This is Jason, the new Spirits buyer for Amanti Vino; www.amantivino.com, on 30 Church Street in Montclair NJ. Historically our store has been one of Northern Jersey's premier wine retailers. Recently we have expanded to house an ever growing selection of small batch/ artisonal brews and are going to be doing the same for our spirits department over the coming months. As this is a new venture for Amanti I wanted to introduce myself to the community at large and offer up a chance to allow the industry to make suggestions. Looking forward to hearing from everyone.

February has been a very buys week for the distillery!
Our bond and insurance was issued, lease signed and keys handed over.
With the original bond in hand, we'll send the federal application in!
Let the countdown begin!

San Francisco

Saturday, March 27, 2010
At the
The Hotel Nikko
222 Mason (Mason @ O’Farrell)
5:00 pm to 10:00pm

• Single Malts, Bourbons, Superior Blended Whisky, Irish, Canadian, Japanese, …
• American Craft Distillers
• Hand Crafted Vodka, Gin, Brandy, Liqueurs, …
• Whisky Seminars
• Gourmet Food Booths
• Full Dinner Buffet
• Live Music
Join us to have an unforgettable experience, to sample incredible whiskies, and to see why people have been returning to the Whiskies of the World Expo year after!

All Ticket Sales and Details at
www.whiskiesoftheworld.com

Slainte

From the arguably coolest show on television comes the Mad Men Cocktail Guide. Mmmmm, Gibson Martini. The only thing better, a Perfect Gibson (1/2 vermouth, 1/2 sweet vermouth). Mad Men on DVD is definitely a better experience on DVD, if you're stuck with satelite/cable with 480p.

Mother Earth's Alcohol Fuel Seminar: set your time machine to 1980, it has a lot of information about distilling. From the summary at JourneyToForever.org:

©The Mother Earth News, 1980 (out of print)

In 1978 The Mother Earth News research team started studying methods and distillation processes, testing mash formulas, designing apparatus, compiling information, converting engines and running seminars, spending upwards of US$300,000 on the project. This manual is the result.

Basic information, methods, different feedstocks, processing, mash recipes, still designs and plans, low-cost backyard stills, Alcohol as an Engine Fuel, How To Adapt Your Automobile Engine For Ethyl Alcohol Use, Do-It-Yourself Water Injection System, MOTHER's Waste Oil Heater, and more.

The 2009 Great American Distillers Festival in Portland, Oregon is right around the corner, Saturday and Sunday, October 24th and 25th. Admission is $10 per day or $16 for both days with drink script included. The event is to be held at the Bossanova Ballroom, 722 E Burnside, Portland, OR 97215.

Yes, that's right. I want to convert cheese whey to alcohol. Any one know about the process? Resources or equipments?

This Entrepreneur article featuring Leopold Bros., talks about their road to profitability, fellow Denver distiller Stranahan's and the rise of small batch distilling in the U.S.

Diageo, the world's largest distilled spirits company, has announce a partnership with Shui Jing Fang to produce Shanghai White Vodka. When product will hit store shelves is not know at this time. At this time Shanghai White does not appear in the Diageo Vodka product showcase. The Wall Street Journal blog also had coverage of the launch. Here's a look at the Shanghai White Vodka packaging in case you need to go pick some up.

Craft Distiller’s have high spirits for Nashville

Nashville, TN. – June 18, 2009 –

Nashville natives Darek Bell and Andrew Webber couldn’t be in better spirits. They’re opening a second distillery in their home town of Nashville.

When Bell and Webber began planning their recently launched micro-distillery, Corsair Artisan, they discovered that distilling was not permitted in Davidson County nor in most of Tennessee. Their dream was to open the first micro distillery in Nashville. Instead the two became business expats, opening Corsair’s distillery in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Recent Tennessee legislative action may allow Corsair to return home. A bill allowing distilling in Davidson passed the legislature June 18 and awaits the governor’s signature. “We started two years ago with the intention of being a Nashville venture,” says Bell, “This is our hometown. We want to let the community visit and see what we’re doing as craft distillers.”

The Denver Daily News is reporting Stranahan's is moving to a larger facility. This Colorado whisky is an award winning product. It's impressive to see a distillery grow through demand for a single high quality product.

