stone
Full Member
Posts: 996
First Name: Jeff
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Post by stone on May 31, 2019 15:57:01 GMT -5
The below is a picture of the still which sits on a shelf in my hunting camp. There is a great story that goes with it; read on if you wish.
To fully appreciate this you have to understand that I grew up waaaaaaay out in the woods of Pennsylvania. When I was a youngster of 6 or 7, my mother was in the hospital having my sister and my grandmother came to baby-sit me. One of those days created a memory which will last my life time and has since spawn several other good memories. My grandmother was a pistol and she was a wildcat, all 95 pounds of her! She was drawing a picture for me of how to build a still when my dad came home from work. The explosion that ensued from my dad was what created the memory; he was infuriated with his mother for doing such a thing with a precocious youngster. My memory was of dad giving Grammy hell!
About 15 years ago I told this story to my best friend and I said that, someday, I would build a still and if all I produced was enough to have a sip in memory of my grandmother I would be happy. He had one of his contractors from Kentucky build this still and he and I made some horrible vodka. Having done enough research to know that you are never supposed to drink the first batch because it contains all the toxins from the inside of the copper vessel, we debated what to do with the first quart. Having sat by a fire all day drinking beer and smoking cigars, and not knowing if what we had produced was really alcohol, I decided to throw it on the fire.....from a distance.
When you throw a quart of 190 proof vodka on a fire, from a wide mouth mason jar, it makes lots of pretty colors; at least that's what the neighbors told us 
We distilled several more batches and then distilled those a few more times and by the time we had done it five times it was similar to the worst vodka you've ever drank but I know my grandmother was laughing her butt off watching us 
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Post by toshtego on May 31, 2019 16:16:15 GMT -5
I like your still.
I ran one here for a few years. Turning corn liquor into a herbal "remedy". Here is an empty bottle with my label:
I had a lot of fun with different mash formulas. All quite drinkable owing to my method of distillation.
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garydh2000
New Member
Posts: 67 
First Name: Gary
Favorite Pipe: Not sure
Favorite Tobacco: Ever changing of late
Location:
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Post by garydh2000 on May 31, 2019 16:32:58 GMT -5
The below is a picture of the still which sits on a shelf in my hunting camp. There is a great story that goes with it; read on if you wish.
To fully appreciate this you have to understand that I grew up waaaaaaay out in the woods of Pennsylvania. When I was a youngster of 6 or 7, my mother was in the hospital having my sister and my grandmother came to baby-sit me. One of those days created a memory which will last my life time and has since spawn several other good memories. My grandmother was a pistol and she was a wildcat, all 95 pounds of her! She was drawing a picture for me of how to build a still when my dad came home from work. The explosion that ensued from my dad was what created the memory; he was infuriated with his mother for doing such a thing with a precocious youngster. My memory was of dad giving Grammy hell!
About 15 years ago I told this story to my best friend and I said that, someday, I would build a still and if all I produced was enough to have a sip in memory of my grandmother I would be happy. He had one of his contractors from Kentucky build this still and he and I made some horrible vodka. Having done enough research to know that you are never supposed to drink the first batch because it contains all the toxins from the inside of the copper vessel, we debated what to do with the first quart. Having sat by a fire all day drinking beer and smoking cigars, and not knowing if what we had produced was really alcohol, I decided to throw it on the fire.....from a distance.
When you throw a quart of 190 proof vodka on a fire, from a wide mouth mason jar, it makes lots of pretty colors; at least that's what the neighbors told us
We distilled several more batches and then distilled those a few more times and by the time we had done it five times it was similar to the worst vodka you've ever drank but I know my grandmother was laughing her butt off watching us
Great story! |
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Post by mgtarheel on May 31, 2019 17:33:21 GMT -5
Great story Jeff, thanks for sharing.
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Post by trailboss on May 31, 2019 17:34:30 GMT -5
A pretty cool grandma!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2019 17:45:59 GMT -5
A great story, thanks for sharing. Your STILL made out of all copper must have made a few good batches of hooch you enjoyed with friends👍👍. I like it’s portability!!!
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Post by pepesdad1 on May 31, 2019 19:19:55 GMT -5
Had some great corn when I was up in Ky. Old feller made it....s t r o n g was the word...gave it to my mechanic...he loved the stuff...maybe when I go back I can bring him some more...not sure how I would get it back, though.
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Post by kxg on Jun 1, 2019 0:01:15 GMT -5
Great story! My high school chemistry teacher was from Kentucky. When we were learning about distillation, he brought out his recipe for sour mash and demonstrated the process in the storage closet of the lab. He only let us sample a sip, but it was smooth and powerful. I’m pretty sure that would be frowned on today!
Interestingly, my first job out of college was at a natural gas processing plant with several distillation columns. I had no trouble understanding the process.
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Post by Legend Lover on Jun 2, 2019 10:18:09 GMT -5
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Post by sperrytops on Jun 2, 2019 13:32:51 GMT -5
The below is a picture of the still which sits on a shelf in my hunting camp. There is a great story that goes with it; read on if you wish.
To fully appreciate this you have to understand that I grew up waaaaaaay out in the woods of Pennsylvania. When I was a youngster of 6 or 7, my mother was in the hospital having my sister and my grandmother came to baby-sit me. One of those days created a memory which will last my life time and has since spawn several other good memories. My grandmother was a pistol and she was a wildcat, all 95 pounds of her! She was drawing a picture for me of how to build a still when my dad came home from work. The explosion that ensued from my dad was what created the memory; he was infuriated with his mother for doing such a thing with a precocious youngster. My memory was of dad giving Grammy hell!
About 15 years ago I told this story to my best friend and I said that, someday, I would build a still and if all I produced was enough to have a sip in memory of my grandmother I would be happy. He had one of his contractors from Kentucky build this still and he and I made some horrible vodka. Having done enough research to know that you are never supposed to drink the first batch because it contains all the toxins from the inside of the copper vessel, we debated what to do with the first quart. Having sat by a fire all day drinking beer and smoking cigars, and not knowing if what we had produced was really alcohol, I decided to throw it on the fire.....from a distance.
When you throw a quart of 190 proof vodka on a fire, from a wide mouth mason jar, it makes lots of pretty colors; at least that's what the neighbors told us
We distilled several more batches and then distilled those a few more times and by the time we had done it five times it was similar to the worst vodka you've ever drank but I know my grandmother was laughing her butt off watching us
Great story, Jeff. |
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Post by Scott W on Jun 2, 2019 14:21:03 GMT -5
I so need one of these! Awesome story btw, thank you for sharing
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