5 Gallon Bourbon Mash Recipe
HOW TO MAKE
BOURBON AT HOME:
A GUIDE FOR MAKING
GREAT WHISKEY
***Before we get started, let me get this out of the way: It is illegal to distill spirits at home. Not because it is dangerous to do so, but because over half the retail price of a bottle of distilled spirits consists of taxes.
Taxes on beer and wine are low compared to the very high taxes imposed on whiskey, vodka, gin, and all other distilled spirits, and the government doesn't want to lose any of the many billions of dollars it receives each and every year by letting you make your own bourbon. The law will come after you if they think you are making bourbon or any other spirits. Therefore, this article is for entertainment purposes only. It's only wrong if you get caught.***
One of the most frequent questions we get from our Bourbon Of The Day email subscribers is whether its possible to make bourbon at home. Beer is going crazy right now, with previously unknown operations creating their own funky-named brews on a damned near daily basis.
While any old college kid can make a batch of stout, it takes a little more time, effort, and some specialized items to make bourbon at home. For starters, you may want to pick up a copy of The Joy of Home Distilling . This book provides most of the information that you will find below. 
HOMEMADE BOURBON RECIPE INGREDIENTS
HOW TO MAKE BOURBON MASH
A mash is just that – grains mashed up into a nice primordial bourbon stew. To create your own bourbon mash , you will need some grain. A traditional bourbon mash combines corn, rye, and barley or wheat, so that's what we will be using for our mash bill.
Play around with the grain ratio's, but for instructional purposes, we recommend 70% corn, 15% rye, and 15% wheat (or 15% barley instead). Using wheat will give your bourbon a more mild flavor profile.
Throw both the corn and rye grains into your Corona corn and grain mill. It will take three passes to get the mill texture that you are looking for. You'll add the barley or wheat mix separately from the other grains.
After you have your grains all pulverized, put 5.5 gallons of water into your 10-gallon brew pot. Bring the water to boil at 212 degrees and turn off the heating source. Begin stirring in your grain mix. Stir continuously for around 8 minutes.
After stirring check the temperature of the water every 30-60 seconds and once it reaches 150 degrees pour in your 1.5 lbs of barley or wheat.
Once the mixture gets to 86 degrees, add one pack of that distiller's yeast while giving the mix a stir. Keep stirring for a few minutes to make sure the yeast is playing nice with your bourbon mash .
What you should be looking at is a nice pot full of dough-like substance that smells like cornbread.
FERMENTING YOUR BOURBON MASH
Now its time to ferment! Put your mash into those two 5 gallon jugs or the fermentation bucket that you purchased above (you will have to split the mix up). Seal them up and put the jugs somewhere to ferment for about 2 weeks.
When 10 – 14 days have passed, grab your nut milk bags and strain the mixture into your copper still.
This is where the magic happens.
(…dum dum dum dum da da da dum dum dum…)
INTO YOUR BOURBON STILL KIT
The hard part is over, but you ain't ready to get red-faced just yet. You'll need to use your cheesecloth to filter the solid mash ingredients from the rest of the wash. The stuff you are straining into the still is a very weak and watery alcohol. The still evaporates the alcohol and separates the distillate into the pot. You will need to put the still over medium heat for an hour and let it work its magic. If you purchased a still from our recommended link above, your still will come with instructions on how to make everything happen.
COLLECTING YOUR BOURBON DISTILLATE
Now comes the delicate step of collecting your bourbon distillate. This is where your practice and patience comes in very handy. When you start the process of distilling your bourbon, you will collect the distillate in 4 stages. The foreshots, heads, hearts, and tails. Each of these stages will look, smell and taste differently. Being able to detect the subtle changes between each of these 4 stages take lots of practice and experience.
FORESHOTS
First are the foreshots, which make up about 5% of your total distillate. You will be collect and throw out this part of your bourbon distillate. The reason? Foreshots contain methanol, a toxic form of alcohol that should never be consumed. This is due to the fact that it will make you go blind if you drink it.
