Shine?

[Mongo]

Howdy all,

Got to thinking, is it legal to make your own shine.... for your own consumption only? If so, just how hard is it to do, and what kind of equipment? I'm talking small batch here... nothing large.

[Gollnick]

Illegal, yes... federally.

When I lived in Tennessee, there was a retail store that sold supplies and equipment for home brewers that was called The Shinin' Shack. They sold all the parts for making stills, but no actual stills. There I learned the fundamental rule: heads or tails, you loose. The head is what comes out of the still first. The tail is what comes out last. What you want is the stuff in between called, "the heart." The head and the tail are both poisonous.

Keep in mind that most whiskey-style spirits we enjoy, scotch, bourbon, whiskey, are barrel-aged and get most of their character from the barrel. That, barrel aging, is not an easy process to do at home. Moonshine is sometimes called "white lightening" because it is colorless and fast. Whiskey is dark and takes years to make. Most of the moonshine I've had has been painful to drink.

[proud2deviate]

Any concentrated alcoholic beverage, such as distilled spirits or applejack, falls under federal law. Things like home brew beer and wine are generally legal within certain guidelines, such as restrictions on distribution and the amount made. Of course, the laws are based on the total amount of beverage produced, and have nothing to say about the ABV. You can now get speciality yeasts that can tolerate much higher alcohol concentrations than previously possible.

With that said, I have seen table-top automated stills that can produce brandy from wine and such. Might be a chore to get one in the US, though.

[Blais]

Sent ya an e-mail.

[james terrio]

Got to thinking, is it legal to make your own shine.... for your own consumption only?

No.

Not even considering the possibility of time in prison, burning your house down or rotting your guts out, you're honestly better off in terms of cost and quality just buying a bottle of Everclear, rather than fiddling around trying to distill your own shine for fun. Leave it to the professionals

Homemade wine on the other hand can be inexpensive, easy and quite good. Cost depends mainly on your source of fruit.

[Gollnick]

Not even considering the possibility of time in prison, burning your house down or rotting your guts out, you're honestly better off in terms of cost and quality just buying a bottle of Everclear, rather than fiddling around trying to distill your own shine for fun. Leave it to the professionals

Where is your spirit (pun intended) of adventure? Sometimes things are done for the experience and for the learning rather than for simple economy. There is joy in doing.

[james terrio]

Where is your spirit (pun intended) of adventure?

I assure you, my spirit of adventure has not gone untested.

There is joy in doing.

Did you miss the part about unlicensed distilling being expressly forbidden by Federal law? There is also joy in not going to jail over a small-scale venture that will cost far more to start than a bottle of really good bourbon will cost to finish.

I do recommend home winemaking. Again, it's easy, safe, legal and fun.

[Blais]

I assure you, my spirit of adventure has not gone untested.


Did you miss the part about unlicensed distilling being expressly forbidden by Federal law? There is also joy in not going to jail over a small-scale venture that will cost far more to start than a bottle of really good bourbon will cost to finish.

I do recommend home winemaking. Again, it's easy, safe, legal and fun.

...and then running the homemade wine through the still?

[james terrio]

Well that would be brandy, Mr. Smarty Pants

[Wooly Bugger]

I agree with Mr. Terrio. There is a bounty of perfectly good whiskey that flows from Bourbon County Kentucky. It's tastier, easier, and it doesn't involve sharing a shower and a bunk with a guy named Lucille. You do the math.

[doc trinidad]

I agree with Mr. Terrio. There is a bounty of perfectly good whiskey that flows from Bourbon County Kentucky. It's tastier, easier, and it doesn't involve sharing a shower and a bunk with a guy named Lucille. You do the math.

100 % agree with every thing except the taste nothing tastes better than a good drink of corn licker!

[Wooly Bugger]

I grew up in bootleg country and I have to disagree. We drank it for the same reason that it was so highly regarded during the prohibition era. It was cheap and available. Once, I got a taste of something better than that was it. I don't mean to generalize but most of the folks that I know, who still drink it from time to time, do so for nostalgic reasons. Not because it tastes great. That's why the grandkids of the old bootleggers went to cooking meth and growing marijuana. There's just not a lot profit to be made in painter's piss.

That being said, to each his own.

[Chris Pierce]

I was wondering the same thing. It's a shame that it's illegal.
I wanted to make some kind of alcohol for myself this winter, I may try making wine, but I'll probably have too much actual work to do :/

[Wooly Bugger]

I was wondering the same thing. It's a shame that it's illegal.
I wanted to make some kind of alcohol for myself this winter, I may try making wine, but I'll probably have too much actual work to do :/

Two words for you.......Honey Mead

[Wooly Bugger]

I guess I should also clarify what I meant by the taste not being great. I know a lot of folks put fruit and other flavorings in it, but my explanation was in keeping with the traditional method of consumption. We were always told to never trust corn whiskey that had been flavored because the cook was probably hiding something. Only pure and clear can be judged by taste and proof. DISCLAIMER.....I don't even drink anymore, so what do I know

[The Government]

It is less illegal to drink than it is to make.

Cheers!

[Chris Pierce]

Two words for you.......Honey Mead

My sister tried doing that when I was 18. Terrible stuff. Or maybe she just had no idea what she was doing.

[Wooly Bugger]

My grandfather made it for decades and it was always delicious. It may have been her timing. It's critical to a successful batch.

[Gollnick]

100 % agree with every thing except the taste nothing tastes better than a good drink of corn licker!

Most of the moonshine I've had was really hard to drink. It's not called white lightening for no reason. It's white, no color (the color of whiskey comes from years of aging in a wooden barrel), and drinking it feels a bit like getting struck by lightening. The difference is the aging in a wood barrel. Any decent whiskey (be it Tennessee Whiskey, Kentucky Burbon Whiskey, Rye Whiskey, Scotch Whiskey, Canadian Whiskey, Irish Whiskey, whatever) is aged for at least a few years in a wooden barrel. Most of the nose and the flavor comes from the barrel, not the still.

Much the same is true for brandy. Unaged Italian brandy is called Grappa and and it's rather harsh.

So, while I still think it's a fine experience to try your hand at it once for the experience, don't expect a wonderful product.

[doc trinidad]

My grandmother made shine here in the mnts of North Carolina and while I admit there is some rough drinking shine out there hers was like drinking spring water. Smooth going down but lit a fire when it hit your belly! the closest thing to it that I have drank was good Korean Soju. Also where I come from a bootlegger is someone who lives in a dry county and buys booze in a wet county brings it home and sells it by the drink like an illegal bar. A shiner makes his own licker!