The moonshine still pictured above was found in the woods near Asheville, NC.
I was asked when do you think the still was built?
Upon examination of the "worm" in noticed a copper elbow that like the ones you buy a ACE hardware. My guess was the still was 50 years old and almost worthless. (As copper scrap you could get $500)
Go on e-bay and you can buy this junk for $2000. I suggest using it as decorations for the garden.
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Pennsylvania: Is time right to sell state stores?
State senator pushes bill to privatize liquor sales
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
By Steve Twedt, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A Montgomery County state senator wants Pennsylvania to get out of the retail wine and liquor business -- and one of his proposals involves selling a 51 percent stake in the state store system to a private equity firm to "wring out" inefficiencies before selling it off completely.
Other possibilities include an outright sale or contracting long-term leases.
"Quite frankly, I think private equity would be very interested in it," said attorney Lee Keevican, of Renaissance Partners, a Pittsburgh investment banking firm. "Just by its scale, I would think it would be pretty valuable."
Selling Pennsylvania's state stores is a decades-old idea, but Republican Sen. Rob Wonderling of Montgomery County thinks the timing may be right.
People who have lived in or visited other states are accustomed to being able to buy wine and beer in a grocery, he said. Pennsylvania is one of only 18 "control" states -- states that actually own the alcoholic product at some point -- and typically are grouped with Utah as among the most restrictive.
"Inevitably, free market competition always results in better quality at the best possible price for the consumer, and it does so exceedingly better than a public monopoly," said Mr. Wonderling.
Rather than spending tax dollars to support a state-run system and its employees, the government could use the money to fund health care or improve the state's highways and bridges, he said.
Mr. Wonderling plans to introduce the bill next month and, while too soon to know what kind of support it may receive, he said that "I think we are in an era where members of the General Assembly are oriented toward reducing the size of state government, not growing it."
The opposition could be formidable, though, including unions representing many of the 4,000 full- and part-time state store employees, the Liquor Control Board itself, and others who believe the state should maintain control of where, how much and what kinds of alcohol are sold.
"I don't know if we'll be supportive of the bill," said Rebecca Shaver, regional executive director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. At his request, she is meeting with Mr. Wonderling today.
"We historically have not been in favor of the privatization initiative. We feel the state handles the sale of alcohol in a more responsible way than having alcohol sold by those who don't specialize in selling alcohol."
One of the biggest concerns, she said, is underage drinking. She is skeptical that a network of private retailers can match the state stores' training program for spotting underage, or intoxicated, customers.
"I just don't see how a private system can keep all those things in place."
Liquor Control Board Chairman P.J. Stapleton believes there are clear benefits to a state-controlled system.
"We provide a very important service in making sure that underage drinkers do not purchase wine and spirits, and we also make sure that obviously intoxicated customers do not purchase wine and spirits," said Mr. Stapleton.
"We provide a service without blatantly trying to sell as much of a product as possible, which I think would change under a private system."
He also noted that because LCB controls the revenue, there is no chance of "leaks" in tax collections that can occur in a private retail system. In 2005-06, that tax money that amounted to more than $300 million.
Last week, LCB itself was accused of being too focused on profit. Store managers represented by the Independent State Store Union picketed LCB's Harrisburg offices, protesting plans to "brand" stores, as well as recent board decisions that reduce the number of stores.
"We're going to get rid of small stores under the aegis of maximizing profits," said Ed Cloonan, president of ISSU -- a move he suspects is intended to dismantle the state system slowly. Eventually, small, rural communities would not have the selection or availability they have with state stores, he said.
"This is supposed to be a system of the common good for the commonwealth."
He also questions the motives of media covering the issue -- Mr. Cloonan says the Lancaster New Era is the only Pennsylvania newspaper that has not endorsed privatization -- because of the additional revenue they would get from private retailers purchasing ads.
Mr. Wonderling is unconvinced that private retail store owners would be less vigilant about selling alcohol to minors, saying the possible loss of their license would be an effective deterrent.
He also points to precedent: Since the end of Prohibition in 1933, the uniform direction of most states has been toward privatization. None have reverted to state control once they went private.
"The retail sale of alcohol is no longer a core function of state government. It's a function we can no longer afford in times of limited public resources."
Mr. Wonderling has cited proposals to privatize the Pennsylvania Turnpike as one factor that led him to conclude that the state should stop selling liquor, too.
Not everyone is ready to group highways with liquor sales, though.
Steve Schmidt, of the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, said privatization would mean greater availability of alcohol, through more outlets and longer operating hours.
"As you increase availability, you increase problems because you increase consumption. There is a pretty clear association."
A system run by the government, on the other hand, "has a motivation that is rooted in service to the public," he said.
"They have employees who are very connected to government and as such do not have a profit motive to push a product. They are often more responsible in how they provide the product at point of sale" -- and it's not always the owner behind the counter making the sale, he added.
As for inefficiencies in a state-run system, Mr. Keevican speculates that a private equity firm more likely would look at closing unprofitable stores in remote areas, rather than replacing experienced clerks with minimum wage workers.
"My experience is that private equity guys don't want to run the stores," he said.
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Anheuser-Busch to Distribute Vermont Spirits High-End Vodkas in the Northeast