HEADS
Next up are the heads. The heads make up around 30% of your total distillate. This part of your distillate will also be thrown out as they also contain toxic alcohols, such as methanol, acetaldehyde, and acetone. These chemicals will also cause injury if consumed. You can recognize this phase of your distillate by the solvent-y smell usually associated with rubbing alcohol.
HEARTS
The hearts are the area of your bourbon distillate that you should be aiming for. These make up the next 30% of your bourbon distillate. This is the sweet spot of your batch that is safe to consume. The hearts are made up of mostly ethanol and can be recognized by their sweeter taste and neutral smell. The part of your batch won't have the chemically smell that the foreshots and heads had. When you begin to notice that the solvent-y smell is gone and start to taste test your distillate, DO NOT swallow the liquid. Instead simply taste a very small portion and spit it out, as you don't want to accidentally consume any toxic elements that may still be distilling out of your batch. The hearts are what you will be aging in the next step and turning into your batch of homemade bourbon.
TAILS
After the hearts have been collected you will notice that your distillate becomes more bitter than sweet and will have an oily residue that sits atop the liquid. This portion of your distillate is known as the tails. It will comprise about 35% of your total batch and can be reused for your next batch of bourbon distillate. The tails contain chemicals such as propanol, butanol, acetic acid, and fusel alcohols. These are what cause the steep decline in sweetness that you can use to detect this stage of your distillate. Collect the tails and save them to be used during your next distillation.
AGING BOURBON AT HOME
You should now have a nice 'white dog' (aka moonshine) that you can drink or age. I HIGHLY recommend aging your concoction in one of the small barrels listed above. Why? Because un-aged spirits are for un-aged drinkers.
The aging process takes a lot less time since there is a smaller bourbon to barrel surface area. Add charred oak chips (or some spices if you like) and voila. You are aging bourbon like a boss!
Good homemade bourbon takes time to age. You'll want to age your bourbon batch for at least three months. If you're the extra patient type you could age your bourbon for years. This will allow the oak flavors from the barrel to fully saturate your bourbon distillate. For instance, Booker's Bourbon is aged 6 to 8 years and it is an absolutely astonishing bourbon. Either way you wish to experiment, you'll be happy that you decided to make your own homemade bourbon.
This isn't the easiest process, and you will have to trust yourself and your The Joy of Home Distilling. But once you take that first sip of your very own concoction, the effort and the wait will be worth your while!
If you have any questions, comments, advice, or if you have tried your hand at home distilling, leave us a comment below.
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5 Gallon Bourbon Mash Recipe
Source: https://bourbonoftheday.com/how-to-make-bourbon-at-home/
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71 Comments
To make a mild sour mash bourbon other than aging in an oak barrels what else needs to be added during the aging process???
Nothing! In fact, to be a legit bourbon you dont add anything but water. If you want to get sexy with it, you can add some french oak staves (like Makers Mark 46 does)
Do you have to use a bubbler for fermenting like you do with beer? Otherwise will the fermenting process pop the tops d/t pressure build up?
Yup. Send me a private message. I dont want the law coming after me! LOL
It is not illegal to distill your own spirits. It is illegal to sell what you do distill without paying the taxes.
Ahhhh! Thanks for the clarification! I feel better about what Im doing now! LOL
Many states have a limit on the quantity you can distill for "personal consumption". And don't sell it!
Federal law prohibits the distilling of alcohol in all states. Missouri allows the making of up to 200 gallons per year of spirits for personal consumption with out any sales, however, the federal laws making alcohol distillation illegal supersede the state laws.
The article mentions collecting the tails and saving them to be used during your next distillation.
How are the tails use? Are they covered and stored in the refrigerator or room temperature. How long are they good for?
Are the tails added to the 5.5 gallons of water or do you reduce the amount of water by the same amount collected?
If you get an answer to this, I'd like to know too. I was thinking the same thing.
You put your tails in your thumper. The tails are what have the flavors from your last batch and will help with the flavor of your next batch and you can keep them at room temp in a jar till you get ready to use them.
I just saw the statement about a bubbler. How/When do you add it to the mash that's in the 5 gallon jugs and what bubbler would you suggest yourself?
It is not illegal to distill spirits in most states…
Wrong. Federal law stipulates that distillation with out a license is illegal.
