If it comes from a local brewhouse or high-quality distillery, store bought whiskey can be incredibly delicious.You will be able to control exactly what goes into it and find a flavor that suits you perfectly if you prepare your own whisky at home.
Step 1: Prepare the corn by soaking it in warm water.
Take 10 lbs.If you have 4.5 kilograms of corn in a sack, place it in the larger bucket or container.Warm water should be used to saturate the sack.Make sure the corn is completely soaked.Why grow corn for whiskey?Adding sugar to the mash allows you to get a more authentic whiskey.It's called "malting" because it causes the corn to convert to sugar.The building blocks of whiskey are made from sugars.
Step 2: The corn should be sprouted for 8 to 10 days.
The bag should be kept in a warm, dark place.The corn needs to remain damp for about a week and a half.The temperature of the corn should be between 62 and 86 F.
Step 3: The sprouted ends should be removed.
Wait for the sprout to grow to 1/3 in.Then rinse the corn in a bucket of water.Remove as much of the sprouted roots as possible by hand.The sprout should be discarded.The corn should be reserved.
Step 4: The kernels should be crushed.
Use a rolling pin with a solid end, a wooden muddler, or any other large implement to crush the kernels.The kernels have been broken apart.You can use a mill to break apart the corn.When corn is fully dried, wet corn won't go through the mill.To dry corn for use in a mill, lay the sprouted corn over a clean surface.Turn on the box fan by the corn.The corn can be stirred a couple times a day by the fan.
Step 5: Add 5 gallons.
.You're ready to ferment.
Step 6: The mash should cool down to 86o F (30o C).
If you want to test the temperature, use a thermometer.The yeast needs to be warm to do its job, so you want the mash to cool down.
Step 7: The yeast should be pitched.
The yeast should be added to the top of the mash.For about four to five minutes, carefully pitch the fermenter at an angle, slowly moving back and forth.
Step 8: An airlock can be used to vent your ferment.
An airlock is used for fermentation.The CO2 can escape, but no air can get into the mash.The effect yeast has is minimized by air getting into mash.Buying an airlock is cheap, but you can make one yourself.You can get one for under a couple of bucks.
Step 9: The mash can ferment in a warm environment.
The primary fermentation takes anywhere from 5 to 10 days depending on the yeast, temperature, and how much grain you're using.If the reading on the hydrometer is the same for two to three days, you're ready to start.The mash should be kept at a steady 77 F (25 C) while it ferments.You need enough heat for the yeast to grow.
Step 10: When the mash is finished strain or suck it into a still.
If you want to strain the mash, use a clean pillowcase.When transferring the mash, try to keep as much of it away from the still as possible.
Step 11: The wash needs to be heated slowly until it reaches a boil.
Whiskeys need to be kept on medium heat for 30 minutes to an hour until they start to boil.Burnt wash and off flavors will result from heating the wash too quickly.The temperature in which you'll distill your alcohol will be between 172 and 212 F.Why is this temperature so high?There are different points where alcohol and water evaporate.The evaporated liquid in the still will be alcohol and not water if you can heat the wash up to 172 F.
Step 12: After the wash hits 120o - 140o F, turn on the tube.
The alcohol is evaporated and turned into liquid form by the tube.Slowly, the tube should start to spit out liquid.
Step 13: Get rid of the heads.
The compounds that make up the heads evaporate from the wash.Methanol is lethal in large quantities.The heads come out of the wash first.The first 50 - 100 mL of liquid should be thrown out for a 5 gallon wash.
Step 14: The body can be collected in 500 batches.
You're ready to collect the good stuff after the heads are collected.You're starting to collect the valuable prize when the temperature on the tube hits 175o - 185o F.The "body" of the distillate is referred to as this.
Step 15: The tails should be thrown out.
Continue collecting the body until the temperature on the tube reads 205o F.At this point, the evaporated liquids should be thrown away.
Step 16: The pot should cool down completely if the heat source is turned off.
Allow your alcohol to cool off as well.
Step 17: You can use a proof and tralle hydrometer to test the alcohol content of your drink.
You want to know how strong your moonshine is, both for aging and as an indication of how well your distillation went.Don't confuse the proof and tralle readings on the hydrometer.Two times the amount of the tralle is your proof.
Step 18: It's time to age the whiskey.
If you decide to age your whiskey, you want it to go into the barrel with an alcohol content of at least 70%.Whiskey will be smooth and have a distinctive taste as a result of aging.Whiskey will age in barrels.Whiskey will stop aging when it is bottled.Whiskey is usually aged in oak barrels.The barrels can either be charred or roasted first, or they can be obtained from another distillery that has kept another spirit in the barrel.You can add oak chips to your whiskey if you don't want to spring for a barrel.If you want your oak chips to be aromatic, toast them in the oven for an hour.Remove and keep cool.You can steep for up to 15 days depending on your tastes.If you want to catch all the wood chips, strain the whiskey through a clean pillowcase.
Step 19: Do not mix the whiskey.
If you want to drink and bottle whiskey after it's aged, you need to make it stronger.It would make for a fiery, uncomfortable drinking experience if the whiskey was still at 80%.For a more pleasant drinking experience, it should be reduced to 40% or 45%.
Step 20: You can bottle and enjoy!
A note on when you bottled it is a good idea.Always drink in moderation.