Moonshine, with the mods permission.

[phrebh]

In our local grocery store, I saw an Age Your Own Whiskey kit for about $80. It contained a 750ml bottle of grain alcohol, a small oak casket, and a funnel. It's a neat gift idea, but I can't imagine buying it for myself.

[MT4Runner]

Not my original idea--I saw it here:
http://boozeblogger.com/wordpress/ta...r-own-bourbon/

If you want some, lay it up now. Should be tasty in oh, about 12 years!


If you wanted to make your own blended Scotch whisky, you could probably take a really peaty, smokey single mash, and a really inexpensive blended grain Scotch whisky, mix them and age appropriately.

[kilted hillbilly]

My Grandpaw was a not so legal distiller back in the day, didnt find that out till after he passed. I meself have experemented on the stove top makin some corn likker. BTW, Popcorn Suttons (RIP) Tennesse white whisky should be in stores soon.

[ohiopiper]

If you want to try to age over-the-counter corn whiskey, get ahold of oak barrels than have well fitting covers and bungs. You'll lose enough just through absorption without making more leaks.

Take a propane torch and sear every square inch of the inside of the barrel. This does two things. First, it creates a barrier of less absorbent material between the whiskey and the oak (wood is absorbent) and also creates charcoal, a natural filter. Distilling corn makes Bardy Grease, an oil that can be seen as a rainbow shine on top of white whiskey. Minuscule amounts can give you a headache, a lot can make you start vomitting almost immediately. Charcoal will trap the minute amounts left over after filtering and before barrelling.

Just aging for six months can make a huge difference in a new barrel. Many of the high end whiskeys use barrels previously used to store wine and sherry. Aging for several years imparts some of the residual flavors to the whiskey.


Moonshining is a cool historical artifact to study and learn about. Many people, some without even knowing, have bootleggers and blockade runners in their family tree. But just to be clear, attempting to do it today is foolhardy. Doing it "right way" or "wrong way", it's a crime in every country I can think of and making something fit to drink isn't worth the effort considering the availablility of perfectly legal alcohol.

Another use for moonshine that doesn't get mentioned much is as an ingredient in home remedies. With the advent of modern medicine and over the counter remedies, the need for home made alcohol as a remedy ingredient died out.

It's neat as a historical thing and it was a big part of my family for several generations. But there's no market for the good stuff (commercial and legal is cheaper). Economy of scale is why distilleries like Makers' Mark, Jack Daniels, etc. can be profitable without charging an arm and a leg. When you only make ten gallons of 190-200 proof at a time, you can't compete, even if you had a license and paid taxes, with a 2,500 gallon operation.

Think of it as the James Gang. We all love the old west, but hopefully are smart enough to not start getting delusions and robbing banks.