Cuts too wide?

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NZChris
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Re: Cuts too wide?

Post by NZChris »

If you ever get the chance, get at least one other distiller to choose a heart cut from the same set of jars without influencing each other, then taste each other's selections and compare. I've only done this once and the selections were different. Neither was bad, one had more flavor and a higher yield than the other.
NormandieStill
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Re: Cuts too wide?

Post by NormandieStill »

NZChris wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 12:11 am I keep flavor notes throughout the run when doing a flavored product. My flavor comments from during the run often don't match what is chosen for the final blend of the jars so, if I had been trying to 'cut on the fly' by tasting at the spout, I would usually be way off the optimum product and yield I could have achieved.
This has been my experience so far. My tasting notes from the spout may help me roughly find a flavour that I'm looking for, but I'm usually at least a jar out one way or the other for the main transition points.

When I blend, I start by sniffing the jars (starting from my guesstimate of where the hearts would be, working up and looking for the heads / hearts transition. I mark that jar number on my blending sheet, and do the same for the tails. I then check these guesses when taste testing (always diluted to 30% or lower). My general experience is that my sniffed out jar is one to two jars further into the heads than I would have thought. Until I'm able to consistently call the transition points by smell (or at least the heads / hearts one), I'm not going to make cuts on the fly! :-P
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NZChris
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Re: Cuts too wide?

Post by NZChris »

I've stopped tasting individual jars. Using my nose, I pick out the jars that are obviously going to make the heart cut because there is nothing offensive about them, make a sample blend of them, taste it, then add to it from jars from each end until I find the jars that are one too far. All tasted at around 35% abv, using 5ml dipper to roughly measure out samples and water to dilute, using a spittoon and rinsing between tastings. According to my notes, my latest heart cut was chosen after tasting five samples, then confirmed by tasting a sixth sample at drinking proof.

When I was trying to use advice I'd read on the forum of tasting every jar, my taste buds were so knackered by the time got around to making my final selection that I got a couple wrong, including jars that were one too far in one direction or the other.

Whatever method you use to select heart cut from jars, after making your choice, you should always make up a new sample, proof it to your preferred drinking ABV, then taste that before committing it to one vessel.
Last edited by NZChris on Sun May 29, 2022 11:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: Cuts too wide?

Post by Saltbush Bill »

You can save a lot of wear n tear on noses and taste buds by jumping 2 or 3 jars at a time .....until you have a rough idea where hearts heads and tails are......you can zoom in on where you want to make your cuts from there.
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EricTheRed
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Re: Cuts too wide?

Post by EricTheRed »

:thumbup:
Saltbush Bill wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 11:18 pm You can save a lot of wear n tear on noses and taste buds by jumping 2 or 3 jars at a time .....until you have a rough idea where hearts heads and tails are......you can zoom in on where you want to make your cuts from there.
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Avalir
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Re: Cuts too wide?

Post by Avalir »

Oh yeah, I won't taste every jar. After 2-3 tastes you'll notice your tongue begins to get desensitized. I'll usually just sample the transition areas when making final cuts (also helps save quantity of hearts by not drinking them before blending, aging, etc.). If need be, walk away for a few minutes and get a drink of water to restore your pallet--fresh distillate also has a tendency to change slightly in taste in a short period with air exposure, so taking a break may even help with deciding if the taste is right to keep.
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