODY LOVELY.

The longer you leave it the better it is.

Happy Christmas. :)
16-12-2009, 12:44 AM
Happyman

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larn

Happyman your excellent book "The Blue Flame" is online at expats.org.uk Do a quick search and you'll find it. (I'd post the link but not sure if it's allowed)

Thanks !
I am not a religeous man BUT THAT BOOK WAS OUR BIBLE :smileylaughing:
16-12-2009, 01:05 AM
Happyman

Larn

Just downloaded it and printing a new copy :) - thanks

a couple of additions that we used were-

leave the still running all day while you were at work using a 500W industrial soldering iron as the heat source and the tap dribbling through the condenser

Make magic coconuts !
Get a young coconut from the market
Punch out one of the three soft bits in the shell
Put in a spoonful of sugar and a spoonful of baking yeast
Leave it in a warm place for a week or so
Drain the muck out of it through a coffee filter paper
Run it through the still at least 2 times

MALIBU !!

With orange juice and ice it was a life saver !!

5 coconuts would produce about a litre

:)
21-02-2010, 01:25 PM
fridgemagnet

Why bother with all this (unless a product with flavour is required).
You can buy Ethyl acetate from a chemical supply company (no duty on this). Hydrolise this (split off a water molecule) with Sodium hydroxide (soda fy - drain cleaner), and you get pure Ethyl alcohol.
Still got to distill it off from the excess NaOh, but you get no Methanol, or other crap that is poisonous - fusel oil etc.
Of course I'm not suggesting that anyone should break the laws of this country, just another way to skin a chicken, for your entertainment only.
21-02-2010, 02:00 PM
aging one

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happyman

Find an expat who works for Aramco in Saudi and ask him to send a copy of 'the Blue Book' My copy is so worn out and thumbed that It won't scan - otherwise it would be on its way right now !

grew up in Abqaiq and remember my dads still well. One guy made bourbon, another scotch, and another gin. Those were the days.
21-02-2010, 02:43 PM
Happyman

We had a Somerset lad on our site.
Used to buy all the semi rotten apples from the market
Made really rough 'scrumpy'
2 passes through my soldering iron still

Finest Normandy Calvados :)
21-02-2010, 03:21 PM
highlander

now calvados sounds good, also appelkorn is worth a go any of you guys know how this kind of stuff is made ?.:mid:

scotty
21-02-2010, 04:21 PM
nidhogg

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyBobThai

I know that is probably not a kosher thing, as far as the BIB are concerned,

I'd probably worry less about the BiB, and more about the local bootleggers. Very small scale wold probably not bother them, but if they felt you were stepping on their toes, it might get ugly.

...also be aware that you leave yourself open to be dobbed in by any local rat bag with a grudge against you (real or imagined).
23-02-2010, 10:38 PM
Deris

I don't have any experience making wiskey but I do have some experience drinking it. I have done the pilot beer brew thing though. Hope to see you progress on this and see some pictures of your brew.
24-02-2010, 01:46 PM
SunTzu

Quote:

Originally Posted by jandajoy

Oranges studded with coffee beans, leave it a month, delicious.

Basil, pretty good.

Mint, very good

Pomello, not very good.

Lime, Ok but it was nothing special.

Banana, surprisingly good

Tap tim - No, I don't know what this is - small, white fruity sweet things with a pip. BLOODY LOVELY.

The longer you leave it the better it is.

Happy Christmas. :)

just would add some of my favorites :
- lemongrass + citrus leaves + cinnamon
- thyme + laurel (not too much)
- oranges + cloves
- kiwis

Add lots of sugar. If you add agrumes, find them untreated and leave the skin, otherwise tasteless. :)

Does anyone know where to find rhum ? The real one, from sugarcane... I'm amazed that it's so hard to come by when they grow so much of the stuff.
22-05-2010, 05:07 PM
Matte

Like sang som, you mean?
22-05-2010, 10:14 PM
jandajoy

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunTzu

Add lots of sugar.

Disagree on the sugar.

A bit to taste, OK.

Lots and you're looking at major head ache land, IME.
04-06-2010, 03:36 PM
the dogcatcher

Quote:

Originally Posted by Medona

I have no experience to making whiskey.I think it is harmful for health.

Can be if you pull the alcohol off at the wrong temperature.
15-06-2010, 07:17 AM
roger77

If you use banana for flavour, how much banana per litre ????
28-06-2010, 10:07 PM
rken

Quote:

Originally Posted by the dogcatcher

Distillation by freezing is great. My old man used to make barley wine, Then i showed him distill by freezing and he spent 10 years pissed.

