UJSM - good American Whiskey?

[Nardy]

So recently I've been educating myself on American Whiskeys. I've always kinda been a rum man and my stilling days so far have been focused on making and ageing a good molasses wash rum.

Now that I have been trying a few nice american whiskeys, I want to try make some. I've seen over the last year or so plenty of mention of UJSM and everyone seems to like the stuff. My question is - have you guys that make the stuff come up with anything that you would rate as good or better than in the shop. You know, something quite quaffable like Maker's Mark or a decent Wild Turkey?

I'm keen to give it a go and will, just wanted to know what sort of luck the rest of you have had.

[emptyglass]

UJSM is the stuff that angels and me drink (don't tell the angels, they'll want it back)

Its seriously good stuff.

Might have to be a bit more careful with cuts to get the right flavor you want, and there is tricks to finnishing it. By that I mean, if you want a JD style, some charcoal in the aging jars helps, if you want gobble gobble (wild turkey), dilute to drinking strength before aging, if you want better than JB, just drink it straight from the still :laughing-rolling:
Throw some malted berley in there and you have a nice reproduction of Jamisons
Add some rye, and, well, you get rye whiskey (sort of).

Anyway, I don't think you can go wrong giving it a go. Its also one of the most economical recipies you will find.
Who wants to be a rum runner, when you can be a moonshiner.

But you can only call it moonshine if it was made outdoors under a full moon.

[kiwikeg]

Yep its good, fun economical recipe. its good wash for me cause it will sit under air lock and wait if I get called away for out of town work for a few days/weeks. I really like it white and also with age on oak chips.
Try the classic all corn ujsm first then muck around with trying differant grains.
I think the closest taste match once aged and oaked is Jim Beam Choice Green Label but my UJSM is better.

[Nardy]

Cheers for the responses guys, good to know. Anyone else agree/disagree?

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[bt1]

Hello nardy,

The straight corn UJSM is a little sweet imho, but remains very drinkable. It main plus for me is it turns/ages quickly and is a good fast turn round.

More varied grain bills tend to take more time to develop to bring the best characteristics forward. 3 + grains and its harder to know what taste comes to the fore at what point in time.

Rye is a good example off the still as a UJSM is very avg... but 6 - 12months later after timbering it really is worth the wait. It really is case of a few reads to get ahead on a specific wash bill so you avoid time wasted in the learning curve, gaining an understanding of what the end product was like.
Pick a style and push the limits, base wash, then slight variations in bill...see what you like.

Mostly enjoy the process and be patient...it's very satisfying to develop a bill you really like.

cheers
bt1

[olcarguy]

One trick to ujsm is that it gets better after the forth generation. It's about that time that the sour flavours start to appear, depending on how long you plan on continuing with this recipe it is a good idea to rinse off the good corn in the trub and restart. It has not been my experience but it is supposed to prevent some undesirable bacteria from growing.....Try with sweet horse feed for different flavour.

[Nardy]

Well, I went to the produce store today and picked up some cracked corn. I now have 50L of ujsm bubbling away...

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[Nardy]

Ran a strip run of that 50L UJSM on Thursday night (after 4 days fermenting), all stripped into a spare 50L keg and then used the backset to kick off the 2nd gen 50L ferment, topped up with fresh corn. Put the spent corn on my vege garden, which I dug in today - it fucken reaked.

Will run the 2nd gen strip Monday/Tuesday and get the 3rd going.

Do you guys save up all strips or do you put the 1st gen strip in with the 2nd gen wash and strip together?

[kiwikeg]

Hi I save my low wines up in 25l kegs and run diluted to approx 40% with wash for the final spirit run.
you may find the corn flavours overpowering at first but the corn flavour changes with time and a little oak into a more vanilla taste.
watch out with putting the spent corn into the garden or compost as rats love it, I feed mine to the chooks.

[emptyglass]

1st generation is not all that nice, sweet mash never is to me.
If you're thirsty, it can be drunk, if not, save it as feints. Then do a feints run when you have enough saved and you get something pretty special.

[Kimbo]

Ran a strip run of that 50L UJSM on Thursday night (after 4 days fermenting), all stripped into a spare 50L keg and then used the backset to kick off the 2nd gen 50L ferment, topped up with fresh corn. Put the spent corn on my vege garden, which I dug in today - it fucken reaked.

Will run the 2nd gen strip Monday/Tuesday and get the 3rd going.

Do you guys save up all stripsYes, that's the way to do it or do you put the 1st gen strip in with the 2nd gen wash and strip together?No, that will kill your yeast :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Nardy]

No I meant after the ferment.

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[Kimbo]

No I meant after the ferment.

Sorry Nardy, I misunderstood.I used to just save up all my strips in 1 container then do 1 spirit run.

[Nardy]

So even with the very first, given that it's not a sour mash?

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[Kimbo]

So even with the very first, given that it's not a sour mash?

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Some do, some dont, I did.

[Nardy]

Half way through running the 2nd wash strip and I'm down to 50% and the stuff that's coming out right now is delicious! Can see this being great on some oak. Looking forward to the 5th strip and then spirit run!

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[Nardy]

Ran the 3rd Gen today and got the 4th wash cranking. Got ~30L of stripped UJ now, thinking I might strip the 4th and then spirit run the lot. Thoughts?

[MacStill]

Ran the 3rd Gen today and got the 4th wash cranking. Got ~30L of stripped UJ now, thinking I might strip the 4th and then spirit run the lot. Thoughts?

That's what I would do :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Nardy]

Oh, and I should mention that the last 2 runs I have done (today and about 4 days ago) were both done under a fairly full moon. Does that make this traditional moonshine?

[emptyglass]

only if you did it outdoors