I'm all about home brewing and would love the bill to be past so I could learn to make my own try something new and put this law to rest you shouldn't have to own a whole company just to see what kind of product you could make on your own. Then maybe start a company making it if you like what your making and have some perfected recipes.
Julie
I've always wanted to make my own moonshine and this looks like it will make the process much easier! The 5-gallon kit is really sleek and compact, I think I'll go with something like that compared to the 8-gallon kit.
The time-lapse video was a fun watch and I appreciate that you included a link to recipes as well.
Anything additional I should do if I want to age for say 18 years? I want to make and aged bourbon around my son's 3rd birthday so I can age for the next 18 years to drink on his 21st birthday together.
Thoughts?
I would be very hesitant to age any spirits for 18 years in a 5 gallon barrel. This small of a barrel would bring too much of the oak tannins, even at 1 year, let alone 18. Besides, the evaporation rate would leave you with maybe a tablespoon of liquid ar that timespan.
18 years is even a hit or miss affair for the industry standard 53 gallon barrel. The vast majority is bottled in the 4-7 year range. To get an 18 year old whiskey, the major producers routinely sample barrels from many different floors and multiple rickhouses (where the barrels are stored), to find just the right ones that would not get too "woody" before the desired time.
If you are really interested in aging your own bourbon, i would suggest Chuck Cowdery's eBook "Small Barrels Produce Loudy Whiskey". It is free and available at Amazon.
That would be very cool. Do it!
Hello
In this recipe, how is the starches converted to fermetable sugars?
AT the 3 month point what is the % of alcohol one should expect?
When you mention adding the yeast at 86 degrees after bringing the mash to a boil, would this be during the cool down phase?
After distillation, you're looking at (more or less, excluding impurities) 100% alcohol. If you're talking about fermenting for 3 months, you're wasting your time.
Please can you tell me where I can purchase a still
Several stills are available on line. Even Walmart sells a 5 gallon copper still.
The only tax you pay is on rum not whiskey
I have read about using "essence". If I age moonshine in a charred oak barrel. Do I have to add essence? Or will I actually have bourbon just aging in the barrel.
How much water are you putting in to make the mash?
Worst instructions I've ever read. This is either a very poor attempt at a sour mash or you totally forgot some form of enzymes. You are attempting to ferment pure starch, There is absolutely no sugar being converted. I recommend getting better and more accurate information by reading a few books.
Hey BourbonMan. Thanks for the feedback! We've gone through and improved our step by step instructions. 👌 People like you help us make our content better.
Hey BourbonMan, can you post a link to the article you've written on distilling bourbon whiskey?
I don't know why they have raised the tax rate. This is not illegal. You live is u city or examine us napa valley. He is one of the most popular city for producing wine. Please can you tell me where I can purchase a still
Do you need to regulate the temp. While fermentation of the mash?
Yes. Heat the pot to 165 degrees and then turn off the heating source. Stir the pot continuously and check the temp every 30 seconds. Let cool to 150 degrees before pouring in the barley. Once the pot reaches 86 degrees pour in your distiller's yeast. Sorry for the delay in response. Let me know if you have any other questions.
The recipe directions say that after I pulverize my grains I should throw them into a pot of water…how much water? And then, I'm assuming that once it's cooked up, I am supposed to put everything that's in the pot, into the two 5-gallon jugs.
You want to add your grain mix to 5.5 gallons of boiling water. I've added these details into the recipe. Yes after adding all your grains into the water and mixing thoroughly, you want to add the mix into those jugs. A better alternative is using a fermentation bucket. You won't need to split up the mix this way.
Let me know if you have any other questions. 🙂
Also, what's a "heaping pile" of whole corn?–can you give me a weight or tell me approximately how many cups of corn that means? Once I know that, I can figure out the ratio mix.–Thanks again!
Hey Cindy. Great question! I've clarified this in the recipe instructions. Heaping pile = 7lbs for this recipe. Thanks for reading and let us know if you have any other questions! 🙂
Your recipe is for Rye Whiskey, not Bourbon.
