Moonshine Vodka (Samogon)

Moonshine Vodka in Progress...(smoke comes from fire pit underneath) Somewhere in Central Russia (exclusive report from wineterroirs)...
The moonshine vodka stories in Russia as reported in the West are always the same horror tales of cheap home-made hard spirits for alcoholics, laced with all sorts of deadly (and odd) ingredients resulting in many deaths. While such tragedies do occur here and there, Western Journalists (like in this report) always depict part of the picture and I think that Samogon (as moonshine vodka is named in Russian) deserves a better and more balanced coverage. The boiler

This is the central part of the Samogon [moonshine] kit : the boiler. It almost never has the same shape because it's often home made, I'd better say workshop made, as it has to be thick enough to stand the pressure. That's what you'll put on the fire.

Detail of the home-made (and home-welded) boiler

The media loves the horror stories related with alcohol when looking for Russia stories because although a bit caricatural they're easier to outline and they spare the lengthy analysis and nuanced approach needed for this very ancient and diverse world of moonshine alcohol in Russia. And these stories are certain to hit the right nerve on an otherwise easily-bored Western reader. But it is like reducing the french wine world to rioting high-yields-growers in the south of France: people love caricatures, especially when they are attached to countries they view as rivals, it helps maintain safe stereotypes. The reality on the terrain is more nuanced (I wonder if Moscow-based foreign journalists ever wander in the Russian hinterland...), I would even say that of what I learned here, the moonshine vodka is even at times of better quality that much of the vodka sold in the stores, and for one simple reason: Most of moonshine vodka is made for personal consumption, not for sale, and there's no harmful additive on any sort added in these personal vodkas like there can be in some industrial vodka sold on the market. The lethal samogon is always made for money by unscrupulous traffickers who want to make money with minimum effort, and add dangerous industrial products to that effect.

The steel-encased cooling alambicOf course, Samogon making is a sensitive subject and you will not be shown one easily (if you don't have the right connections, that is). It is sometimes performed outdoors because there's a typical smell with Samogon making that may be noticed by neighboors in an appartment building.
About the unit you see on this page, let's say that it was not for real, that it was just a free run for a few pictures...
As you can see, a Samogon, or moonshine-vodka unit is quite simple. The two main pieces were made and welded at home or at work, or by someone who makes them for money, and are often derived from other containers or tubes. You'll not find them in stores of course, but Russians will tell you, they are very widespread and easy to obtain. The boiler has usually a capacity from 10 to 20 liters, and the cooling unit is usually about 25 cm long with a diameter of about 10 cm, and can be round or square. All you need is some flexible tubes to connect all that, a cold water tap in the vicinity to have cold water run through the encased alambic, and a jar to collect the alcohol. You can do it outdoors like here, or in the kitchen, on the gas stove. I guess you thought some complicated, devilesque machinery à la Dr Frankenstein was needed to make Vodka. Nope. As simple as what you see here, easy out/easy in... The Essential Moonshine Kit...

Let's recapitulate: after you got your fermented brew ready (it can be bread with sugar and yeasts, or any fruits or bay), usually the fermenting stage being 10 or 12 days, you pour the fermented mixture in the boiler, seal it and connect it to the alambic (cooling part) with a flexible tube. Then you connect a cold-water tap to one end of the cooling unit, and the other end to the sink or like here, to a bucket (and of course you set the fire or the gas stove on). It's more convenient to do that on a kitchen stove, but the system works fine outdoor also, as it is demonstrated today.

The moonshine/samogon

The water and the fumes/alcohol-condensation go separate ways inside the cooler and never mix. The last thing is to connect the alambic to the receiving container. This is where the condensed alcohol will fall drop by drop, and it is usually this very common 3-liter glass jar that Russians use to can the vegetables and fruits that they all grow in their garden in the countryside. It takes a couple of hours, not much more, to have your 3-liter jar full with a 50° Samogon. Thanks to the cooling system, it's not even hot, ready to be served. The following steps, though (filtering and/or adding of a few bays for a few days for aroma) are very important to obtain an excellent and pure Samogon.

Flying over a (very cold, I can tell you) small river in deep Russia
This was at about the same time we made this moonshine experiment, my friends wanted to go swimming in this small river which for some reason was one of the coldest I ever had. I caught a cold the following days after having forced myself twice to immerge fully into this Siberian stream. Got cured by herbes and a strong medicine against angina named "Stop Angin" (СТОПАНГИН), this thing kills your throat !

Summer in Russia

Here comes the night

That's it

Comments

[putnam]

Brilliant!

[Iris]

It's always a great pleasure to follow you on your journeys! Once again you've found an original topic and pictures which tell the whole Story. Thank you!

[W. Shedd]

Excellent. While I've never had the pleasure of watching samogon being made, I've sampled (for experimental purposes only) samogon (made by the loving hand of my friends grandmother) in Kyrgyzstan.

[Chertiozhnik]

Great article!

What intrigues me about samogon is whether it contains alkaloids as well as the alcohol, and how they are added. I tried a couple of glasses at an inn near Kiev, and was high as a kite for hours afterwards - definitely not just the alcohol content.

[R H]

Not all Western readers are easily-bored, television addicted drones with Attention Deficit Disorder! Sorry to disturb your safe-stereotype of Americans. I found your story very interesting and enjoy reading about the well steeped traditions of cultures that have been around for a long time.

America also has a very interesting moonshine history dating back to the end of the Civil War (when alcohol tax started) and just as you describe for Russian Samogon the media only reports on the horror stories of lead and grain alcohol poisoining from the same type of bandits trying to make some quick dirty cash.

A friend of mine whose father was raised and lived in Bulgaria most of his life used to make wine and a liquor he called Rakia from the leftovers of the wine production. It was very good.

Thanks for the great story!

[Mark]

Just found this by chance.
Great info. Thanks for taking the time to share it

[Forced Gangbang Thumbs]

hh... luv it.