If you had your own distillery...

[boss302]

I know this type of thread has been done at least once before, but my tastes have changed since then, and Straightbourbon.com has picked up quite a few members since the last time.

The question is:

If you had your own distillery, what would you make?

Feel free to include specifics on equipment, product lineups, bottle styles, etc.

[Slob]

I would love to make Rye.

[Jono]

It would be interesting to experiment with different cereal grains...
millet, sorghum, oats, triticale, buckwheat, fonio, quinoa..even soy etc. for different tasting whiskeys.....different woods...apple, maple, hickory etc.

[Slob]

It would be very interesting, indeed. And a whole lot more fun than working for a living.

My first choice, though, would be to experiment with bitters. I'd love to play around with spices and flavors.

[Jono]

I found this comment online:

"Sorghum whiskey is brewed extensively in Asia, tasty, smooth and will hammer you."

Anyone know of this stuff? Ed?

Also:

"Studies of the properties of wheat, maize, sorghum and millet, showed that they had good potential for grain distilling and ethanol production at comparable nitrogen levels, and had physiological processing characteristics within the range accepted for wheat or maize."

[chilidawg7]

I think I would take the BTEC idea and run with it. Maybe change up the barrel types, time in barrels, etc. There is enough good bourbon out there that we wouldn't have to rely on my distillery to provide supply, so I wouldn't feel bad about the experiments that don't work so well.

[TNbourbon]

I found this comment online:

"Sorghum whiskey is brewed extensively in Asia, tasty, smooth and will hammer you."

Anyone know of this stuff?..

Most Indian 'whisk(e)y' is essentially rum, distilled from pressed sorghum. It IS sold around here, though I've never really been tempted by it.

[Stu]

I'd like to smoke barley malt with hickory instead of peat and store some in traditional oak barrels and some in hickory barrels and see what I had in ten years.

[OldJack]

Stu's plan sounds great to me.

[CorvallisCracker]

I'd like to smoke barley malt with hickory instead of peat and store some in traditional oak barrels and some in hickory barrels and see what I had in ten years.

If it wasn't any good as a whiskey you could always add it to BBQ sauce.