DIY Brandy

[Cursitor Doom]

Gentlemen,

At this time of year I normally acquire a few bottles of French
Cognac, usually Remy Martin for the festiviitous season. However,
since Les Frogges have been behaving so beastly towards dear old
blighty, I've decided on principle to boycott French produce
indefinitely. The question is, how difficult is it to make your own? I
have a 500cm Leibig condenser and some suitable flasks, heating
mantle, water pump and so forth and was about to distill some cheapo
vodka anyway for making plant tinctures (just one of my off-beat
hobbies). So I just thought someone here would most likely know if
there are any pitfalls and what the taste of the distillate might turn
out like? I plan on using either Spanish rioja or Portuguese douro for
this purpose. Anyone tried this?

CD.
--

"By 2030, you will own nothing and be happy about it."

- Klaus Schwab, World Economic Forum CEO.

[Rod Speed]

Cursitor Doom <c...@nowhere.com> wrote

> Gentlemen,

Wot abart us animals ?

> At this time of year I normally acquire a few bottles of French
> Cognac, usually Remy Martin for the festiviitous season. However,
> since Les Frogges have been behaving so beastly towards dear
> old blighty, I've decided on principle to boycott French produce
> indefinitely. The question is, how difficult is it to make your own?
> I have a 500cm Leibig condenser and some suitable flasks, heating
> mantle, water pump and so forth and was about to distill some
> cheapo vodka anyway for making plant tinctures (just one of my
> off-beat hobbies). So I just thought someone here would most
> likely know if there are any pitfalls and what the taste of the
> distillate might turn out like? I plan on using either Spanish
> rioja or Portuguese douro for this purpose. Anyone tried this?

Yep. its very easy to do. Easy to add essence to help with the flavor too.

[Brian]

We visited a Cognac making place in France some years ago. Like most things
which have a special name, Cognac needs to be made in a certain way etc.

As I recall, the base wine needed to come from a particular grape - I
expect one found in SW France as we were there (from memory ) on that
trip- (we went down to Saint Emilion then NE to the Loire, Paris, and home,
stopping at various points. )

Aging time was mentioned in Oak barrels, I think 2 years min after a double
distilling in special stills made of copper. Squashing in 2 years between
now and Xmas won’t be easy.


I assume, if you start with Spanish based wine, you will get something akin
to the Spanish brandy some holiday makers bring back. Rough springs to
mind.

[Martin Brown]

On 01/12/2021 00:31, Cursitor Doom wrote:
> Gentlemen,
>
> At this time of year I normally acquire a few bottles of French
> Cognac, usually Remy Martin for the festiviitous season. However,
> since Les Frogges have been behaving so beastly towards dear old
> blighty, I've decided on principle to boycott French produce
> indefinitely. The question is, how difficult is it to make your own? I

Not all that difficult but you do need some skill. Illegal whiskey
stills were all the rage in Scotland once upon a time. In the true
spirit of DIY they should be made of sheet copper though.

Every now and then some lockup garage or shop with an alcohol illegal
still in goes up. This was one of the biggest in recent times:

https://metro.co.uk/2018/03/02/hinckley-road-explosion-killed-five-caused-illegal-alcohol-distillery-7355463/

> have a 500cm Leibig condenser and some suitable flasks, heating
> mantle, water pump and so forth and was about to distill some cheapo
> vodka anyway for making plant tinctures (just one of my off-beat
> hobbies). So I just thought someone here would most likely know if
> there are any pitfalls and what the taste of the distillate might turn
> out like? I plan on using either Spanish rioja or Portuguese douro for
> this purpose. Anyone tried this?

Apart from being illegal your distillation of alcohol will taste of the
grease used on laboratory glassware joints and if you don't know what
you are doing the earlest fraction will be almost pure methanol.

Perfect for making you go blind. You have to take only the ethanol
fraction (higher alcohols are also not good in a spirit).

Even if you did it exactly right you would only have colourless fire
water that would need to mature in wooden casks for a few years before
it was even remotely drinkable. You are starting far too late.

I suggest you develop a taste for US Bourbon instead. (yuk)

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

[Clive Arthur]

On 01/12/2021 08:54, Martin Brown wrote:

<snipped>

> Not all that difficult but you do need some skill.

You can buy home distilling equipment for not much money from many home
brew type places. Illegal to use here, but our legal system allows the
sale, and unless you set up a stall outside your house, who's gonna know?

