Super easy Blueberry Moonshine
Executive Chef Derek Spence, Owner and Still Builder for Copper Moon Still Company
If you love working with real fruit flavor and honest ingredients, this recipe is a great starting point. It’s about capturing bright blueberry character with the clean sweetness of raw cane sugar — right in your own still. When I run this recipe it comes off my still tasting like blueberry taffy.
Step 1: Build Your Mash
Start with about 10 pounds of fresh or frozen blueberries. Lightly crush them to release their juice. Heat 2 gallons of water to around 160°F in a large pot, then stir in your berries. Let them simmer for 15 minutes — this helps break down the fruit and pull out that deep color we’re after.
Once the fruit softens, add 8 pounds of raw cane sugar and stir until it dissolves completely. Top off with another 2 gallons of cool water to bring your total up to 5 gallons, and let the mash cool back down to 80–85°F.
Check your specific gravity — you’re aiming for around 1.085. Adjust with water or sugar if needed.
Step 2: Fermentation
Pour the mash into a sanitized fermenter and pitch your yeast. Distiller’s yeast works great, but champagne yeast will give you a slightly brighter finish.
Seal it up with an airlock and let it ferment in a warm spot — somewhere around 70–80°F is ideal. You’ll see bubbles within a day or two. After 5–10 days, fermentation will slow and your hydrometer should read close to 1.000 or just below. That’s your sign the yeast is done working.
Step 3: Distillation
Before firing up your still, strain out the solids so nothing scorches. Run your first stripping run hot and fast just to collect all the alcohol — these are your low wines. Then, clean the still and start your spirit run slow and steady, separating heads, hearts, and tails.
Keep that clean hearts cut — this is where the magic happens. It’ll have a rich blueberry aroma and smooth sweetness you can taste.
Step 4: Finishing Touch
For extra depth, let a few cups of fresh blueberries macerate in your finished shine for 3–5 days, then strain and bottle. This step adds a touch of natural color and boosts the aroma beautifully.
Chef’s Note
At Copper Moon Still Company, we build our stills by hand and make our spirits the same way — with genuine ingredients, patience, and respect for the craft. This recipe is a small taste of what that tradition stands for.
