I hear ya, brother! First the eyes ... then the memory! :)

"My thoughts are you need to get the corn to convert to starch. Just holding it at 180 won't do that. It helps get the corn ready but to convert it has to have amylase an enzyme found in malted barley. The ratio has to be over 20% malt to corn. Then, the temperature amylase will convert is a narrow 149-155F, hotter than that will destroy it and cooler it doesn't work. I put mine in an igloo cooler at the 155F mark and then add the malt. Stir it in real well and wrap the cooler with blankets, sleeping bags or whatever you have. Bottom too. Let it sit at least 90 minutes. I do overnight. To check if all the sugar has converted, there is an iodine test. I won't get into that you can google it. If you left it a few hours or three you should be good. I strain the wash into my fermenter and cool it to tossing temp. This should have an SG 1060 with no sugar.

Next is distilling. When it has stopped bubbling let it sit an xtra day. Then take an SG reading. .99 is good. Yer done then. Siphon the wash off the settled dead yeast that's on the bottom so you have a cleaner pot to still from. I like a pot still here, no reflux for whiskey. That's for Vodka and Gin. Collect everything you get and test the distillate so you stop at 30-20 ABV. This is low wines. When it's all mixed together you should have something around 40 ABV. Now clean your still and place all the low wines in it. Go slow now, not high temps and you will have great separation of the heads-hearts-tails. I toss everything I collect above 75% ABV or in your case with a 5 gal original wash, about a double shot. Then save the next 4-6 oz and call that heads. Next is heart run and save everything down to 40% ABV. The rest put aside for the next low wine run. Now you'll have some great heart run top shelf shine. Put it together and test the ABV. Add good spring water until it proofs to 40%. That's 80 proof and good drinking stuff.

Enjoy."

Boiling the corn helps get the water into the starch but it doesn't convert it. Starch has to have an enzyme at a certain temperature to be able to convert to sugar. This is called mashing. Most distilleries use malt to convert the starch as malt has the enzyme in it. Malt is barley that has been sprouted, then dried and the root knocked off and then ground into grist, not flour. If you don't have a brew shop nearby where you can buy malt, you can use beano. The enzyme is amylase. With malt, you need 20% at least. Which means 8 pounds corn 2 pounds malt. After the corn is cooked, I haven't done this but I think you need to cook it stirring so it doesn't burn or scorch, for about an hour near 200 or higher but not boiling. Let it cool down to 160 degrees and stir in the malt or crushed beano tablets. Cover the pot with blankets to hold the heat. It needs at least 1 hour above 142 and not over 159. The malt will cool it when you add it at 160.

Then you will have converted corn mash and the SG should pop up around 1.070. this is how you do an All Grain mash. If you want some sugar shine with it add water and sugar but don't push the SG too high. I always strain it and ferment off the grain, some ferment on the grain but before you run it you'll have to strain it as clear as you can.

This is a lot of work, an Igloo cooler is what I use to mash in and it works great. Some guys after they do what I said above, strain it and boil it again for a few minutes, let it cool, add more malt and do a second mashing. They claim SG's in the 80's.

I've never done that. Good Luck and sterilize everything.

This is true. I'm an AG man. Sugar shine has it's place it's just not what I'm after.

The stuff left in the boiler after distilling to 20-30%. It is added to the next ferment in some recipes.

The stuff in yer fermenter after racking is called "Lees". They have a use too