Making Vodka from Potatoes

[Skean Dhude]

Vodka seems to me, who doesn't drink btw, as the poor mans whisky. It is also one of the most versatile and cheapest spirits being recommended as an antiseptic wash for every first aid kit.

The reason though it is so popular is that it is relatively easy to make from potatoes in every flat in Russia. That is why they managed to survive and live in that society. Vodka has also been made with wood pulp as well as the standard grains, potatoes and rice among others which makes the ingredients easy to come by even in a poor society.

Anyway here is a simple recipe for Vodka from Potatoes. (Russian for little water)

To make 1L of Vodka.

Peel around 1Kg of potatoes and chop the potatoes into around 1cm cubes.
Put all of the potato cubes in a pressure cooker with quite a lot of water, make sure to well cover the potatoes.
When the potato has dissolved into the water let it cool down before straining the potato. The potato juice is your potato vodka base.
To distill the potato juice you heat the juice, capture the resulting steam and collect it which forms your potato vodka. This is the role of the still. You can improvise with a pot with a pipe that the steam can escape from. This pipe goes into a collecting bowl. If long enough the steam will condense and run into the collecting bowl. Discard the first 50 ml of output and stop collecting before the pot runs dry. This removes the bad parts in the vodka. This is the part that causes blindness.

This will be single distilled vodka. Repeat to double distill and again to triple distill. The more distillations the higher the ethanol level which can lead to fatalities. Don't do more than 5 distillations to minimise the potency.

Then store this Vodka for your medical kit. It is a very cost effective method of producing alcohol.

[Skvez]

The problem with any home distilling is knowing what alcohol you are getting.
Methanol CH3OH causes blindness (among other things)
Ethanol C2H5OH is the 'alcohol' we are used to
It's very difficult to know how much of each you are creating, you create some of both.
The "discard the first 50ml" rule is to (try) and get rid of the Methanol but depending on the temperature you may drive it off slightly later, or you may have created more than 50ml of it.
Home-distilled moonshine is fine for sterilising skin but I'd be concerned about using it for internal consumption.

And of course doing this before an event is going to get you in trouble with certain government bodies regarding duty.

<Edit: to try and get the subscripts>

[ste]

hi guys
just a little tip for knowing that you have got rid of the harmful methanol, it tastes very sweet like pear drops,so when distilling when it starts to come out use your little finger "dip it an lick it", soon as the pear drop flavour has gone the methanol has gone.

[Danger Thompson]

Aside from the drinkey purposes, in a SHTF situation how feasible is it to distill your own fuel either for heating, cooking of at a stretch transport. I know theres Bio Diesel but?

[Skean Dhude]

(1 February 2012, 21:26)Danger Thompson Wrote: Aside from the drinkey purposes, in a SHTF situation how feasible is it to distill your own fuel either for heating, cooking of at a stretch transport. I know theres Bio Diesel but?

Totally feasable.

It's all the same stuff but alcohols burn differently from fuels. It won't do your normal car engine any good but you can convert it or make an alcohol engine.

[Scythe13]

Vodka can also be used as a mouthwash, soap, footwash, or deodorant (check mythbusters for evidence/recipes)

To stop blindness, run the home-brew through active charcoal. That'll sort it out.

[Danger Thompson]

A friend a few years back created foot Vodka by using charcoal insoles between two coffee perculator filter cones to filter the alcohol. To say we were nervous was an understatement.

Quote Homer Simpson on the Flaming Homer "It passed the first test, I didn't go blind!"

[cryingfreeman]

In Ireland we have a potato-based moonshine called "poteen" (pronounced "Potcheen"), one of the most powerful alcoholic beverages on the planet. Hence it is illegal in NI due to it causing blindness, death, etc. However, there is one guy in Co. Tyrone who makes it to such a high standard that various British politicians have allegedly visited him discreetly to secure supplies. The police know about him but quietly let him work away due to the quality of his "rocket fuel".

[Kenneth Eames]

Cryingfreeman I am glad to read your news re-Poteen. A great deal of illicit whiskey (spelt the Irish way), is far more pure, than that which comes from legally recognised distilleries. 95% pure spirit cut to 40% with pure water, produced in an old type still less the fusil oil, etc., is gentle on the stomach. Very useful for other uses apart from human consumption. The fusil oil etc., can be used for cleaning, cooking, etc.. Kenneth Eames.

[Daylen]

As others have said, alcohol is a REALLY useful item and in my view, making it should be classed as an essential skill for when the SHTF.

It's a solvent, a fuel, an antiseptic, anaesthetic and you can drink it to get drunk. This last effect shouldn't be overlooked. I think that post SHTF social bonding will be absolutely vital (well, it is now to but it doesn't really happen much that's why we're in this mess). A good drink can work wonders and can work as an anti-depressant.