New Website! "All About Spirits" by Stan & Ada

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Chuckwagon
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New Website! "All About Spirits" by Stan & Ada

Post by Chuckwagon » Thu Dec 06, 2012 22:12

Here`s some great news for those of you who are "home distillers". Our buddy Stan Marianski has started a website about making spirits and it should solve a heck of a lot of problems for many of you. Also, you will be able to gather ideas and discuss options. The new website is called "All About Spirits". Stan has indicated that the photos will all be in color and perhaps best of all.... Stan wrote, "Of course, more material and recipes will be added."
Recipes! Materials! Are you excited yet? I certainly am. This is a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas and gather information. Folks, this is privileged and prized information that you can pass down to the next generation. Let`s not lose it.
Congratulations and thanks again Stan, for sharing your expertise. I still want to know when you have time to sleep! Our best wishes are with you pal and may your new endeavor benefit everyone concerned.
Here is a link to the new site: www.allaboutspirits.com

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
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Post by snagman » Fri Dec 07, 2012 08:21

Hey CW,

It looks like I still lead a charmed life Mate, here I am with a brand new distiller, on a steep learning curve, and this pops up !
Thanks for letting us know about it,
Regards,
Gus
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Post by el Ducko » Sat Dec 08, 2012 06:19

Poke around on their website, and try some of the liqueur recipes. To get started, for alcohol, use either cheap vodka or Everclear. A great starter concoction is something we used to do when we lived closer to the Mexican border- - take a bottle of Oso Negro (really cheap, in those days) vodka, pour about half out into a glass (we used jelly jar glasses in those days), add the peels from two or three oranges (Texas or California, not the pithy Florida ones) and a couple of tablespoons of sugar. (The website has better guidance on sugar amount.) Then top up the bottle with the saved vodka, mix up a "screwdriver" with the leftover vodka, set the bottle aside for a month or so, and... yum!

Once you decide that you like the hobby, then maybe you can go for the distillation, but prepare to get really, really serious about it. (...for example, a chemical engineering degree would be nice.) A batch distillation such as is described can be mis-operated to contaminate your product with methanol (if you retain the fore cut) and fusel oils (higher alcohols, if you retain the last portion of the product). Blindness? Liver disease? Your choice, if you are greedy and don't discard the forecut or "over-cook" the residue.

A note about vodka: In the US, the regulations are such that the only difference among nearly all vodkas is the quality of the water used to dilute them to final strength. Nearly all are grain-based, distilled to azeotropic composition, then diluted with water to the desired strength. Don't believe me? (1) Taste test all you want, or (2) go buy a good gas chromatograph. Years ago, one of the analytical chemists in our group had, for a hobby, analyzing cheap Scotch whiskey and then (usually) drinking it (but sometimes not!). We had a group of Russians in for training, they brought their domestic vodka, and... [to be continued]

Another note about vodka: Do NOT use good Polish potato vodka for any of the listed recipes. Do not make mixed drinks with good Polish vodka. Instead, chill it and drink it "neat"! In this case there IS a taste difference, and it's really good. ...but very subtle.
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Post by crustyo44 » Sat Dec 08, 2012 19:26

Hi,
Just an addition to the Vodka notes for keen members. If you want to make Vodka from Grain, you must use a potstill configuration for the subtle tastes come over.
Just plain Vodka for mixers or a base for liqueurs, I use sugar as the cheapest and quickest way, and distilled in a Reflux still.
The above is only the most basic info, there are hundreds of different still designs to choose from.
Yeasts used have a big infuence on the final taste. Read the Marianski book and Google all the info and you will succeed.
Cheers,
Jan.
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Post by redzed » Sun Dec 09, 2012 21:08

I guess I'll have to get the book, the Marianski section of my library just keeps growing. Will have to decide whether to use the Library of Congress or the Dewey Decimal cataloguing system to organize the holdings.

I have been been distilling alcohol using a water distiller for some time. I modified the heat lower by running the power through a dimmer switch. Since I'm not into bootlegging, it serves me fine. I use the alcohol primarily for making infusions as per Marianski, but they are better better described on this continent as cordials. In Poland they are very popular and known as nalewka (s.), nalewki (pl.), which is a literal translation of infusion.

The Polish WD forum has a separate section on making infusions and is quite lively and informative. I picked up a great deal of info there. This past year I made some excellent "lip-smacking" blackberry and raspberry cordials and started an experiment using dry cranberries.
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Post by JerBear » Sun Dec 09, 2012 21:20

The book's is great, I've had a copy for a few weeks now. Hopefully going to start one or two of the infusion soon... Excited to see what the website will bring.
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Post by unclebuck » Sun Dec 09, 2012 21:59

I grew up on homemade vodka in Saskatchewan. One of my cousins paid for my maternal grandfather's farm by "brewing". He was known far & wide for the quality of his product. I had the opportunity to partake of some "Saskatchewan vodka" last winter. The maker gave me a 2 qt. jar of it, and it scared the bejesus out of me to be carrying it in the back of my pickup. It just happened that I was to pass by my old Catholic private school, which also housed a Benedictine monastery. The Abbot just happens to be a shirt-tail relative of mine. I stopped and asked Fr. Abbot if he would bless the water that came from the well that my grandparents dug when they came to Canada. His first question was, "Is that the same water that our cousin went to jail for twice?" I could not lie, however, Fr. Abbot did not open the jar, blessed it, and put his phone number on the jar lid, just in cast the RCMP stopped me. I gave the jar to my son, who told his buddies that he had over to watch the Grey Cup that he had some "Holy Water", given to him by his father. One of the boys told my son that it probably was water. They found out quite differently, when sleep overtook them before halftime!!!
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Post by Baconologist » Mon Dec 10, 2012 05:06

Beware of the Revenuers! :shock:
Godspeed!

Bob
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Post by jjnurk » Thu Jan 18, 2018 14:39

I've stumbled across this a few days ago. Noticed it's about 5 yrs old and several memebers talking about home distillations and infusions. This is also a passion of mine, the infusion portion anyways, and I have been making several varieties throughout the years, to the point that the local distillery is marketing. I've searched high and low for any legal information on home distillation, whether it's allowed - strickly for home use, quantity, permits, etc. To the disapproval of my wife, this is something I want to start doing. If someone has info, can they share? Gracias!
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Post by redzed » Thu Jan 18, 2018 17:24

It is illegal to distill alcohol in Canada, but these days you will be charged and prosecuted only if you are in the business of making and selling alcohol. Many people distill small amounts for their own use and the police and justice system simply don't pursue them.

http://learntomoonshine.com/is-it-illeg ... -in-canada
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Post by Kijek » Fri Jan 19, 2018 21:24

Chuckwagon Wrote:
Here is a link to the new site: www.allaboutspirits.com


Interesting but you know what really caught my eye, was that bottle of "SPIRYTUS"
I haven't seen that stuff in maybe 40+ years.

Now let me tell you...... that stuff will peel hair back and curl your toes for sure! :lol:
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