Likker bloggin
Les is right, George Dickel Cascade Hollow is good stuff. Had some last night. Pretty good.
And Bob has a photo of legendary moonshiner Popcorn Sutton. And discusses Popcorn’s product. I concur. His moonshine was the smoothest I’ve ever tasted. More on Popcorn here.
May 29th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
I believe Dickel is still being hauled to Louisville in a tank truck to be bottled there. A “Tennessee” Whisky, (Or Whiskey) should be entirely manufactured at the distillery, including bottling. Just my opinion.
Very few Scotch Whiskys or Bourbon Whiskys are bottled at the distillery either, but they should be. Otherwise, how do you know for sure what is in that bottle or where it has been? “Just sayin.”
May 29th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
George Dickel No.12 is one of the best in business. It has cured many an ailment for me. Good stuff!
May 29th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I tend to prefer George Dickel and I’ve purchased many a bottle of their 12 year old whiskey. Their Cascade Hollow product is now on my to do list. As might be suspected I also know just a bit about white whiskey or shine. Many years ago bootleggers produced sour mash whiskey that could be aged, modified to produce a smooth product. Nowadays it’s almost always “sugar whiskey” or a sweet mash product (little grain added.) If so you’ve got to be a real alchemyst to get this whiskey smooth. Also the author of one one article on Popcorn Sutton mentioned 190 to 195 proof whiskey. With a simple still 190 proof (95% etOH) is really, really difficult. 195 proof from a still is impossible.
May 29th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
I hadn’t heard about Popcorn’s death, & I’m saddened. The man was an icon. Hell of a good moonshiner, too, from what I hear.
It’s been years since I drank white liquor, but almost all I ever tasted was smooth. Maybe I just knew the right people.
Not surprised that Knoxnews got the car wrong. Looks like a Fairmont to me, not a Fairlane.
May 29th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
The last ‘shine I drank was extremely smooth, but one couldn’t drink it and breathe at the same time. Though it tasted good, and was smooth it smell like dirty sweat socks and tennis shoes. ๐
May 29th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Straightarrow,
Too many volatiles, I bet. There’s a reason column stills are popular in Europe where home distillation is still perfectly legal in spots. The first product out of a badly configured still is full of chemicals with a higher vapor pressure at whatever temp the reactor.. um, I mean the mash pot, is running at. You either have to toss the first bit or filter it. Acetaldehyde is one, esters another particularly if the feed mix is acidic, lactic acid from cheap or bad yeast, fusel oils from running too hot, metal ions from electrolysis, etc. etc. etc.
(note to agents reading comments: this is knowledge from a chemistry background and fuel production study)
You know, seeing that acetic acid is the oxidatiion result of ethanol, there are processes (search for reducing carboxylic acids) for, in simplified terms, making booze from vinegar. Then again, the reducing agents and solvents used could either kill you or get you tagged as a drug lab.
Other note: Quicklime will dessicate the azeotrope, and another distillation will get you as close to anhydrous ethanol as you’ll want to try getting to. You may not even need to go that far, the reaction product is slaked lime in solution, bubbling dry CO2 through for a while would precipitate all that as carbonate. Proof of concept of course ๐