Florida CANE's Distilling School
Our one-of-a-kind, hands-on distilling workshop teaches students how to ferment both grain and sugar-based mashes, reviews many types of craft spirits being produced today, and goes in-depth with many of the hobby’s nuances we’ve discovered over these past 15 years of distilling.
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Students receive:
- 10 hours of instruction from the Master Distiller of The Florida Cane Distillery
-Hands-on experience making whiskey that includes mashing, running stills, and prepping and filling barrels.
-A 1-liter charred new oak barrel filled with whiskey students make throughout the program and that they can age at their own house.
-Samples of each Discussion Spirit (Whiskey, Flavored Vodkas, Gin, and Rum)
Students will create the mash during the first sessions and begin the fermentation process. In the second session, students will distill their product for the first time and learn in-depth details about flavoring techniques used to produce Gin, Rum, and Flavored Vodkas. In the final session, students will redistill their product and prepare their barrels to begin the aging. They will take a finished product in their own small charred, new-oak, barrel.
Class 1:
· Mashing
· Cooking
· Fermenting
· Types of Stills
· Distilling
· Second Distillations
· Heads, Hearts & Tails
· Basic Terms
Group Work: Make a 30 Gallon Corn/Wheat/Malted Barley Mash
Sampling Discussion: American Whiskeys
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Class 2:
· Distilling Tools; Calculators
· Overview of Laws and Regulations
· Types of Spirits
· Tips and Tricks for Running the Still
Group Work: Distill an 8-gallon Sample of what we fermented
Sampling Discussion: Flavored Vodkas and Gin
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Class 3:
· Wooden Barrel Discussion
· Aging, Charring, Toasting, and Barrel Size
· Coloring of Whiskeys
· COLAS/FONL and Labeling Requirements
· Proofing and Blending
Group Work: Final Distillation Run & Barrel Preparation
Sampling Discussion: Rums
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