You can get all sorts of flavourings too. I've never tried, but I
understand the results can be quite good and the equipment is safe.

https://www.brewmart.co.uk/distilling-equipment/

...and loads more.

--
Cheers
Clive

[Owain Lastname]

On Wednesday, 1 December 2021 at 00:31:20 UTC, Cursitor Doom wrote:
> At this time of year I normally acquire a few bottles of French
> Cognac, usually Remy Martin for the festiviitous season. However,
> since Les Frogges have been behaving so beastly towards dear old
> blighty, I've decided on principle to boycott French produce
> indefinitely.

What about some nice South African brandy?

https://barkeeper.co.za/best-south-african-brandies-2021/

Owain

[Peeler]

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Speed, the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:

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[The Natural Philosopher]

S African brandy pretty nice stuff.


> Owain
>


--
"Nature does not give up the winter because people dislike the cold."

― Confucius

[Martin Brown]

On 01/12/2021 12:14, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 01/12/2021 09:46, Owain Lastname wrote:
>> On Wednesday, 1 December 2021 at 00:31:20 UTC, Cursitor Doom wrote:
>>> At this time of year I normally acquire a few bottles of French
>>> Cognac, usually Remy Martin for the festiviitous season. However,
>>> since Les Frogges have been behaving so beastly towards dear old
>>> blighty, I've decided on principle to boycott French produce
>>> indefinitely.
>>
>> What about some nice South African brandy?
>>
>> https://barkeeper.co.za/best-south-african-brandies-2021/
>>
>
> S African brandy pretty nice stuff.

Or Greek Metaxa - indistinguishable from furniture polish.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

[newshound]

On 01/12/2021 00:31, Cursitor Doom wrote:

One thing's for sure, it won't be any match for Remy Martin! My personal
brand of choice, although my late father always favoured Hine.

As an aside, my local Lidl is currently selling Grappa for about £13, I
don't recall ever seeing this on sale before in the UK.

You used to be able to buy small stills in Gamm Vert, a brewing friend
of mine with a house in Britanny sometimes talked about getting one, but
he isn't a spirits drinker.

Another engineering colleague of mine was interested in trying the
freezing method (as used for Canadian Applejack), on the basis that the
chemistry was less risky, but as far as I know never got past the
talking stage.

[Martin Brown]

On 01/12/2021 13:36, newshound wrote:
>
> Another engineering colleague of mine was interested in trying the
> freezing method (as used for Canadian Applejack), on the basis that the
> chemistry was less risky, but as far as I know never got past the
> talking stage.

If you enjoy hangovers that is definitely the way to do it!

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

[charles]

In article <46udnbfSN-zb5zr8...@brightview.co.uk>,

newshound <news...@stevejqr.plus.com> wrote:


> Another engineering colleague of mine was interested in trying the
> freezing method (as used for Canadian Applejack), on the basis that the
> chemistry was less risky, but as far as I know never got past the
> talking stage.

"Freeze distilling" as used on many a 'farmhouse cider' and also on
"Tactical Nuclear Penguin" by Brewdog getting a beeer with an ABV of 32%

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

[R D S]

On 01/12/2021 08:54, Martin Brown wrote:
>

> Apart from being illegal

I think you can do it legally but there's red tape (perhaps more than a
DIYer could realistically satisfy) and obviously duty to pay.

>
> Perfect for making you go blind. You have to take only the ethanol
> fraction (higher alcohols are also not good in a spirit).

Is that right? I looked into this once (being a fairly heavy drinker)
and satisfied myself that it was only alcohol derived from wood that
caused such problems. Must look into it again...

[Cursitor Doom]

On Wed, 01 Dec 2021 09:39:44 +0000, Chris Hogg <m...@privacy.net> wrote:

>You need a fractionating column on top of the flask, something like
>one of these https://tinyurl.com/y4k4u6wq . Above that, a Liebig
>condenser on a side arm and with a thermometer in the top.
>http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3jnoTQ6hYfA/Tra_x_QgQQI/AAAAAAAAAAc/2ks_TzxH5NE/s1600/fraction.jpg
>Discard all the condensate until the thermometer registers the BP of
>ethanol (78°C). Lower BP fractions are mostly methanol: makes you
>blind. What you eventually collect will be pure ethanol, 180° proof,
>blow your head off, pretty flavourless and barely worth the effort,
>unless you can flavour it with something. Diluting it and soaking
>charred oak chips in it for a few years may make it more palatable.
>
>OTOH you could just get one of these https://tinyurl.com/yus3vd5x
>although I don't see a thermometer on it.

