Uncle Jesse tends to Boss Hogg's Still in "The Dukes of Hazzard"

The first thing to do is to get the yeast activated.
Pour two tablespoons of corn syrup or Sorghum Molasses into your measuring cup and add about a cup of water.
Add 1 packet of yeast and stir. Keep the cup at room temperature and wait until the mixture starts to ferment and foam up.



Pour the rest of the corn syrup or Sorghum Molasses into the empty milk jug and add water until it is about 2/3 full.
Use a nail to poke five holes into the cap of the jug



(never seal the jug - the escaping carbon dioxide gas produced by the fermentation will cause it to explode if not properly vented)

Add the yeast mixture and cap the jug.



Put a piece of napkin or paper towel over the cap and secure with the rubber band


Use a permanent marker to record the date on the jug.
Put the jug in a safe location at 70-75 degrees farenheit for about 10 days.
You can put it in a sunny windowsill to bring up the temperature.

While you are waiting for the mixture (called "mash") to ferment, you can assemble the still.
This still is capable of producing 2 ounces of HIGHLY FLAMMABLE alcohol in 15 minutes.



Cut off the top of the other jug, leaving the handle intact.


Cut off about 5 feet of copper tubing.

Use the tubing bender to wrap the coil around the tennis ball can. The spring coils of the bender will keep the copper tube from flattening and collapsing.
Grab the spring bender with both hands and work it forward as you go. The idea is to always keep the part of the copper coil that you are bending centered in the bender. Leave about 6" on the top and bottom straight. Blow through the tube to make sure that there is no blockage.

Drill a 1/4" hole about 1 1/2" from the bottom of the jug. Put the bottom part of the tubing through the hole. Bend the coils inside the jug so that no other part of the tubing touches the sides of the jug. Use lots of sealant on the inside and outside the jug to seal up the hole and hold the bottom part of the coil in place. Allow the sealant to dry overnight



Use the 1/8" bit to drill several holes in the top of the jug. Wrap wire around the top part of the coil that sticks up . Use the wire to center the coil so it doesn't touch the jug and is held in place in a sturdy manner.



IMPORTANT: Insert a "flare nut" on the top part of the coil now! Make sure that the large end of the nut (the one with the threads inside) is facing away from the jug. This will allow it to screw on to the flare union and connect to the teakettle. Now it is time to "flare" the top (inlet) tube of the coil-jug (called a "condenser"). Insert the end of the tube in the "vise" part of the flaring tool until it is flush with the face of the unit. Make sure to use the hole marked 1/4".



Drip a little vegetable oil to the rotary part (cone) of the flaring tool and set it in position. Turn the handle until the pipe is "flared" outward (it will conform to the depression in the tool).



Remove the flare tool from the condenser coil. Cut a 10" piece of 1/4" copper tubing and "flare" one end.



Fit the rubber stopper into the mouth of the teakettle to assure a snug fit. Remove the stopper and drill two holes into the stopper with the 3/16" bit.
NOTE: The below picture is for demonstrational purposes only! We used a pair of "vise-grip" pliers to hold the cork while actually drilling! Do not try to hold the cork with your fingers while drilling!



Use vegetable oil to lubricate the small end of the 10" piece of copper tubing (the one with the "flared" end) and the meat thermometer. Slide a "flare nut" on the tubing with the large end pointing up. Insert the small end of the tubing and the thermometer into the stopper as pictured. Insert the stopper onto the mouth of the kettle. Never glue or tie the stopper down! This is a safety device! If there was a blockage in the tubing, the excess pressure would blow the stopper (shooting hot alcohol and steam all over-not good) instead of exploding the kettle (much worse).




Connect the kettle to the condenser using the "flare union". You now have a working still!





Set up the kettle on your electric hotplate (never use an open flame!) and your coil-jug (condenser) on a sturdy surface next to it. Try to slightly elevate the hotplate and teakettle so it is higher than the output tube on the condenser.

Using the Still

Check all tubing connections to ensure that they are clear by blowing through them. Fill the kettle halfway with your fermented mixture (mash). Insert the stopper. Place the kettle on the heat source and connect it to the condenser (which is in a safe place away from direct heat). Fill the condenser jug two thirds with ice water. Put a widemouth jar under the tube that sticks out from the bottom of the jug (output tube).

Turn the heat on low and watch the thermometer. Try to keep the temperature between 173 and 200 degrees farenheit. The object of distilling is to boil off the alcohol and leave the water in the kettle. Alcohol boils at 173 and water boils at 212 degrees.

Never leave a still unattended! It is highly recommended that this process be done OUTSIDE
on a concrete or stone surface away from any flammable materials!

Remember that alcohol vapors are flammable and should never come in contact with open flame. Keep a fire extinguisher handy!

Your kettle should be boiling and the connecting tube should be very hot! Throw the first ounce or so of liquid that comes from the output tube away. This is called the "foreshots" and it is impure (tastes terrible).

Make sure to keep a good supply of ice in the jug (condenser). If the water gets too hot, your jug might weaken or melt.

You should taste the liquid that is coming out of the tube periodically to see if it tastes like strong alcohol. Near the end of the process, it will taste like water. When it turns weak, turn off the heat and using gloves, uncork the kettle, dump out the spent mash, and fill it with new mash. Dump out the water in the condenser and replace it with cold water and ice. Repeat this until you have used all of the mash.

To make it purer and stronger, you should run all of the finished booze through the still again (using the same procedure as before).

Purify the product by filling a coffee filter with aquarium charcoal (rinse the charcoal before using - it is dusty) and placing it in a funnel. Suspend the funnel over a tall jar. Pour the booze through it. That is all there is to it!

Here are some interesting links:

• How Beer Works
• How Alcohol Works
• How Alcoholism Works
• Recipe
• Beer history