In 2009 I worked in the oldest alcohol plant in Florida. At the time I was hired it was named Florida Distillery, but I was raised in this town so I knew it as Jacquin's Distillery. When I was hired I they told me the schedule would be 13 on for 3 days then you get 4 days off. The next week it would be 13 on for 4 days with 3 days off. It sounded like I landed the best job of my life. That was until it was bought out by a company from Puerto Rico. They changed the name to Florida Caribbean Distillers and took away most of the benefits and perks so it was hard to keep a full staff. My dream job quickly turned into a nightmare.

In the plant we had 1 large and 2 small column stills (the 2 small ones were about 50 feet tall and they ran independently of each other), most of the time they were distilling orange mash, a byproduct from the juice plant next door or sugar cane molasses that we had shipped in. From that we made what we called "Beer" it was about 150pr and VERY dirty. We stockpile the "Beer" in large tanks. We later ran the "Beer" Through a different set of columns (They were about 80 feet tall and there were 3 in a loop that made up the set) it cleaned the "Beer" to about 192pr. It would be crystal clear with no aroma. We wouldn't save the product unless it was 190 or better. If it got up to about 194 the lab would call and tell you to speed up the draw because it was a waste of money to proof that high. It costs about $10k to shut down and start up the large columns so they ran non stop around the clock. I worked 13 on 7 days a week for about 6 months before I couldn't take it any more. I wanted to have a life. The day I quit I threw my keys on my manager's desk and quietly walked out.

I'm a recreational pot still man now, but I sure wish I kept my Still Tower Notebook!