Distilled vs RO (vs spring) water

[stevetuk]

I've been reading the forum after having a bad experience cutting down my GNS with commercial spring water that resulted in a really oily spirit.

I used distilled water second time around and it's much clearer (I can still tell there are some tails in the GNS though...).

I've read that distilled water flattens the taste though. Some people advocate RO water instead. I wondered what the real difference is and to what extent it will ultimately affect flavour and mouthfeel? I'm sure it's a matter of opinion and debate but just wondered what the consensus was.

[The Baker]

If it is oily you should be able to rack it from below the surface....

Or so I thought. But Oswald on Stilldragon forum said,

'It will only separate above certain concentrations. If its too little it will stay in the alkohol / water Phase. Last chance is to put it in the fridge or Freezer.'

Geoff

[still_stirrin]

...cutting down my GNS with commercial spring water that resulted in a really oily spirit...

Chances are....the oily spirit did not come from the water. Diluting it with water allows the oil molecules to coalesce, making the spirit look cloudy. The oils come from the neutral spirit. Either you bought GNS that wasn’t distilled good or you were not clean enough with your cuts.

Tempering with distilled water doesn’t have the minerals that the spring water does, so the diluted spirit would taste cleaner...as if the spring water has a flavor contribution. Reverse osmosis water is filtered, albeit through a very fine filter, such that almost all of the minerals would be removed. But, it wont remove everything, so the “texture” of RO seems to be a little “smoother” than distilled water. I prefer to temper with RO water...because I have a RO filter in my home.

If, when you use distilled or RO water and you still get a cloudiness in the diluted spirit, you have more tails in the base neutral than you realized. The best way to eliminate those would be to dilute to 40%ABV and redistill the base, making sure to do better cuts this time around. If you want to have really clean neutral, then you’ll need to pay attention to the processes. And if you’re not using a reflux column for your spirit run, you probably should. Potstills just don’t clean up the spirit as good, even with multiple passes through the still.

Finally, the recipe for the base spirit may need to be addressed as well. There are several good neutral recipes in the Tried & True recipe forum which will give you an excellent starting point for your neutral spirits.
ss