I started the usual way by collecting and bagging trash but I still needed enough space to keep stuff like copper mods, buckets, and various bits of odds and ends I might need from time to time. Organization was necessary and most of the flat surfaces in this place was littered with jars filled and partially filled with remnants of alcohol experiments that were too good to toss but not good enough to use on their own. It seems I managed to amass a rather sizeable collection of feints, low wines, and tails from previous distilling experiments and something had to be done.
I rounded up these dust covered remnants from past corn and rum experiments, sniffed the contents for identification, and dumped them in a clean bucket, added enough water to bring it to around 60 proof, and dumped it in the still pot.
I figured since I got the thumper running properly, now's a good time to test if the thumper is capable of imbuing flavor in the finished product, so I made a purée from a can of tropical fruit salad, a half bottle of zinvandel wine and some leftover rum and used this concoction to charge the thumper.
I fired the still up and let it run around 178 to 188 degrees. The result was rather interesting but not quite what I was expecting.
After the unit settled down, I just sat back and let it run, replacing jars when needed. By jar number 5, my curiosity got the best of me and I tested the proof at 175. Holy shit! 175? I mean this is jar 5 and I got a reading of 175. I tested jar 4. 175. 3 and 2 said basically the same thing. Since you'll get the highest proof in the first jar that comes out of a still with a gradual reduction in proof with each jar after that, I wondered what the alcohol content of jar no. 1 could possibly be. I filled my hydrometer test jar with no.1 and dropped in my hydrometer for a reading.
To illustrate how this system works, a hydrometer is a weighted glass with readings that show the alcohol content of fluids with the lowest reading of 0 at the bottom of the stem and 200 at the top. By dropping the hydrometer in the liquid, it will show the proof of that liquid on the stem. Drop it in water and the stem will stick out the top. 200 proof and the stem will be mostly submerged.
When I dropped the hydrometer in the fluid from no.1 it went right to the bottom and put a small hole in my test jar, which resulted in high proof alcohol spilling all over my work area.
Ok, this is some kick ass stuff coming out of this thing. Equally amazing is the stability of the alcohol content throughout the run. I mean, jars 2,3,4, and 5 were all the same readings of 175 proof. You don't get that kind of consistency from a still. At least not from a 8 gallon still without a thumper.
Aside from the consistency, I managed to pull out almost 1.75 gallons of this stuff from a 5 gallon wash. And this is all fit to drink without any sulphides or other nasty off tastes.
As far as the thumper flavors I tried to impart, I wasn't impressed as I thought I might be, due in part in not letting the rum/tropical fruit mixture sit long enough to coalesce.
At any rate, I'm still impressed. And my garage is less cluttered as a result.
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