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I have a bottle of 151 grain alc that I want to make into a reasonable trade whiskey.I'll cut it with water, but besides snake heads or tobacco what can I add to it?Im putting it in a oak keg to age for a month or so before rendevous( aged ya know)
Many years ago, during my 'mountain man' phase, I researched 'trade whisky', wore buckskins, went to rendezvous, among other things. One of the oddest ingredients said to be used in it, (trade whiskey) was strychnine. The story being told that Indians, OPPS!, sorry, (PC) Native Americans didn't think whisky was any good, if it didn't make them sick. Fact or fiction, it sounded rather perverse to me, putting a deadly poison into something other people would consume.
 
Nothing sweet! When I still made moonshine, I would have my still set up so the product would go through six layers of charcoal and coffee filters as it dripped into a funnel going to the jugs. It had the same effect as aging it for a long time. The best flavor I ever made was with a braid of sweet grass put in the gallon jugs. Delicious, subtle, and no hangover like sweet concoctions will cause!
With all that filtering you're making vodka not whisky. Nothing wrong with that but it's not really whisky. That's why there's negligible hang-over. It's a two headed coin. The flavour but also the hang-over (if you drink a lot) comes from the impurities.

The flavour is contained in the impurities. When you distill, you discard the foreshots but set aside the "heads" (the acetone-like aromatic high-proof alcohols) then collect the "hearts" (main part of the run with the sweet tasting alcohol) eventually the proof drops to the point where the "tails" starts (wet hair of the dog smell). Those are set aside too. The proportion of heads and tails added to the main run determines the flavour profile. A big distillery doesn't set aside heads & hearts but rather the experienced still master knows the right points in the run to "throw the switch" to collect, and stop collecting, on the run. That's why he's paid the big bucks because it's a precious (paramount) skill knowing when to do it.

Aging is how you further shape that taste profile. Bourbon goes in charred oak barrels (caramels & sugars) and it's time in, and where that barrel is placed, in the warehouse (temperature) determines another part. Scotch uses used barrels (old bourbon, old sherry etc) which adds yet more flavours and their warehouses tend to be cooler (next to the sea) and thus mature more slowly and smoothly. Scotches can have some very complex flavour profiles. Taste is a multi-sensory experience!

Lets not forget that what is being fermented also determines the flavour profile. Whisky is made from fermented beer but there are many ways to make "beer". Part of that is the malting process. Even the smell/taste of peat sometimes used to dry the malts in scotches can come through powerfully.

To me good whisky is not so much for "drinking" but sipping/smelling. It's an acquired taste that comes from knowing and appreciating what's gone into making a good one. One of my favourite single malts I'd never pour more than an ounce into a "Glencairn" style whisky glass (great for smelling the whiskey) for the evening. It's very "peaty" which is why I love it but it's not for everyone. It's flavour & smell is very complex as you can see from its tasting below - note the nose & palate ;-).

Ardbeg
Uigeadail
“A marriage of younger whiskies aged in ex-bourbon casks with older ex-sherry casks, Uigeadail is considered the favorite among the distillery’s most ardent fans. Pronounced OOGEH-dull.
PRICE $$ · RATING
AGE No age statement
ALC/VOL 54.2%
NOSE Wet stone, antique leather, iodine, smoked meat, and the mustiness of an Army/Navy surplus store; water brings out rubber balloons, caramel chews, and cinnamon. There’s a vague herbaceous quality as well, like fresh-cut mint.
PALATE Full-bodied and sweet up front, then turns toward rubber and charred meat; water dampens the sweetness but brings out dark chocolate and cinnamon notes. The cinnamon continues through the lingering finish.
GENERAL Satisfying, full, and delicious—but only if you’re a serious peat head.”
Excerpt From: Clay Risen. “Single Malt Whisky.”

If I was to go "drinking" for the evening on the other hand I'd reach for the clear vodka for mixing. I'm just too old and crotchety for hang-overs. ;-D
 
I have a bottle of 151 grain alc that I want to make into a reasonable trade whiskey.I'll cut it with water, but besides snake heads or tobacco what can I add to it?Im putting it in a oak keg to age for a month or so before rendevous( aged ya know)
Just use one of these for three 750 ml bottles
Bourbon Essence

LD
 
No sweet or flavored kiddy juice for me thanks, be it rum or whiskey or Scotch I like it to 'bite back'.
I have sensitive taste buds, can't stand Zia or Pyrate or Sailor Jerry stuff - if it's rum then it's best pot distilled such as Sea Wynde (I own the last few remaining bottles on earth) or Smith & Cross, in a pinch then Pusser's will do.
Whiskey, I won't touch Jim Walker or any of that bottom shelf junk and I don't like bourbons - gotta be rye or double rye and prefer Whistle Pig or on a budget High West or at least Bullet.
Scotch, now I get real picky, it MUST be peaty! I am most partial to Lagavulin 16 year, 8 year if I must, and Ardbeg is an excellent substitute.

As for hangovers, I learned long time ago the secret is:
1) Drink WATER.
Most of the 'hangover' is due to dehydration. Drink plenty of water before, during, and After drinking alcohol and you should do well.
2) Eat.
Don't drink on an empty stomach.
3) Moderation.
You either drink to socialize, relax, enjoy, or you drink to get drunk. I do not enjoy the later.

But as for the question the OP posed; I would go with the snake heads myself!
 