Negatory Chris. Traditional Bourbon is made from a mash bill that is made up of at least 51% corn. Rye whiskey is made using a mash bill consisting of at least 51% rye instead. Maybe you're referring to the wheat instead of barley, but it still doesn't make this recipe a rye whiskey. Using wheat instead of barley will just give your bourbon a smoother and less harsh flavor.
Once we have the distilled liquid which is say sitting at around 60-64% alcohol, do we add water to bring it down to around 40% BEFORE barreling, or is water added afterwards at the bottling stage later and after the aging in barrels is completed? Great article thanks.
Barrel it high. Then when drawing from the barrel proof it down to drinking, to your choice. I would like to think 88 proof is nice.
How do you measure proof after distilling? and adding whatever percentage of water is the only knob you need to turn to adjust?
You pitch your yeast directly onto the grains before running off the wash and straining? You actually never mention straining off the grains. I don't imagine you toss the liquid and grains into the fermenter together do you?
Chris, I recently acquired a really cool old copper still. I think the welds are lead. Would you be concerned?
Hey Paul,
I would be concerned! As a professional Chemist and experienced Materials Scientist, whom utilizes distillation techniques on a regular basis, the materials of your still are fundamental to the process.
Copper is utilized for its thermal conductivity and the flavor it imparts during the distillation process. Lead solder would interact on a molecular level, more so under a highly reactive environment (solvents, heat, and atmospheric oxygen).
In all honesty, one time use won't likely kill you due to a single exposure; however, lead works through repeated exposures and a compounding toxicity level. Best to avoid all well known, dangerous heavy metals.
try bananas/strawberries five gallons, like have a aging barrel if did.
Shouldn't you be adding about 7 lbs of sugar as well? There's no real sugar besides the little amount that is in the corn. Also some sort of enzyme such as Alpha amalyse to break down the glucose molecules? Just hoping for clarification. Cheers!
Hows about barley malt? i didn't see it in your mashbill. If you would like to use only grain you must use enzymes instead of malt. "Once the mixture gets to 86 degrees, add one pack of that distiller's yeast" – Are you seriously? Yeast in the wort can be added at a temperature of not more than 35 degrees Celsius. Are you sure you've ever made bourbon? LOL.
HI mate,
How much sugar do you recon adding to this?
I have used your recipe as a guide with 6.5kg of corn and 1.3kg of wheat & barley each. I also added 8kg of sugar to the wash and I used 50g of Brewers Yeast.
It's still fermenting- i'll let you know when its finished.
Are there recommended temperatures for fermenting and aging??
How do you determine that you have gotten rid of 5% of your alcohol (Foreshots). Is there an easy way to measure that? And the subsequent 30%?
The phrase "Bring the water to boil at 160 degrees…" doesn't make sense. Do you bring it to a boil (212 degrees F) or do you heat it to 160 degrees F (well short of a boil)?
Good eye Ozzy! Thanks for pointing this out. Just got it fixed.
Quick question. Some recipes with flaked maize call to add the corn and rye at 165 to hydrate then bring to 190-195 to gelatinize and keep it there for 90 minutes before dropping to 145-152 degrees to add malt and convert for another 60-90 minutes before dropping to pitching temp. Is the higher temp rest not necessary with flaked maize? There is a lot of conflicting information out there.
Chris, I recently acquired a really cool old copper still. I think the welds are lead. Would you be concerned?
This post appears twice. I posted a response a few posts about.
In short, absolutely be concerned about the materials utilized in your distillation process! They affect flavor, quality and safety.
i see you did not mention sugar . Is it because of the proteins in the grains give enough sugar not to warrant the adding of extra
How can I separate or what are the step by step to separate the different stages of bourbon, very stage has a time or something similar ?
Thanks and great article
What is the expected amount of finished product that comes from this recipe after distilled?
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I think I will just stick to buying it!….LOL
Is there anyway you can share what the final taste profile would be in terms of sold brands? If you can do so without any legal concerns 🙂 . Maybe you can say something like, "rhymes with Hasil Bayden, Tuffalo Brace…"
Distilling is illegal (not that I care lol) but fermenting your own (wine) (or as we call it mash) lol is legal.