DIY Brandy

[Cursitor Doom]

Gentlemen,

At this time of year I normally acquire a few bottles of French Cognac, usually Remy Martin for the festiviitous season. However, since Les Frogges have been behaving so beastly towards dear old blighty, I've decided on principle to boycott French produce indefinitely. The question is, how difficult is it to make your own? I have a 500cm Leibig condenser and some suitable flasks, heating mantle, water pump and so forth and was about to distill some cheapo vodka anyway for making plant tinctures (just one of my off-beat hobbies). So I just thought someone here would most likely know if there are any pitfalls and what the taste of the distillate might turn out like? I plan on using either Spanish rioja or Portuguese douro for this purpose. Anyone tried this?

CD. --

"By 2030, you will own nothing and be happy about it."

- Klaus Schwab, World Economic Forum CEO.

[Brian]

We visited a Cognac making place in France some years ago. Like most things which have a special name, Cognac needs to be made in a certain way etc.

As I recall, the base wine needed to come from a particular grape - I expect one found in SW France as we were there (from memory ) on that trip- (we went down to Saint Emilion then NE to the Loire, Paris, and home, stopping at various points. )

Aging time was mentioned in Oak barrels, I think 2 years min after a double distilling in special stills made of copper. Squashing in 2 years between now and Xmas won?t be easy.

I assume, if you start with Spanish based wine, you will get something akin to the Spanish brandy some holiday makers bring back. Rough springs to mind.

[Martin Brown]

Not all that difficult but you do need some skill. Illegal whiskey stills were all the rage in Scotland once upon a time. In the true spirit of DIY they should be made of sheet copper though.

Every now and then some lockup garage or shop with an alcohol illegal still in goes up. This was one of the biggest in recent times:

Apart from being illegal your distillation of alcohol will taste of the grease used on laboratory glassware joints and if you don't know what you are doing the earlest fraction will be almost pure methanol.

Perfect for making you go blind. You have to take only the ethanol fraction (higher alcohols are also not good in a spirit).

Even if you did it exactly right you would only have colourless fire water that would need to mature in wooden casks for a few years before it was even remotely drinkable. You are starting far too late.

I suggest you develop a taste for US Bourbon instead. (yuk)

[Clive Arthur]

<snipped>

You can buy home distilling equipment for not much money from many home brew type places. Illegal to use here, but our legal system allows the sale, and unless you set up a stall outside your house, who's gonna know?

You can get all sorts of flavourings too. I've never tried, but I understand the results can be quite good and the equipment is safe.

...and loads more.

[Owain Lastname]

What about some nice South African brandy?

Owain

[The Natural Philosopher]

S African brandy pretty nice stuff.

[Martin Brown]

Or Greek Metaxa - indistinguishable from furniture polish.

[newshound]

One thing's for sure, it won't be any match for Remy Martin! My personal brand of choice, although my late father always favoured Hine.

As an aside, my local Lidl is currently selling Grappa for about £13, I don't recall ever seeing this on sale before in the UK.

You used to be able to buy small stills in Gamm Vert, a brewing friend of mine with a house in Britanny sometimes talked about getting one, but he isn't a spirits drinker.

Another engineering colleague of mine was interested in trying the freezing method (as used for Canadian Applejack), on the basis that the chemistry was less risky, but as far as I know never got past the talking stage.

[Martin Brown]

If you enjoy hangovers that is definitely the way to do it!

[charles]

"Freeze distilling" as used on many a 'farmhouse cider' and also on "Tactical Nuclear Penguin" by Brewdog getting a beeer with an ABV of 32%

[R D S]

I think you can do it legally but there's red tape (perhaps more than a DIYer could realistically satisfy) and obviously duty to pay.

Is that right? I looked into this once (being a fairly heavy drinker) and satisfied myself that it was only alcohol derived from wood that caused such problems. Must look into it again...

[Clive Arthur]

<snip>

You can in theory get a licence, but not in practise.

To do so you need to be producing and paying duty on far, far more than for personal use, often a still of 18 hectolitres is the minimum size considered.

And if you apply for a licence, then they know what you're doing...

[Chris Hogg]

'Alcohol derived from wood' is so-called because it's what you get driven off when you destructively distil wood. It's methanol by another name. Don't be fooled by thinking wood alcohol only comes from wood. Many fermentation processes produce methanol as well as ethanol. Proper, controlled and preferably fractional distillation separates the methanol.

[Martin Brown]

There is invariably a methanol impurity in the fermentation products. Not enough to harm you when there is plenty of water to dilute it but when distilled the very first light fraction is almost pure methanol.

Only when the thing reaches 78C boiling point of ethanol do you start collecting the distillate (and stop again when it rises towards 100C).

[Chris Hogg]

The problem with freeze distillation is that it mostly removes only the water, as ice, leaving behind all the other nasties such as methanol and the higher alcohols, such as propanol, butanol, etc collectively known as fusel oils. Not only can these taste pretty foul, but it's the higher alcohols that give you a hangover.

[Fredxx]

<snip>

It's the safest way to increase the alcohol concentration and still retain a decent taste.

[charles]

but, do noe that most "gin distilleries" don't actually distil. they buy in raw spirit and simply add flavourings, I learned thatb whe I had a tour of Gordons.

[Fredxx]

I don't understand the concern over the small traces of organics you mention. If you drink the original wine, or anything you brewed directly, you would still consume these unmentionables.

The issue during the prohibition times, is that the condensate would be put straight into a bottle, Woe betide the poor individual who got the first bottle, or the last one.

So as long as the amount has been uniformly concentrated, the resultant liquor should contain any fusel oils etc in the same proportion as the original brew.

[The Natural Philosopher]

industrial grain alcohol

[The Natural Philosopher]

variable on amazon