(NYSE: BUD) and Vermont Spirits today jointly announced Anheuser-Busch will become the master U.S. distributor for the Vermont Gold, Vermont Gold Vintage and Vermont White super-premium vodkas, which are regional brands available in the Northeastern United States.
Vermont Spirits are sold in Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and other select markets. Beginning in June 2007, select Anheuser-Busch wholesalers in New England will begin distributing the brands, initially focusing on licensed states. Vermont Spirits will continue to oversee marketing for the vodkas. The deal allows for potential limited equity holding in the future.
Vermont Gold is a super-premium, unflavored vodka handmade in small batches from pure maple sugar. Vermont White is inspired by traditional Tuvan milk vodka, triple distilled from pure milk sugar and Vermont spring water. Like Vermont Gold, Vermont Gold Vintage is distilled from maple sap. The use of early run sap from Vermont maple trees gives this vodka its distinct character.
Vermont Gold and Vermont Gold Vintage are the only vodkas on the market that are distilled from maple sugar. Because vodka is a neutral spirit, with no color or odor, it can be distilled from any starch or sugar-rich plant matter. Most vodkas are produced from grains like rye or wheat. "Our vodka is distilled using the distinctive water, sugar and traditions that can only be found in the local heritage and ecology of northern New England," said Duncan Holaday, president and founder of Vermont Spirits. "Anheuser-Busch appreciates the care and quality we put into distilling Vermont Spirits. I'm happy to be able to share our vodka with even more consumers through Anheuser-Busch's strong wholesaler network."
Anheuser-Busch is in the process of testing a limited portfolio of premium spirits in targeted markets in the Northeast, and the deal gives Anheuser-Busch's distributors handcrafted, high-end vodkas to compete in the growing and profitable spirits market. Anheuser-Busch also recently completed an agreement with Margaritaville Spirits to distribute Margaritaville Tequila in Massachusetts.
"Vermont Spirits is a great-tasting, high-end vodka distilled from pure, natural resources," said Dave Peacock, vice president, Business Operations, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. "Products like these distinctive, high-quality Vermont Spirits vodkas allow us to compete in this growing category in a limited way, while gaining a deeper understanding of distributing a liquor-based product through our wholesaler system."
Craft or micro-distilleries are an emerging trend in the United States, much like the craft brewers that have experienced increased popularity and success in the U.S. beer industry. The American Distilling Institute, a trade group for independent distillers, currently counts 95 distilleries in the United States and Canada, up from five in 1990. High-end spirits are growing at a fast rate. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, the super-premium segment of the spirits industry was up 18 percent in 2006.
Vermont Gold, Vermont Gold Vintage and Vermont White are 80 proof and available in clear 750-milliliter bottles.