Sounds like you know what you're talking about. I do have a Vigreux
column somewhere; plenty long enough as well IIRC. It was more a
question of what the outcome would most likely taste like. From the
bulk of the replies, not worth the bother, it seems. I may look into
the S. African options instead.
--

"There are, besides, eternal truths, such as Freedom, Justice, etc., that are
common to all states of society. But Communism abolishes eternal truths, it
abolishes all religion,and all morality, instead of constituting them on a new
basis; it therefore acts in contradiction to all historical experience."

- The Communist Manifesto, Marx & Engels.

[Clive Arthur]

On 01/12/2021 13:56, R D S wrote:
> On 01/12/2021 08:54, Martin Brown wrote:
>>
>> Apart from being illegal
>
> I think you can do it legally but there's red tape (perhaps more than a
> DIYer could realistically satisfy)  and obviously duty to pay.

<snip>

You can in theory get a licence, but not in practise.

To do so you need to be producing and paying duty on far, far more than
for personal use, often a still of 18 hectolitres is the minimum size
considered.

And if you apply for a licence, then they know what you're doing...

--
Cheers
Clive

[Martin Brown]

On 01/12/2021 13:56, R D S wrote:

There is invariably a methanol impurity in the fermentation products.
Not enough to harm you when there is plenty of water to dilute it but
when distilled the very first light fraction is almost pure methanol.

Only when the thing reaches 78C boiling point of ethanol do you start
collecting the distillate (and stop again when it rises towards 100C).

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

[Fredxx]

On 01/12/2021 13:36, newshound wrote:

<snip>

> Another engineering colleague of mine was interested in trying the
> freezing method (as used for Canadian Applejack), on the basis that the
> chemistry was less risky, but as far as I know never got past the
> talking stage.

It's the safest way to increase the alcohol concentration and still
retain a decent taste.

[charles]

In article <8k2fqgtk8ktafv0q2...@4ax.com>,
Chris Hogg <m...@privacy.net> wrote:

> 'Alcohol derived from wood' is so-called because it's what you get
> driven off when you destructively distil wood. It's methanol by
> another name. Don't be fooled by thinking wood alcohol only comes from
> wood. Many fermentation processes produce methanol as well as ethanol.
> Proper, controlled and preferably fractional distillation separates
> the methanol.

but, do noe that most "gin distilleries" don't actually distil. they buy in
raw spirit and simply add flavourings, I learned thatb whe I had a tour of
Gordons.

[Rod Speed]

Martin Brown <'''newspam'''@nonad.co.uk> wrote

> Cursitor Doom wrote

>> At this time of year I normally acquire a few bottles of French
>> Cognac, usually Remy Martin for the festiviitous season. However,
>> since Les Frogges have been behaving so beastly towards dear old
>> blighty, I've decided on principle to boycott French produce
>> indefinitely. The question is, how difficult is it to make your own?

> Not all that difficult but you do need some skill. Illegal whiskey stills
> were all the rage in Scotland once upon a time. In the true spirit of DIY
> they should be made of sheet copper though.

> Every now and then some lockup garage or shop with an alcohol illegal
> still in goes up. This was one of the biggest in recent times:

> https://metro.co.uk/2018/03/02/hinckley-road-explosion-killed-five-caused-illegal-alcohol-distillery-7355463/

That story is utterly mangled. Stills don’t blow up like that.

>> I have a 500cm Leibig condenser and some suitable flasks, heating

>> mantle, water pump and so forth and was about to distill some cheapo
>> vodka anyway for making plant tinctures (just one of my off-beat
>> hobbies). So I just thought someone here would most likely know if
>> there are any pitfalls and what the taste of the distillate might turn
>> out like? I plan on using either Spanish rioja or Portuguese douro for
>> this purpose. Anyone tried this?

> Apart from being illegal your distillation of alcohol will taste of the
> grease used on laboratory glassware joints and if you don't know what you
> are doing the earlest fraction will be almost pure methanol.

Not if you start with wine.

> Perfect for making you go blind.

And can kill you. But its trivial to discard the initial
stuff coming out of the still even if you don’t start
with wine and brew what you distil instead.

