Craft of Whiskey Distilling

This is a great book for anyone interested in whisk(e)y. It's a must read for someone considering starting a craft distillery. Bill is very informative and passionate about the subject. I've read it twice already.

While the content seems to be intact and this book contains a lot of very useful information, I'm afraid I was really put off at spending $65.00 for a book that is littered with typos, misspellings, and bad grammar. The simplest modern wood processing software can nearly eliminate the misspellings - and certainly would take care of the sentence fragment problem. In this age of text messaging and sloppy English in email I guess poorly written printed matter was simply the next in line. The pictures are very nice - but instead of a caption, you'll find an index at the end of the book. I read the entire book and was disappointed that the pictures weren't identified and then I stumbled on the index at the end. I wasn't about to flip back and forth. Bill Owens clearly knows his stuff, but he and the American Distilling Institute appear to have pushed this project out very quickly to capitalize on the current interest in this growing craft industry. Hopefully the second addition will correct these mistakes.

With what I needed to know.

Practical and prescient, those are the two words that come to mind in describing Bill Owen's new book Craft Whiskey Distilling, published by the American Distilling Institute. Just like his book, How to Build a Small Brewery, Draft Beer in Ten Days, self-published almost thirty years ago, the author seems to anticipate the real-world questions, concerns and confusions of want-to-be craft distillers, most of whom having cut their teeth as home or craft brewers, desire to venture forth into the production of vodka, gin, whiskey, rum, etc. Distilling principles, styles, procedures, equipment, economics, licensing and even a three-year payback scheme called a "Down and Dirty Business Plan" are generously supported by resource lists, websites and recommended reading making this book the best single-stop shopping resource for all those interested in learning more about or diving into Craft Whiskey Distilling. The legendary craft brewing pioneer and father of pumpkin ale has again `lain across the wire' for the rest of us to climb over into the spirits world.

Had high expectations about this book, being the head of the American Distilling Institute, Bill Owens is no doubt a valuable resource of information and experience. However, the disorganization of this text combined with incomplete information and a plethora of typos make this book seem amateurish. I wish someone would take the time to revise this book for content, completeness and add some better than junior high school drawings. Not one photo in the book has a label on it. There are very superior books out there if you're interested in actually starting a craft distillery or even if you have an interest in the production of spirits. Save your money and pick something else.

It's a good introductory book to the world of whiskey production. Buen libro. Entrega aspectos generales de la producción del whiskey.

I expected a lot more out of this book. A lot of the content is filler that can easily be found elsewhere for free (TTB requirements and definitions, etc.) and the stuff that is in here is all very brief and not detailed. The sections on filtration and barrel aging, while also brief, are the only sections that where I have not seen the same information either on the internet or in less expensive books. If you are 100% certain you are going to start a commercial whiskey distillery, these two sections make this book worth purchasing. If not, save some money and get the cheaper, much better "Making Pure Corn Whiskey."

Buyer Beware - this is not a book worth the cost. While the content is marginally useful, the book's layout, format, graphics, spelling and grammer are horrible. There are some major content problems - it's missing the entire Chapter 6, there are numbers associated with the graphics with no explaination or legend, and there are no references to where the author's calcuations/formulas are derived. Confusing.The offered business plan is not a business plan - its a rude attempt to lay out some basic costs and expenses that are incomplete, and even by the most basic accounting principles, incorrect. No treatment for labor, shipping, and other basic costs as operating expenses, nothing on capitalization, depreciation, and many other critical omissions. The author makes an assumption that it would be a $350k investment, a page later asets cost to open in year two is $275k. Lastly, a business plan has much more than a poor general ledger - need staffing, marketing, advertising sections.To make the book better: get a ghost author to write/edit the book iinto decent shape, have an accountant do a first swipe at a fictional California craft distillery business plan, add a short section on upside and downside of business types (incorporation, sole proprietorship). Edit out the absent moonshine section.

Lots of detailed information related to starting a micro distillery. Steps through the whole process for making whisky. This is exactly what I was looking for.