opinionated alchemist

My previous post , told you about my finding of the "new" extraction / conversion of sugars in the agave. If you are a tequila nut, you might have understand, what I meant. But for all others, please let me point out, which Tequila you should look for - which Tequila is a marketing rip off and so on. First of all the obvious:   ►   100% Agave Tequila vs Mixto First: what is a mixto? Tequila can made only in the state of Jalisco (and in few other towns) - and it always has to be made from Blue Agave (Tequilana Weber Azul). However the fermentable sugars of the agave (>51%) can be mixed with other sugars (usually sugar cane). We can pretty much say, that under Mixtos you will never find a great tequila - doesn't matter what. These tequilas are always inexpensive. Are they drinkable? Yeah... but I guess also a lot of people have their "tequila reaction" (no more) because of too much mixto. ►   Highland versus Lowland Tequila There is a difference between highla...

In the last weeks, I have looked into the concept of simple distillation apparatuses. Not the decorative ones (which are nice and maybe even functioning- but not really made for real use) - but for hobbyist stills like the AirStill.  Let’s have a look at following video: There is a lot, what you can learn out of the video... first and foremost: if you can make vodka in small scale, out of dextrose and special ingredients- which results in such a clean and pure product (given that it is true), and the bottle cost in the UK (where you have rather high overall prices) less than £1.00... what does the production of a commercial vodka cost??? A fraction of £1?? (Ok - plus tax... but still!!!). Anyway- the video also gave me a lot of question marks: if you are going to the pain, of doing your own distilled alcohol, why are you using flavorings? I pretty much believe, that the spirit flavorings will be anyway useless. At this point there are a lot people, who want to tell...