cowdery Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 On this board we get inquiries pretty regularly about home distillation. With some frequency I receive email inquiries about this too. I just came across this book and, while I haven't read it, the description and table of contents look intriguing. It is The Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible. It covers fermented beverages as well. It includes instructions for making a still from items commonly found around the home which, as it helpfully notes in the introduction, is highly illegal in the United States. I guess it says something about the kind of books I buy that Amazon's automatic recommendation software spotlighted this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdelling Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 Well, it seems that whoever wrote the Alaskan Bootlegger's Biblehas done a very good job of making it very prominent on amazon.com...it seems that it's almost always being suggested whenever you searchfor anything remotely connected with whiskey.Here's a list of books and resources that people can consultregarding moonshining:Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible:www.happymountain.net an amusingly written, somewhat simple, practical, hands-on how-to book. In classic bootlegger's fashion, the entire thing was basically stolen from the web and packaged in book form! Recommended as a fun intro, but lacks a lot about the hows and whys.The Complete Distiller (Nixon & McCaw)www.amphora-society.com - an in-depth discussion of home distillation. Highly recommended for the serious hobbyist, but might be too much for the casual dabbler who just wants an amusing read or a project that lasts two weeks. Recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about fermenting and distilling. Contains detailed instructions and recipes.Making Pure Corn Whiksey (Smiley)www.home-distilling.com - a readable how-to. Highly recommended for all. Covers all aspects to a nice depth. I would say that this book compliments the Nixon book really well. Both books concentrate a little more on column distillation than pot-still distillation, so they're a bit modern in that aspect. Again, good for those who want to learn about fermenting and distilling. Should probably be on the shelf of any serious bourbon library, along with the Nixon book. Contains detailed instructions and recipes.The Foxfire Book (a.k.a. "Foxfire 1") - contains a great chapter all about what I'll call "classical, traditional" moonshining. Doesn't contain step-by-step recipes, but provides a good overview, and has a bit of local color. A very comprehensitve explaination of traditional moonshining. Pretty much a must-have for anyone interested in the traditional methods.www.homedistiller.org - a free website that has more than you could ever possibly want to know about home distillation. It will take you hours and hours to read this. Can overwhelm the casual dappbler, but an absolute must-read for the enthusiastic hobbyist.Whisky: Technology, Production, and Marketing (Russell) a VERY technical book for those who really want to get into the science and engineering of whiskies. Mostly about Scotch whisky, but has sections about American whiskies, and written to be somewhat universal. Readable with lots of practical stuff. Really great for the hard-core moonshiner.The Science and Technology of Whiskies (Piggott, Sharp, et al.)Out of print, but a nice review of the technical literatureconcerning whiskies. Like the Russell book, it's a bit slantedtowards Scotch, but is very applicatble to American whiskies, too.Both this and the Russell book are great for anyone with anengineering streak in them who wants to learn way too muchabout making whiskies. Tim Dellinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted May 19, 2004 Author Share Posted May 19, 2004 I'm grateful for this list, Tim, because I do get inquiries about this subject, although perhaps not as many as I did in the past now that there are more online resources. For a long time the Foxfire book was the only one I knew about. That and a few survivalist pamphlets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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