Whiskey and moonshine production were the theme of ADIs Hands-on Distilling Workshop July 12 through 17th, where fourteen students hailing from California to Maine learned about the craft of making whiskey. This summer’s class was lead by the very capable Eric Watson, head distiller at Seven Fathoms Rum in the Cayman Islands. Eric instructed students in the art and science of mashing, fermentation, distillation, and maturation. Distiller and winemaker Don Payne of Stillwater Spirits generously hosted the event at his Petaluma, CA distillery.
The fun began with Sunday afternoon’s reception as students got to watch Bill and Andrew Owens of ADI, along with Denise Jones of Moylan’s Brewery and Restaurant, produce several barley, corn and rye mashes for distilling demonstrations later in the week. The most interesting concoction was the test “doughnut” mash for distilling moonshine. Students, staff, and curious on lookers were covered in chocolate-sprinkled splatter by the demonstration’s end. The day wrapped up with a BBQ and copious amounts of Moylan’s beer.
Everyone was ready to get serious bright and early Monday, as Eric Watson lectured on Brewing and Wash Production. Eric strongly emphasized the importance that would-be whiskey distillers learn something of the art and science of brewing beer before tackling the still.
Later that morning, the group went on a bus tour an hour north to Redwood Valley to visit one of the early pioneers of the artisan distillery movement, Germain-Robin. Assistant distiller Brendan Wheatley led us on an in-depth tour of the distillery and described how world-class alambic brandy is made. Afterwards, we headed a few miles south to Jepson Winery and Distillery, where distiller Alison Schneider lead us on a tour of her distillery and a tasting of her delicious brandies.
From Jepson, we headed to Don Paynes Cahill Winery. In addition to providing a mouth-watering barbequed chicken dinner, Don treated us to a barrel tasting of his various wines and ports.
After some classroom time learning the basics of the science of mashing and fermentation Tuesday morning, we took a bus to Moylan’s Brewery and Restaurant, where we ate lunch, had a beer (or two), and toured the brewery. Brewmaster Denise Jones gave us a very informative hands-on demonstration of beer wash production.
We continued our tour of breweries at Marin Brewing Company. Brewmaster Arne Johnson led us through his facility, where we got to see the beer-making process from brewing to bottling.
Our adventure continued with a ferry ride over to San Francisco, where our earnest quest to learn about tasting great whiskey led us to local whiskey bars Elixer, Alembic, and Bourbon and Branch.
The next couple of days were devoted to more presentations, classroom time and hands-on whiskey distilling experience. Wednesday morning began with a lecture by Eric Watson on Pot Still and Column Still Operation, followed by a presentation on the intricasies of TTB Licensing issues by Regulatory Consultant Richard Gahagan.
After lunch, Jay Skovbjerg of Anton-Paar lead a seminar on the use of Density Measurements, followed by John Zanini from Owens-Illinois. From Treasure Island Distilling, Bill Smith presented a lecture on the bottling process. Throughout the afternoon, assistant distiller Jordan of Stillwater Spirits skillfully demonstrated to students how to make foreshots, heads, hearts, and tails cuts in whiskey distillation on two Jacob Carl stills, using the wash that had been made earlier in the week.
All of that hard work and concentration paid off later that afternoon, as students were led in a Whiskey and Bourbon Tasting by ADI’s Drew Faulkner. After a scrumptious dinner, several students joined Bill Smith on his yacht for a breezy sunset “booze” cruise on the Russian River.
Thursday morning opened with Eric Watsons lecture on the Maturation of Whiskey, discussing the effects of different toasting levels, plus the dilution and filtration of the product before bottling. Students were once again led by Drew Faulkner in a tasting of vodkas made from apples to oaks just before lunch, while our palates were still fresh.
After lunch, Mike Nicholson from TCW Equipment came to talk about bottle fillers, fittings, etc. Bill Smith gave a lecture on Gauging and Proofing of spirits for excise tax purposes. Once again, Jordan worked with students on hands-on distillation. The week long class wound down with a tasty Turkish dinner.
ADI would like to thank the many people who came together to make the second hands-on whiskey distillation class a huge success — all of the students for their desire to learn the craft, Don and Jordan of Stillwater Spirits for the generous use of their space and distilling wisdom, Eric Watson for his brilliant teaching, Brendan Moylan for never letting us go thirsty, Bill Smith for his lectures and yacht ride, Mike our cook for providing such delicious meals, Drew Faulkner of ADI, who led such informative whiskey and vodka tastings and recorded the classes, Andrew Owens for help with mashing and distilling, our presenters, and the breweries, distilleries, whiskey bars who so thoughtfully gave of their time and knowledge.