> You have to take only the ethanol fraction (higher alcohols are also not
> good in a spirit).

But only have a taste downside.

> Even if you did it exactly right you would only have colourless fire water
> that would need to mature in wooden casks for a few years before it was
> even remotely drinkable.

Its trivial to add essences that fix that problem.

And you are wrong about what is drinkable too.

> You are starting far too late.

> I suggest you develop a taste for US Bourbon instead. (yuk)

You can have any taste you like with essences.

[Fredxx]

On 01/12/2021 14:59, Chris Hogg wrote:

> On Wed, 1 Dec 2021 13:36:06 +0000, newshound
> <news...@stevejqr.plus.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Another engineering colleague of mine was interested in trying the
>> freezing method (as used for Canadian Applejack), on the basis that the
>> chemistry was less risky, but as far as I know never got past the
>> talking stage.
>

> The problem with freeze distillation is that it mostly removes only
> the water, as ice, leaving behind all the other nasties such as
> methanol and the higher alcohols, such as propanol, butanol, etc
> collectively known as fusel oils. Not only can these taste pretty
> foul, but it's the higher alcohols that give you a hangover.

I don't understand the concern over the small traces of organics you
mention. If you drink the original wine, or anything you brewed
directly, you would still consume these unmentionables.

The issue during the prohibition times, is that the condensate would be
put straight into a bottle, Woe betide the poor individual who got the
first bottle, or the last one.

So as long as the amount has been uniformly concentrated, the resultant
liquor should contain any fusel oils etc in the same proportion as the
original brew.

[The Natural Philosopher]

On 01/12/2021 15:22, charles wrote:
> but, do noe that most "gin distilleries" don't actually distil. they buy in
> raw spirit

industrial grain alcohol

>and simply add flavourings, I learned thatb whe I had a tour of
> Gordons.


--

Climate Change: Socialism wearing a lab coat.

[The Natural Philosopher]

On 01/12/2021 14:19, Cursitor Doom wrote:
> I may look into
> the S. African options instead.

variable on amazon

[Rod Speed]

R D S <rsa...@yahoo.com> wrote

Nope, you get methanol when you use yeast and cane sugar to produce
what you distil. Trivial to discard the first run from the still tho.

[charles]

In article <so862i$k9u$1...@dont-email.me>, The Natural Philosopher

<t...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> On 01/12/2021 15:22, charles wrote:
> > but, do noe that most "gin distilleries" don't actually distil. they
> > buy in raw spirit

> industrial grain alcohol

I knew there was a better term.

> >and simply add flavourings, I learned thatb whe I had a tour of Gordons.

--

[Rod Speed]

Fredxx <fre...@nospam.co.uk> wrote
> newshound wrote

>> Another engineering colleague of mine was interested in trying
>> the freezing method (as used for Canadian Applejack), on the
>> basis that the chemistry was less risky, but as far as I know
>> never got past the talking stage.

> It's the safest way to increase the alcohol concentration
> and still retain a decent taste.

Not really. A pot still works much better.

[Rod Speed]

Fredxx <fre...@nospam.co.uk> wrote
> Chris Hogg wrote

>> newshound <news...@stevejqr.plus.com> wrote

>>> Another engineering colleague of mine was interested in trying the
>>> freezing method (as used for Canadian Applejack), on the basis that the
>>> chemistry was less risky, but as far as I know never got past the
>>> talking stage.

>> The problem with freeze distillation is that it mostly removes only the
>> water, as ice, leaving behind all the other nasties such as methanol and
>> the higher alcohols, such as propanol, butanol, etc collectively known as
>> fusel oils. Not only can these taste pretty foul, but it's the higher
>> alcohols that give you a hangover.

> I don't understand the concern over the small traces of organics you
> mention.

Like he said, they taste pretty foul.

> If you drink the original wine, or anything you brewed directly, you would
> still consume these unmentionables.

With wine, you have concentrated them with the freezing method.

> The issue during the prohibition times, is that the condensate would be
> put straight into a bottle, Woe betide the poor individual who got the
> first bottle, or the last one.

Depends on the size of the bottle with the first one.

> So as long as the amount has been uniformly concentrated, the resultant
> liquor should contain any fusel oils etc in the same proportion as the
> original brew.

But by definition far more concentrated, that’s the whole point of the
exercise.

