Hi, another from CQ

[Toopy]

Hi All,

Totally new to this distilling game, signed up here as I want to make some top quality whiskey. bourbon or scotch either or I'm not to fussy.
Have been around on the forums and asked a few q's so though I'd introduce myself.
Started off with a T500, yep got suckered in by all of their advertising mubmo etc...
Wish I bought the home spirit maker or Macs full bubbler setup, but really need a reflux to make vodka, instead anyway we all make mistakes.

Have run their supplied turbo and Jesus talk about harsh rocket fuel, which coincidentally is now powering my mower it was so bad.
With the help of these forums I have learnt a heap of info on how to make some good quality boose
Got myself a 2" pot from Mac, and have some CFW in the works just waiting on a power controller and parrot to arrive for a spirit run.
Have run the TPW and am now happy with the results but have found that it really needed a strip run before running through the reflux to remove all the flavour.

laid down some wheetbix wash this week so looking forward to the wheetbased vodka it will produce, also going to run it some as a whiskey to see how it goes.
This forum is an invaluable resource and I have learnt so much from the community here.
Looking forward to many discussions, however I'm more of a forum lurker than anything else.

Really like the idea of the Breakfast based washes, found some old Uncle Toby's Plus Muesli in the cupboard so put down a wash with it, hope to get some good whiskey out of it.
Will be interesting to see how it turns out with, appple, sultanas, apricot and coconut.

Anyway Hi everyone and see you round the forums.

[Sam.]

Thank you for taking the time to introduce yourself :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Sounds like you are well on the way to making quality spirits ;-)

[MacStill]

Nice intro Toopy, welcome aboard mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Zak Griffin]

Welcome Toops. Lurking is fine, but thanks for taking the time to introduce yourself :handgestures-thumbupleft:

I personally enjoy an oaked weetbix whisky, but plenty of guys don't. Only one way to find out if you like it!

[1 2many]

G'day Toopy welcome aboard. :greetings-waveyellow:

Seems like your well on you way to making some great drinks, enjoy :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[drinka]

Welcome mate I'm in CQ as well! :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Hava]

Howdy Toopy! :greetings-waveyellow:

Glad you skipped the spirit maker! If your into your Bourbons / whiskey check out the mash tun area.

Great to see another CQ person in here, we'll have enough members soon to organise a CQ meet. :happy-partydance:

[BIG D]

Hey mate welcome. :greetings-waveyellow:

[Toopy]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the replies. Good to see a friendly community going here.

Zac
So with the oaken wheetbix whiskey just thrown on toasted/charred oak of any kind or moving to a specific genus?

Hav
So using the grain bills and other recipes from the area, are we talking a great improvement from the cereal recipes? Not that I've actually completed any to final spirits yet to make any comparison. I've grown very fond of top shelf spirits, JD Single barrel, rare breed, Glenfarcus 105, William l weller etc etc and it's beginning to become rather costly at Min $80 a bottle. So I'm looking to recreate something along the same quality.
Despite being essences, from the TPW runs I've done the taste might not be right up there but the underlying quality/cleanliness of the alcohol definitely is, so I know I'm getting the best heart's cuts and can really taste the heads in the bottom level brand name bottles.
So looking to get the taste down and I'll be a very happy man. However the spirit I am making now is quite drinkable using essences despite the flavour not being quite right, it's better to have it sit for a fortnight to get there though.

Looks like a few here in cq, the more the merrier. A meet would be a great thing to organise to get tips, tricks and recipes from each other and try each others hooch.


Mac
Thanks for the still, it's absolutely fantastic the quality and has blown me away, so If I start upgrading 1 or 2 plates at a time will the difference in quality be noticeable?

[Urrazeb]

Hey mate, AG and cereals are two different beasts. AG needs a slight amount of prior learning (it's nowhere as hard as the AG brewers make out :teasing-neener:) and cereals you can pretty much throw anything in to an extent.

Your setting your sights pretty high, chasing flavours like the brands you mentioned, not impossible but some basic prep is in order.

Try a cereal wash like CFW, then a sugarhead-grain wash like BKO, then hit the AG like Brendan's easy Bourbon for anyone in the T&P.

As for the pot you won't see much difference between a pot and 3 plates, 4 is where it happens, 3 will improve on none but 4 is where its at for flavoured washes/mashes and take off.

By all means use each plate as you progress as each plate will raise the abv slightly if you run her right.

[Zak Griffin]

I put some on American oak... One jar toasted, the other jar toasted and charred. I prefer the just-toasted, but I prefer my CFW on toasted and charred.

It may work well with French oak as well, but I haven't tried it yet.

You're definitely aiming high, but by no means too high. All Grain is definitely going to be the path to take, eventually.

Just running plates in a pot still probably won't do much, you really need the RC as well. And as said, four plates is tried and tested by hundreds of people as the right numbe for flavored whiskeys, rums etc