mitchshrader Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 does anyone know anything about attempts (or accidents) to incorporate popcorn or 'unusual' grains into whiskey mash? reason i ask, my grandfather long passed on, (anecodotally) may have manufactured whiskey sans permit.. such is family tradition. one story goes, a farmer grew popcorn by accident, mislabeled seed, and it was unwanted and cheap.. so they put it in whiskey mash, after sprouting and drying it.. with great success. this was mid-depression in southern oklahoma, and it was 'strictly from hunger' that they didn't use sugar to stretch the mash. popcorn they had, popcorn they used, and they sprouted it to make it ferment better, malting it was labor and they HAD labor.. cash to buy sugar they did not. the resulting 'white mule' was barreled briefly (weeks) with hand charred red oak chips added in to color the spirits, and sold to great acclaim. many years later, i heard glowing stories of that 'yankee whiskey' that'd been hoarded for years as christmas and wedding quality. just wondered if anyone else had heard of such a thing.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratcheer Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I am no expert, but it seems to me that there is not a lot of difference, if any, between popcorn and the corn that is ground to make mash for whiskey.Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I am no expert, but it seems to me that there is not a lot of difference, if any, between popcorn and the corn that is ground to make mash for whiskey.TimDepends if it's butter flavor or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNbourbon Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Popcorn is a grain, so surely it can be fermented. Thus, it can become whiskey. I'll leave it to others to pronounce whether or not that would meet the corn content requirements for 'bourbon'.It strikes me, though, that the kernel content (of sugars, and everything else), of popcorn would be much less than standard field corn, and thus would produce a quite different product. On the other hand, grains per bushel would be increased. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredthecat Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 haha, cool story. it would be great to have a family experience of distilling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward_call_me_Ed Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Great story! It sounds like it was all malt popcorn. That would certainly have an effect on the taste of the final product. I have seen a recipe for popcorn malt beer that was meant to replicate Peruvian Chichi. I think popcorn was used just because it was readily available to most people. But it might also be closer to traditional Indian corn.Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 Boy I must say that is one I never heard of either Thanks for sharing that I wonder how off the taste Was of it I can't Imagine it was too flavorful but without Being there who Knows!Dave ZOld Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon========================================== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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