[newshound]

On 01/12/2021 16:55, Chris Hogg wrote:

> In the same proportion, perhaps, but in a much higher concentration.
> Beers and wines contain small amounts of methanol at fairly harmless
> concentrations, but concentrate it up and you risk trouble.
>
There's (at least) two factors in play. As TNP said, methanol is more
volatile so it comes over in higher proportions in the "first cut",
which is why that is discarded by *serious* distillers. Then the fact
that you are cooking your original liquor often in a copper boiler means
that some of your organic oddments may "crack" into something less
benign. At least with freeze "distilling" you don't get the second effect.

[Peeler]

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[Max Demian]

On 01/12/2021 15:58, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 01/12/2021 15:22, charles wrote:

>> but, do noe that most "gin distilleries" don't actually distil. they
>> buy in
>> raw spirit
>
> industrial grain alcohol
>
>> and simply add flavourings, I learned thatb whe I had a tour of
>> Gordons.

Is it methylated?

--
Max Demian

[Rod Speed]

Max Demian <max_d...@bigfoot.com> wrote
> The Natural Philosopher wrote

>> charles wrote

>>> but, do noe that most "gin distilleries"
>>> don't actually distil. they buy in raw spirit

>> industrial grain alcohol

>>> and simply add flavourings, I learned
>>> thatb whe I had a tour of Gordons.

> Is it methylated?

Corse not.

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[Paul]

I would take off the fraction from 78C to 79C. If
you insist on drinking the output, it should be "pure" :-)
I would try to leave a little bit of the ethanol in
the distilling flask at the end of the run.

The glass bead column on this one is pretty small.
The one on my rig at work was a foot taller, and the chemist
who set up the rig, claimed the glass bead column
was good for "a hundred thousand theoretical plates",
which is a measure of goodness. I had to take my rig
all apart at the end of the work day, and lock up the
component parts. That's because any decent thief who
broke into the lab, the first thing they'd want is my still.

https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Organic_Chemistry/Organic_Chemistry_Lab_Techniques_%28Nichols%29/05%3A_Distillation/5.03%3A_Fractional_Distillation/5.3D%3A_Step-by-Step_Procedures_for_Fractional_Distillation

Don't forget to add a boiling chip to the distilling flask.
The chip must be discarded from one run to the next, and if
the rig is allowed to cool off in the middle of a run,
you add *another* chip. Once the gas bubbles collapse in
on the chip, you need another to start the process of nucleation
again. If the distilling flask is allowed to superheat, it can
shoot up the column, blow out the thermometer (mercury spill!),
and blow liquid all over the nice white ceiling tiles. This is
why we're careful with our boiling chip. I've only seen one
stain on a lab ceiling, from that sort of negligence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_chip

The electric mantle heater goes under the distilling flask.

One of the time wasters running a rig like that, is
cleaning the distilling flask afterwards. You can burn on
deposits on the distilling flask. If allowed to build up a
thick layer of deposits, the boiling action in the vessel
will be unstable, and even with a boiling chip, the boiling
action might not be all that good. If you keep the equipment clean,
after you set the control on the mantle, you can relax and just
check the thermometer every once in a while. Perhaps
a good usage for a webcam with macro capability, as getting up
on the bench to check the thermometer is a nuisance.

The distilling flask on mine, might have been two liters,
not like the puny thing in the picture. I was recycling hexane
for the lab, one of our major consumables.

One cleaner is Alconox. Our lab assistant who did the cleaning,
she had a steam-temperature cleaning machine, that was loaded
with the Alconox. But for stubborn stains, we'd use "green cleaner"
to take care of it. The "green cleaner" is a suspected carcinogen,
which is why you might not even find it in a lab today. Generally,
the labwork is not intended for human consumption, which is why
the green cleaner was used with abandon. You don't throw
the green cleaner out, you just throw it back in the bottle.
When it changes colour and is no longer green, it is spent,
and can be sent to hazardous waste. It rinses off well, but you'd
still rinse the living shit out of it.

After a summer of using my still, the distilling flask was
as clean as the day I started work there.

A ghetto chemist would have died to have a rig like that.
Such beautiful glassware.

Paul

[TimW]

On 01/12/2021 00:31, Cursitor Doom wrote:

> "By 2030, you will own nothing and be happy about it."
>
> - Klaus Schwab, World Economic Forum CEO.