About Vermont Spirits
The current site of the Vermont Spirits distillery started as a tent set up by founder Duncan Holaday and his family on the Old Smith Farm in St. Johnsbury, Vt., in 1988. During the next decade, in between teaching and traveling the world, Holaday opened some of the fields on the farm and started organic gardens. His plan was to return one day and find a way to make a living on the farm. Out of this concept, the Vermont Spirits distillery was born.
Holaday started with a simple yet ingenious idea that capitalized on the unique natural assets of his Vermont surroundings -- create vodka from maple sap. He tapped the trees on his farm for sugar, developed the springs for pure water and cut firewood for the stills.
In August 2001, Vermont Gold -- super-premium, unflavored vodka handmade in small batches from pure maple sugar -- was introduced in Vermont liquor stores.
About Anheuser-Busch Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 48.4 percent share of U.S. beer sales. The company brews the world's largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer, and a 27 percent share in China brewer Tsingtao, whose namesake beer brand is the country's best-selling premium beer. Anheuser-Busch ranked No. 1 among beverage companies in FORTUNE Magazine's Most Admired U.S. and Global Companies lists in 2007. Anheuser-Busch is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and one of the world's largest recyclers of aluminum cans.
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THURMONT -- An early American farm without a whiskey still was like a modern home without running water: rare.
"It's something they couldn't live without," said John Wysong, an interpretive ranger at Catoctin Mountain Park. "This was part of their livelihood."
Whiskey was more than a drink, he said. Early settlers used the brew for medicine and disinfectant, and as a tranquilizer.
Wysong takes visitors back in time Sundays this month with a history of the Blue Blazes Whiskey Still, located along the park's trail of the same name.
Whiskey production, introduced to America by Irish and Scottish immigrants, has survived through the past 200 years, albeit illegally at times, despite excise taxes and Prohibition, said Wysong.
When the excise tax of 7 cents per gallon was enacted for a second time in 1862, people began distilling at night to avoid the revenue collectors, thus earning the name "moonshiners," he said.
The Thurmont forest, now part of the national park, was an ideal location for distillers to avoid the tax, said Wysong. Md. 77 was a dirt road until the mid-1900s, the area was isolated, and the nearby stream provided the cold running water needed for whiskey production.
The Blue Blazes Still grew into the largest in the state, said Wysong, and when it was raided by law enforcement in 1927, officers found thirteen 2,000-gallon barrels of corn mash ready to be turned into alcohol.
Moonshiners quickly rebuilt the still, and two years later the operation was shut down again. This time, however, the raid turned violent; Frederick County deputy Claude Hauver was shot and killed.
The July 29, 1929 raid marked the last day of production at the Blue Blazes Still, and the operation was destroyed with dynamite four days later.
The still was recreated in the park using parts recovered in the 1960s from a Tennessee still, Wysong said. Whiskey was distilled at Blue Blazes as a visitor exhibit until this process was also prohibited in the 1980s.
Park visitors are invited to the Whiskey Still Talks to relive this part of American history.
"When people think of moonshine, they think of men distilling up the mountains," said Wysong, "but this was actually a tradition in early America."
For information or a complete calendar of park events, call (301) 663-9388 or visit www.nps.gov/cato.
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I'm currently in Washington D.C. and driving toward MD and PA next week.
Bill-

Hi Bill,
As we discussed, one of the hurdles for starting a distillery seems to be getting the surety bond necessary to submit the license application to the TTB. We have established a national program to clear this hurdle. We have set up a three tiered program so we can bond the new start up distillery, the under three years in biz distillery, and the established distillery. Normally to get ultra preferred pricing, a distillery would need to have three years in business, good credit, and some assets. Our program allows us to write the new start up distillery with no experience or history, and usually minimal assets and then progress them to more preferred pricing as they establish their business and grow. The bond would be with the same surety so the transitions would be seamless. We would be happy to send the application to any of your members, both new and established, and assist them with placing their operating bonds. Feel free to call me with any questions.

Rob Knode
Balcos Insurance
2211 Rimland Dr., #102
Bellingham, WA 98226

866-514-9500 PH
866-294-9500 FAX
rknode@balcosinsurance.com
www.balcosinsurance.com
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For sale to DSP's.
Neutral grain spirits 190 proof alcohol in 30 - 55 gal drums.
High Plains Inc. 913-773-5780.
sfox@highplainsinc.com.

http://distilling.com/backissues.html
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--To obtain a distilled spirits permit go to: http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/index.shtml

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--To obtain TTB list of DSPs go to: http://www.ttb.gov/foia//err.shtml

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--To obtain TTB statistics on distilling go to: www.ttb.gov then scroll down to "spirits" and then the "year".
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--To obtain Distilled Spirits Laws and Regulations go to: http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/spirits_regs.shtml

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--To obtain label regulations go to: http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/bam.shtml distilled spirits manual circular.
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