O'Donnell Moonshine -"Tough Nut" | 700ml | 25% ABV | 50 proof

Product Information

We highly recommend taking down notes throughout your distilling and moonshine-making process so you know what to improve on whenever you start a new batch. Prepping Your Still With a good stilling kit, moonshiners can make anything, even apple pie and chocolate-flavored moonshine! It all depends on the recipe you decide to follow or create. You’ve done the most difficult step in making mash water for your moonshine. Now, you just need to distill your mash water and separate all the alcohol content into a purified form. Making moonshine involves a process called distillation, which is commonly done using a pot still. The distillation process starts with creating a mash, a mixture of corn, sugar, and yeast, which is heated in a large tank or pot. The heat causes the yeast to turn the sugar into alcohol, a process known as fermentation.

Hearts, the next 30%, contain mostly ethanol and are the desirable part of the distillate. Tails, the final 35%, have a unique taste and can be set aside for distillation later or discarded. What is moonshine and what is its history? Once you reach this drip rate, decrease the heat to maintain it. You can usually reach this by dialing it down to the medium setting.Avoid letting your moonshine drip into a plastic container, because this can lace your drink with BPA and may cause other issues. The first thing you’ll need for making moonshine is a mash. This part of the process will depend on the flavor you want. A rough estimate, assuming a 10% alcohol by volume (ABV) in the mash and 85% distillation efficiency, suggests you might obtain around 0.425 gallons of pure ethanol. The term moonshine came from its illegality, which forced people to make it at night or under the light (or shine) of the moon.

Ideally, the pH level should be between 5.8 to 6.0. You can bring the pH down by adding citric acid and bring it up by adding calcium carbonate. Distilling The basic ingredients for making corn moonshine are water, flaked corn maize, crushed malted barley, bread yeast, and optionally, sugar. Moonshine is a distilled alcohol made from any grain or fruit, with corn being the classic choice to produce moonshine. The term “moonshine” originated from its illegal production, which was often done at night or under the moonlight. During the Prohibition era in the U.S., moonshine became one of the most profitable businesses in the country. What are the different types of moonshine mash?You’ll notice there will be a significant drop in the sweetness from the cane sugar. You will even see an oily top layer on your alcohol. This mash is just a mix of the previous two. Many people use this because it is a more convenient and economical mash the achieves something pretty close to the classic taste of moonshine. Remember that the temperature is critical to your success. If it gets too cold, boiling temperature, the fermentation can stop because the yeast will go dormant. Remember that yeast likes it warm and moist. After fermentation, the fermented mash, is strained and distilled to separate the alcohol from the other substances. The distillate is then collected and stored properly. What are the ingredients and equipment needed to make moonshine? Now, you’ve successfully finished making moonshine! All you need to do is collect it with the yield of your distillation equipment. Collecting Foreshots

The next 30% yielded by your distilling process contains mostly ethanol. This is the good stuff you want to collect and store. Use cheesecloth or auto-siphon to transfer the mash water into your still, including none of the solid material that may be leftover. Sugar shine is popular among beginners and those looking to experiment with flavors as it doesn’t require any mash. The hybrid mash replaces some corn with table sugar, allowing for a higher yield with the same amount of corn. Final WordsHow do you increase the proof of your shine? Simply add sugar (not really recommended) or use a thumper keg. Distillation happens when you heat a mix of corn, sugar, and yeast (this mix is called corn mash) in a big tank or pot. The heat causes the yeast to turn the sugar into alcohol, a process known as fermentation. Note that the ingredients we mentioned above will differ, depending on the recipe you follow if you are making something other than the classic corn-barley-yeast moonshine recipe. Equipment and Supplies You Will Need Basic Moonshine Ingredients In the historic run, farmers used this to earn extra money because low-value corn crops could be made into high-value whisky. The U.S. government had a hand in this because of the how much sugar how highly they taxed alcohol.

Here’s what you can expect for the amount of sugar added vs the potential alcohol in your mash. Up to you on how to proceed. Proper Storage They have a distinct “solvent” smell that comes from its alcohols, such as the acetone present in the heads. Again, collect the heads in a separate container and throw it out. Collecting Hearts You need to make sure you still are always clean, even when you’re not using it. This means that even if you cleaned it after the last time you used it, you need to wash it again if you let it sit empty for a while. The tails make up about 35% of your production. They will also have a unique taste from the hearts.Now that you are reaching the end of your product, you will get to the end of the ethanol and hit the last stage: the tails. Some recipes call for a 1:1 ratio. For example, you will use 1 gallon of water to 1 pound of sugar and 1 pound of corn meal. Feel free to experiment and see what works for you! Equipment For Creating the Mash This is critical, especially if you are using copper stills that are showing some salt buildup already. So, before transferring your mash water, make sure you wash and clean your still again.