How To Make Homemade Vodka

Learning how to make homemade vodka can be an intimidating task. Vodka is used in many drinks such as: Screwdrivers, Greyhounds and Bloody Mary's. Like most alcohol, vodka can’t be made overnight and great care should be taken due to the risk of bacteria. Read on for the basic overview of how to make vodka. The recipe you select to follow might vary your steps but this is the general method.

What you will need to make homemade vodka:

• Vodka recipe
• Distilled water
• Carbohydrates to make a mash (Such as sugar, potatoes or flaked wheat. Consult your recipe to see which one or combination is called for.)
• Bleach and water mixture
• Large stock pot
• PH testing strips
• Activated carbon filter
• Thermometer
• Vodka yeast
• Vodka flavoring (optional)
• Fermenter
• Home still
• Patience

1. Keep it clean. Clean all of your equipment (even if it’s new) with the bleach and water mixture. Then let it all dry properly. Many people shy away from making their own alcohol because they heard the horror stories of people poisoning themselves. These stories mostly come from back during prohibition in the United States. During these days people did not understand the importance of keeping their equipment (mainly the still) clean. Many still where made of use car parts (that had traces of deadly chemicals in them) and unsanitary places where used to let the brew ferment.
2. Make you mash. Consult the recipe you are using for this part. The basic procedure is to mix your carbohydrates with distilled water in a large stock pot. Heat and then add yeast. Remove the pot from the heat and pour the mash into the fermenter. Let it settle, which can take one to two weeks.
3. Once your mash is ready, comes the distillation process. Put your mash in the boiling chamber of the sill and start heating it. The heat will evaporate the alcohol and the vapor will go through the tubes and into the collection chamber. To get clearer and smoother vodka it is suggested you go through the distillation process more than twice. Throw out the first and last 50 milliliters of alcohol. This is another danger of homemade vodka. The first and last 50 milliliters is said to be bad alcohol and can cause serious health problems such as blindness.
4. Next filter your vodka using the activated carbon filter. Do this step as many times as possible. High quality vodka you purchase from the store is filtered many times, which is why it’s a lot more smooth than the cheaper brands.
5. Now you can dilute your vodka and add a flavoring, if you wish. The vodka you have created is basically 90% alcohol. The vodka you buy in the store is usually 40% alcohol. Now I know what you are thinking, more alcohol is better. If you think this go ahead and take a drink of your creation, once you’ve picked yourself up off the floor you can dilute your vodka. Take distilled water and dilute your vodka using a 3:4 ratio. Now you can add a flavoring. Most flavoring take about 10 days to reach their full effect.