A notorious fake quote. Keep using it so that the world knows you are an
idiot.
TW

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article <soa7sl$i5r$1...@dont-email.me>,

The good thing with Doom is, if he decides to make his own brandy, even
the worse wood alcohol can't do any more damage to his brain.

--
*Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder *

Dave Plowman da...@davenoise.co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

[Cursitor Doom]

We used to use chromic acid back in the day for getting glassware
clean. Not sure if that's the same stuff as your 'green cleaner'
though. CA's no doubt banned now on elf n safe tea grounds. As a rule
of thumb, you can safely assume that anything that actually works
effectively is now banned on elf n safe tea grounds. Today's 'green'
alternatives don't work and cost at least twice as much. There's
another rule of thumb for you.
--

"Abolition of the family! Even the most radical flare up at this infamous
proposal of the Communists."

[Martin Brown]

Chromic acid is carcinogenic so no longer considered a wise choice.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromic_acid

Aerospace has an exemption - semiconductor plants do not.

Piranha solution is considered so much more eco friendly today and is
every bit as effective at totally annihilating organic residues. You do
have to be very careful how you use it. It takes *NO* prisoners.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piranha_solution

It is somewhat dangerous to prepare as well. You need to be in a real
laboratory setting these days to get either ingredient. H2O2 at rocket
fuel strength is the only chemical I have ever been injured by.

Chromic acid was easier going as a cleaning agent even if it had a
tendency to kill off lab technicians prematurely.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

[Cursitor Doom]

Can't say I've ever heard of 'Piranha soln.' to be honest. Sounds
pretty vicious!
As for hydrogen peroxide and nitric acid, I'd imagine trying to source
either these days will get your front door kicked in by the
anti-terror police. It's such a shame as I still fondly recall the
days gone by when you could get all this wonderful stuff and a lot
more over the counter at the chemists (*proper* chemists in those
days, not 'pharmacists') without being treated like a suspected
terrorist. How times have changed. :(
--

"You must therefore confess that by 'individual' you mean no other person
than the bourgeois; than the middle-class owner of property. This person
must indeed be swept out of the way, and made impossible."

- Marx & Engels, The Communist Manifesto

[Fredxx]

The wiki article says, "Piranha solution, also known as piranha etch, is
a mixture of sulfuric acid (H2SO4), water (H2O), and hydrogen peroxide
(H2O2)". No mention of Nitric acid.

> I'd imagine trying to source
> either these days will get your front door kicked in by the
> anti-terror police.

You're wrong, I can get Sulphuric acid quite easily, for battery
strength it costs few £ per litre.

If you're not a Ltd company then for a few £10s gets you a licence.

> It's such a shame as I still fondly recall the
> days gone by when you could get all this wonderful stuff and a lot
> more over the counter at the chemists (*proper* chemists in those
> days, not 'pharmacists') without being treated like a suspected
> terrorist. How times have changed. :(

That is what happens where governments use drones and other forms of
indiscriminate killing. It tends to fuel hatred back home.

OOI, if some rag-head bombed your family, would you feel a little hatred
to those who sanctioned such an act? Especially from a democratic
country where the people are perhaps more culpable?

[Andy Burns]

Martin Brown wrote:

> Every now and then some lockup garage or shop with an alcohol illegal still in
> goes up. This was one of the biggest in recent times:
>
> https://metro.co.uk/2018/03/02/hinckley-road-explosion-killed-five-caused-illegal-alcohol-distillery-7355463/

Err ... it was arson involving 80+ litres of petrol as an insurance job ...

<https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-46865455>

[newshound]

On 02/12/2021 20:59, Cursitor Doom wrote:

>

> Can't say I've ever heard of 'Piranha soln.' to be honest. Sounds
> pretty vicious!
> As for hydrogen peroxide and nitric acid, I'd imagine trying to source
> either these days will get your front door kicked in by the
> anti-terror police. It's such a shame as I still fondly recall the
> days gone by when you could get all this wonderful stuff and a lot
> more over the counter at the chemists (*proper* chemists in those
> days, not 'pharmacists') without being treated like a suspected
> terrorist. How times have changed. :(
>

I do recall buying iodine from the local chemist by saying I wanted it
to make stains for microscope slides. I didn't, of course (although I
*did* have a microscope).

[Fredxx]

I think buying ammonia at the same time might have raised further concern!

[newshound]

NO! much cheaper for "industrial" grade at the ironmongers.