A method of converting low quality moonshine to high quality alcoholic beverage with medicinal properties is proposed. The method includes mixing Honey Bee Shilajit with the moonshine and heating the mix up to temperatures above 65 degC. It provides conditions for removing fusel oils and other harmful substances from the moonshine while enriching the beverage with extract of the Shilajit.

1. HOW TO TURN LOW QUALITY
MOONSHINE INTO A PREMIER BRAND
PRODUCT & HOMEOPATHIC REMEDY
WITH WAX MOTH RESIDUE

2. This video is about how to turn low-quality
moonshine into premier-quality liqueur and
medicinal tincture by using residues from
wax moth larvae breeding.
I reside in Thailand, and therefore this video
is more related to Thai products and climate
conditions. Yet I hope it can be useful to
people in other countries too.

4. The Lao Kao or rice whiskey is the cheapest
alcoholic beverage in Thailand. Its
consumption is a part of Thai culture and it
is accepted everywhere among the poorest
part of the population.
Other beverages of the same alcohol
content but made from molasses are at least
50 percent more expensive.

5. Price of a blue label bottle with 625 ml of the Lao
Kao whiskey having alcohol content 40 % is 90
Thai baht that is about 2 American dollars and 75
cents. Meanwhile tax levied by the government is
about 35 Thai baht or about 1 American dollar for
such a bottle and this tax is already included in
the price of the whiskey.

6. Moonshine distillation is allowed in Thailand only
to authorized producers. It takes about 3,000 Thai
baht per year to get a license and additionally
every bottle sold is subject to taxation. If to
estimate production cost anybody can see that
profit margin is very narrow. The producers are
trying to save as much as possible on equipment,
ingredients and fuel. Therefore quality of the Lao
Kao is very low. It has unpleasant odor of acetone
and fusel oils as well as sharp and burning taste.

8. Consequences of regular consumption of Lao Kao
can be the most severe - loss of teeth, reduced
vision, memory impairment, cirrhosis of the liver,
and premature death. Abuse of any alcohol is
dangerous to health, but I would not recommend
drinking Lao Kao even in small amounts.

10. Imported alcoholic beverages are also
available in supermarkets and 7/11 shops.
However with 50% import tax prices are too
high for majority of Thai people.

12. Cheap alcohol with content of ethanol 96% is produced
locally from cassava tubers and available at retail price below
170 Thai baht or about 5 American dollars per liter including
free delivery. Due to unpleasant odor and high concentration
of methanol such alcohol can be used only for technical
purposes. There is an opinion that it can be improved to food
quality by additional heat distillation while the first and last
fractions in the distillation process are discarded. However,
unauthorized distillation of alcoholic beverages is prohibited
in Thailand.

13. I am not a big specialist in alcoholic beverages, but it
seems to me that some locally produced brands of
whiskey apart of the Lao Kao are made from such cheap
alcohol without additional distillation but by diluting and
adding dyes, fragrances and taste softeners. Therefore
such whiskey may have pure synthetic odor and sharp
test not to mention unpleasant handover.

15. Let us learn about distillation of Lao Kao
moonshine in Thailand. This slide shows
traditional Thai equipment. Technology is such
that at first, some kind of strong rice beer is
prepared from fermented rice. A process of the
home brewing is usually a family secret. Rice is
used because it is cheaper in comparison with
molasses and sugar.

16. Then the home brew from fermented rice is
poured into large ceramic pots. These ceramic
pots are heated from below by burning firewood.
In such conditions it is difficult to control rate of
heating. The pot is covered by a large frying pan
full of water. Water is poured into the pan during
the distillation process to compensate
evaporation. There is usually no temperature
control or even a simple thermometer. Therefore,
in the distillation process, the producer relies only
on experience.

18. Moonshine is condensing on the bottom of the
frying pan. And as it possible to see on this slide,
there is a tray inside the pot to collect the
moonshine that is dripping from the bottom of the
pot. The condensate flows down along a pipe and
out of the pot to bottles. The collected moonshine
sometimes is treated to reduce its unpleasant
odor. Then the Lao Kao gets bottled, corked and
labeled according to its alcohol content.

19. Let us discuss now what can we do to
improve quality of alcoholic beverages
produced in Thailand. We certainly have to
remove toxic and harmful substances from
the beverages as well as fusel oils. The
most radical way of purification is secondary
distillation. But as I mentioned already it is
prohibited in Thailand.

21. The easiest way to improve whiskey or
moonshine with alcohol content above 40% is to
add 5 ml of skimmed milk or ½ teaspoon of
powdered milk to a bottle of whiskey. Mix the
blend thoroughly and give some time for
coagulated casein to settle down.

