The Art of Distilling

This post is dedicated to my brother. I took these pictures with precisely the intent of showing them to you. But it is also dedicated to JPS, JLH, Tom T, Will A, and of course CAB. I didn't drink any, but I was tempted to buy a huge jug. If we had had one of these at UMass, it would have been a time.
This is a traveling distiller with his still. I gather he drives around at harvest time and stops wherever people have been fermenting their rice. He takes the rice wine and makes it into a more potent rice moonshine. I gather the still works pretty fast as there was a pretty large flow of alcohol coming out the other end. He was working at two pm when I left the house and was still there when I came home after five. I took a picture when I was going by the first time, and then when I saw he was still there I asked to take more pictures. When he saw how interested I was, he told me I should take three pictures. One of him stoking the fire, one of him ladling out the booze and reading the alcoholometer and one of him drinking the delicious product. I took as many as I could, most of which have been uploaded for the readers enjoyment.

This is the first picture I took. The light was the best, so this picture came out the clearest. Click on it to see the stream of moonshine coming out of the condenser.

The next picture is the first one I took on the way back.

Stoking the fire under the boiler

Adding more coal

The rightfully self satisfied smile of the distiller. I know I'd be smiling at least that much if I had my own still.

Filling the tasting bowl directly from the condenser

Checking the specific gravity

Tasting the finished product

If you enjoyed these pictures please don't write or comment to tell me its a hydrometer not an alcoholometer. To me, it will always be an alcoholometer.