He is asking for trade whisky, not good stuff.
It was pretty raw and not aged except on the trip from maker to voo or trading post
Tobacco and snake heads were added to pretty green whisky,
It was cut with water, red pepper, licorice, sugar, pine tar or juniper berrys was also added. It was supposed to taste sharp.
 
Well good luck but DRINKING trade whiskey takes being PC beyond my comfort zone. I'll go with 40 years old Bourbon. etc. :)
I agree. All I can say is if I had anything green with a "snakes head" in it ... it would be up for trade too ... just sayin. ;-D

IMHO any alcohol with "living tissue" in it belongs in a lab and not a bar.
 
It's like moonshine. I think some folks have had corn whiskey, aged about 4 years, and think that's moonshine. The real stuff tastes about as good as drinking fingernail polish and is probably about as safe to drink. This trade whiskey was doctored up to "go farther" and sold to the NDN's.
 
I agree. All I can say is if I had anything green with a "snakes head" in it ... it would be up for trade too ... just sayin. ;-D

IMHO any alcohol with "living tissue" in it belongs in a lab and not a bar.
I’ve seen fights between otherwise normal guys over who could eat the worm in a tequila bottle.
I’m thinking in Southeast Asia liquor sold with a snake in the bottle
 
Many years ago, during my 'mountain man' phase, I researched 'trade whisky', wore buckskins, went to rendezvous, among other things. One of the oddest ingredients said to be used in it, (trade whiskey) was strychnine. The story being told that Indians, OPPS!, sorry, (PC) Native Americans didn't think whisky was any good, if it didn't make them sick. Fact or fiction, it sounded rather perverse to me, putting a deadly poison into something other people would consume.
Kind of like fentanyl.
 
It's like moonshine. I think some folks have had corn whiskey, aged about 4 years, and think that's moonshine. The real stuff tastes about as good as drinking fingernail polish and is probably about as safe to drink. This trade whiskey was doctored up to "go farther" and sold to the NDN's.
Corn liquor gave me indigestion, just like burping Doritos 😅 Scotch is awful, whiskey smells like Oak mulch and Vodka is medicinal. That leaves moonshine from fruit. Apple Jack's my favorite followed by peach. Don't drink anymore since the "Big C" but have fond memories of sunny days, good friends, Harley-Davidsons and a nip or two of Herb's shine:horseback:
 
Mother's side of the family in SW Virginia had a couple of entrenpreneurs with no respect for Federal Revenue codes. It happened they were WWII vets with combat experience. One of them, curiously, with British commandos. They were never "busted". Made good drinking whiskey.
Don't know if their reputation or their savvy kept them safe.
 
Mother's side of the family in SW Virginia had a couple of entrenpreneurs with no respect for Federal Revenue codes. It happened they were WWII vets with combat experience. One of them, curiously, with British commandos. They were never "busted". Made good drinking whiskey.
Don't know if their reputation or their savvy kept them safe.
They died wealthy men. In the vernacular of the mountains, they started off with nothing and made something out of it.
 
It's like moonshine. I think some folks have had corn whiskey, aged about 4 years, and think that's moonshine. The real stuff tastes about as good as drinking fingernail polish and is probably about as safe to drink. This trade whiskey was doctored up to "go farther" and sold to the NDN's.

The thing most people gloss over is distillation does not produce anything that wasn't already there (in the beer or wine). Distillation is a refining process. Beer & wine making create the "poisons" (& is perfectly legal) and yet most people have no qualms about drinking those. Distillation can actually reduce the bad things that were in the beer or wine.

Good shine has a neutral slightly sweet taste and it's ridiculously easy to make good shine. The danger of shine is not what's in it per se but it's sheer strength. It must be diluted with something or consumed in infinitesimal amounts. Alcohol is one of those substances that has a narrow window between "I feel effect" and lethal toxicity. Respect it and it's no problem but novices can and often do get into trouble if they don't.

As for putting poison into something check up on "Jake Leg". During prohibition approx 30,000 people went partially paralyzed (permanently) because readily available medicines with alcohol in them became unavailable or were denatured by government edict. Jamaica Ginger Extract which had been used by many as a previously exempt alcohol source since the 1860's, unfortunately and without anybody's knowledge, had been laced with a plasticizer Tri-ortho cresyl phosphate (TOCP), also called tricresyl phosphate. It was the neurotoxin responsible for the lower leg & foot paralysis associated with "Jake Walk." A weird slappy limping gate they had for the rest of their lives.

FWIW there was a lot more drinking going on back in the day. Probably due to the water quality. Interesting to see prohibition's moderate effect compared to the previous reduction prior to 1850.
Fig5-8 Alcohol Consumption.jpg
 
When I was six , Dad took me for the first time , to his WW-2 buddies' , "Camp" , in the north woods of Pa.. It was summer , I was an inquisitive kid , and the only kid in camp , I had observations , and questions about what was there. Under Tom's bed , was a gallon jug of semi clear , slightly brown tinted liquid. After supper , the guys there , got this "under the bed" , jug out , saying they were going to have a ceremonial drink. My best buddy , Albert , WW-1 vet. , got this big smile on his face in anticipation of the event. There were two objects in the bottom of the jug that looked like turds , causing me to ask who would drink water with poop in it. Albert told me after the laughter died down , the two objects in the jug were dried prunes , and they were put in the jug to dissolve and add color. Studying the guy's faces when they sampled the prune colored shine , caused me to never want to taste the liquid , even though I hunted from that camp until age 18. ............oldwood
 
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