23. Otherwise a half of a small chicken egg can
be poured to a bottle of whiskey in a similar
way as milk.

25. Top quality brands of alcoholic beverages such as
whiskey are aged in barrels and casks that are
made of oak or in vessels with oak bark and oak
chips sometimes for years.
But is there any way to produce a quality alcoholic
beverage promptly?
The answer is Yes and I am going to disclose
such a technology.

26. Here I propose an express method for producing
a high-quality alcoholic beverage, or rather, a
medicinal tincture from low quality moonshine.
The beverage can be ready for drinking next
morning.

28. In one my older video I described a method to
prepare a medicinal tincture from residues of
breeding the wax moth larvae. Please, watch
https://youtu.be/LbRncntvU1E
for details.

29. In short words I rear wax moth larvae in containers from
steel mesh and feed them honey combs. The containers
are arranged in bowls from stainless steel. Once a week I
remove residue that gets collected between bottom of the
container and the bowl. With 8 such containers and
honey combs from 26 beehives it takes me about 3
weeks to gather about one kilogram of the residue and to
soak it in 2 bottles of good quality vodka. After filtration of
the tincture I use the wet residue to improve quality of
local moonshine.

31. I mix this filtered wet residue with 10 bottles of the Lao
Kao or other low quality moonshine in a large cooking pot
from stainless steel and heat it up to above 64 °C under
vigorous stirring. The liquid begins to evaporate and
produces fumes as seen on this slide. Therefore heating
has to be done outdoors or under intensive exhaustion of
the fumes. No open fire can be used or even not a hot
plate heater as alcohol vapors may explode. However an
induction stove suits the task perfectly well.

33. When temperature of the liquid inside the cooking
pot is approaching 65 °C a layer of molten
beeswax appears on its surface and then I turn
heating off.

35. And I cover the cooking pot by a glass lid. It is
possible to see on this slide condensation of
vapors on the lid. After overnight cooling the
tincture can be separated from residue.

37. I pour out the tincture slowly to separate it from
sediments and blend it with a bottle of honey. Part
of the tincture looks muddy and it takes longer for
particles to settle down to bottom. As seen on this
slide – there are three and a half bottles of the
muddy tinctures behind the cooking pot.

39. As it can be seen on this slide, the tincture is of a rich
red-brown color. The beverage has odor that resembles
chocolate and dried plums. Its taste is pleasant and rich.
Opposite to cheap brands of whiskey it puts my body in
pleasant relaxation while mind stays clear but relaxed. I
did not experience any handover even after a bottle of
the beverage. Yet I believe that an optimal dose is below
100 ml a day.

41. The residue is getting lighter in color. I believe it
can be reused as a lure for bee swarms after a
few successive steps of boiling with pure water to
remove fusel oils from the residue.

42. And now let us briefly discuss – what is happening during
heating of the moonshine with the wax moth residue.

43. When moonshine is heated to temperatures above of 64
°C, toxic impurities such as methanol, crotonic oil, acetic
acid, propionic acid, formic acid and acetic acid, as well
as aldehydes and esters of these acids with ethanol and
methanol will evaporate.
Additionally, when heated, the moonshine gets quickly
enriched with amino acids, enzymes and proteins by
extracting them from the residue. We may expect
coagulation of some proteins at such temperatures but
biological activity of enzymes mostly persists.

44. Beeswax is composed mostly from a blend of esters of long-chain
(30–32 carbons) aliphatic alcohols with palmitic and oleic fatty
acids. It has a relatively low melting point in the range of 62 to 64
°C. Its detailed composition is presented below:
Chemical Substance Quantity %
Mono-esters 35
Di-esters 14
Tri-esters 3
Hydroxy-Monoesters 4
Hydroxy-Polyesters 8
Acid Esters 1
Acid Polyesters 2
Acidic Esters & Polyesters 3
Long Chain Hydrocarbons 14
Long Chain Fatty Acids 12
Long Chain Fatty alcohols 1
Unidentified 6

45. Beeswax is present in the residue and it has a melting
point of 62 to 64 °C.
Its composition is presented in the table on this slide. It is
seen that the wax mainly consists of a mixture of esters
of fatty alcohols and fatty acids. Free fatty acids and fatty
alcohols are also present in its composition.

46. Fusel oils in the moonshine are high molecular weight
alcohols, such as propyl, butyl and amyl alcohols, volatile
organic acids, furfural, as well as some high molecular
acids - for example, butyric, valeric, caproic and caprylic
acids. They dissolve well in liquid beeswax, but less in
ethanol and water. That is, when preparing a tincture with
heating, the fusel oils are efficiently removed from the
tincture.

47. I described in this video a
simple technology to
produce a tincture made of
bee products and residue of
wax moth rearing. Therefore
in a case of reproduction of
the technology it is
necessary to consult your
physician and to test the
alcoholic beverage for
allergy.
In overall this presentation is
for education purpose only
and I cannot be responsible
for any consequences of the
technology reproduction.