Organic Rye Vodka, Ginger Liqueur, Rose Hips Liqueur, Pear Brandy, all certified Kosher. Koval Distillery has a line up of interesting products. Gapers Block has a story about Koval and the people behind it. Here's another story from the Chicago Reader.

McMenamins Edgefield Distillery has released Penny's Gin, a 90 proof gin, the distillery's first new distilled product in four years. The back story behind the name can be found over at the Portland Business Journal.

SPIRITS MAKERS FORM NEW YORK CRAFT DISTILLERS GUILD

New York craft distillers met at the offices of the NEW YORK FARM BUREAU on April 21st to organize and launch the NEW YORK CRAFT DISTILLERS GUILD. The first Guild meeting was organized by the Hudson Valley Agri-Business Development Corporation. The location of the meeting at the offices of the NY FARM BUREAU is no accident. “We want to make the firm statement that spirits production in New York is an agricultural undertaking,” says Todd Erling, Executive Director of HVADC, “distillers use agricultural products, and craft distilleries have the potential to create new markets for New York grown fruits and grain while also creating a new tax source for the State.”

The Minnesota Senate Commerce Committee will hold a formal hearing on March 19, 2009, regarding SF 390, which would allow the issuance of "artisan distillery" licenses to distillers who produce less than 25,000 gallons per year. The bill would also allow on-site sampling and sales. The link may be found below.

I plan to testify in favor of this bill. If there are any other Minnesotans that would like to lend their support, Please contact me or Senator Amy Koch at:

sen.amy.koch@senate.mn

The link for the bill is here:

https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/bldbill.php?bill=S0390.0.html&se...

This article discusses Philadelphia Distilling’s Vieuxx Carre absinthe.

I have to say the bottling is downright chic.

Mark your calendars. Whiskies of the World Expo 2009, to be held in in San Francisco. This is the 10th annual event.

Read Burning Still coverage of Whiskies of the World Expo 2008. We had another site member attend WOW 2008 event as well.

Interested in more events? Check out our organizations, events and links page.

If you plan on going, post a comment to this thread and let other Burning Still members know.

This was sent in by the organizers of the event:

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Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton was sentenced to 18 months by U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer (Eastern District of Tennessee).

This San Francisco Chronicle article focuses on novel mashbills used by distilleries Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey, Heaven Hill Distilleries, Anchor Distilling, Clear Creek Distillery and St. George Spirits.

Free Marvin? Probably not likely. Burning Still published a story back in April about the reality for moonshiners in the U.S. which mentioned the case of Mr. Sutton. This Citizen Times story talks about the case and sentencing being delayed for a 4th time.

This Hemispheres Magazine article by Bill Marsano gets into small scale distilling, state laws, moonshiners and a few cocktail recipes. What more could you ask for?

Finger Lakes Distilling is preparing to begin distilling operations this fall. This Ithaca Journal article has the details.

The Seattle Times took notice of Portland's emerging distillery scene. Also, this article talks about the Seattletimes article, but also has an interesting photo of a 1901 distillery explosion.

This Statesman Journal article about Clear Creek Distillery talks about the history behind the distillery and the interesting process of making grappa. This distillery's Oregon Single Malt Whiskey made the pages of Jim Murray's Whiskey Bible as the best small-batch whiskey in the world.

This is another interesting story of local laws changing to support local craft distilling, this time in Michigan. It's also an interesting progression to see a brewer make a logical next step into distilling. With all of the craft brewers in Washington and Oregon, will we see a proliferation of distilled spirits coming from Northwest craft brewers?

It seems like it has been while in the making, but, it's official: the Oregon Distillers Guild is here. Of notable absence in the list of member is Clear Creek Distillery. The Washington Distillers Guild is also up and running.

The Oregonian is reporting that Integrity Spirits of Portland, Oregon is the second distillery in the U.S. to make and sell absinthe; following the lead of St. George Spirits. Burning Still has been covering recent developments in absinthe.

What is a trend in distilling when it can take 10 years, 15 years or more to produce a mature product? Add to that a small batch release and you have a whiskey that many will only read about. Read on in this SFGate article about what Anchor Distilling is up to.