Thats a great Idea. Alchohol doesn't freez until long after the water. think I'll give that one a try. Fermenting is the easy part, its the distilling that is the chore.:smileylaughing:
27-07-2010, 01:42 AM
jaywalker

Ultimate Extractor

Have a look at brewhaus.com

Those guys were GREAT at helping me get thru my years in Kuwait.

USED to be the idiots never x-rayed anything at the APO (Army post office) so we smuggled away whilst the smuggling was good.

Anyhow, smuggling aside, I got a one of the brewhaus.com Essential Extractor High capacity stills. It worked like a champ!

Trust me, it's waaaaaay too much of a pain to make enough of it to sell, so no worries about angering any local bootleggers.

Then again, I guess that depends on how much you drink.

It is a great hobby though.

The brewhaus.com guys have NO problem labeling your equipment as "cooking equipment" (which is exactly what it is) on the customs forms. They'll also ship the stack separately from the pot.

Turbo yeast and activated carbon and an alcoholometer are critical ingredients/tools.

Activated carbon----------get a brand new plastic gas/petrol can....one with an expandable plastic neck, dump a kilo or so of the activated carbon powder into said gas can, mix water with the 95% pure alcohol that spits out of the still & get it down to 80 proof (40 percent) or so, then pour that into the gas can.

It filters better when diluted, plus that pure stuff eats away at normal plastic (hence the use of a chemical resistant plastic gas can to start with).

Get some cotton balls/cotton wool, and jam it into the expandable plastic gas can neck. This is your filter that will separate your booze from the activated carbon powder.

The longer you allow your booze to soak in the gas can (slosh it around every so often), the more it soaks, the more it will have a very clean vodka taste, though a very fast run will do wonders as well.

Just lay the gas can on its side so it will drip into another container.

PM me with any questions.

I ran this puppy for 5 years & got quite good with it.

Jay
29-07-2010, 03:45 PM
kristyle

hello,
i have never made whiskey before, but i have made rice wine..but at last, i failed..
16-10-2010, 12:41 AM
bazzersomjai

flash

Hi There.
I worked for Aramco for quite a number of years and most of us guys had a pot still converted from a pressure cooker. This process takes about an hour if you have the right tools and to make a cooling coil a furthure half an hour.
The Aramco book is called the blue flame and gives yo all the deyails of how to distill alcohol.
Despite all the answers you have recieved the process of making ester/fusel oil free alcohol(thats what give you the headheador handover) is relatively easy having made 100's of gallons of the stuff myself.
Get a 100 litre plastic bin.
50kg's of sugar
one kilo of yeast.
Mixe all the ingrediants in the bin and fill with 50% of the bins capacity with water. You will realise why after a day.
When the froth has died down fill the bin to the 100 litres.
Leave for around ten to twelve days until the fermentation is complete. The signs are no more bubbles coming of the MASH.(PS KEEP THE MASH IN A WELL VENTILLATE AREA AS IT BELCHES OUT LOTS OF CO2)
Once the fermentation is complete youu are ready to rock and roll.
Do not listen to some of the other comments about activated carbon and how the alcohol melts the plastic thats a load of bollocks.
Email me on my personnel email and I will send you details on how to convert a pressure cooker or hoe to fabricate a still plus a cooling coil and most imprtnt the running temps.
bazzersomjai46[at]hotmail.com
PS even in Thailand this is illegal.
16-10-2010, 12:44 AM
bazzersomjai

flash
Hi There.
I worked for Aramco for quite a number of years and most of us guys had a pot still converted from a pressure cooker. This process takes about an hour if you have the right tools and to make a cooling coil a furthure half an hour.
The Aramco book is called the blue flame and gives yo all the deyails of how to distill alcohol.
Despite all the answers you have recieved the process of making ester/fusel oil free alcohol(thats what give you the headheador handover) is relatively easy having made 100's of gallons of the stuff myself.
Get a 100 litre plastic bin.
50kg's of sugar
one kilo of yeast.
Mixe all the ingrediants in the bin and fill with 50% of the bins capacity with water. You will realise why after a day.
When the froth has died down fill the bin to the 100 litres.
Leave for around ten to twelve days until the fermentation is complete. The signs are no more bubbles coming of the MASH.(PS KEEP THE MASH IN A WELL VENTILLATE AREA AS IT BELCHES OUT LOTS OF CO2)
Once the fermentation is complete youu are ready to rock and roll.
Do not listen to some of the other comments about activated carbon and how the alcohol melts the plastic thats a load of bollocks.
Email me on my personnel email and I will send you details on how to convert a pressure cooker or hoe to fabricate a still plus a cooling coil and most imprtnt the running temps.
bazzersomjai46[at]hotmail.com
PS even in Thailand this is illegal
16-10-2010, 04:23 PM
DrAndy

you can see lots of villagers making Lao Kao

just use a different brew for whiskey