Triple distilling

Simple pot still distillation and construction with or without a thumper.

Moderator: Site Moderator

Post Reply
jim81147
Bootlegger
Posts: 104
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2004 2:10 pm
Location: colorado

Triple distilling

Post by jim81147 »

When tripple distilling ( I am going to try making an irish whiskey ) do you run the second pass slow like a regular spirit run or somewhere in between a stripping and spirit run? And what do you collect down too on the second run? 30 % ?
Also I notice that most recipes call for both barley malt and plain barley. Why is this? do you get a different flavor from the differently modified barleys or is it just to help hold down the cost?
decoy
Rumrunner
Posts: 676
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Re: Triple distilling

Post by decoy »

Hmm... 90+ posts and you ask obvious questions..
jim81147 wrote: When tripple distilling ( I am going to try making an irish whiskey ) do you run the second pass slow like a regular spirit run or somewhere in between a stripping and spirit run? And what do you collect down too on the second run? 30 % ?
Slower is always better...

what you collect down to depends on your still, how you run it and what flavour you want...
this is more of a trial and error / taste thing, you need to collect your product in 500ml jars or botles then when finnished, taste it as you mix or blend it..

keep in mind the taste will change alot over the next 4 weeks then slowly over the remainder of the ageing time.

it will be affected difrently by how you flavour it etc..
jim81147 wrote: Also I notice that most recipes call for both barley malt and plain barley. Why is this? do you get a different flavor from the differently modified barleys or is it just to help hold down the cost?
i think you need to do some more reading...

cheers..
punkin
Master of Distillation
Posts: 2711
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2007 12:36 pm
Location: Northern NSW Oz Trail Ya

Re: Triple distilling

Post by punkin »

I would think that it'd be a cost issue for the malted barley, Jim, and there would also be a flavour difference with less malt. I'm about to start trying a few of these recipes as i have a new important mate who is a scotch lover :mrgreen:

Why would you triple distill?

Just double distilling has done me well on the sugar based whiskey washes and boosted single distillations on the allgrain. There seems little point in going to the trouble of making a malt mash then stripping too much flavour out with multiple distillations.
Have you tried less distillations and it's too flavourfull for you?

The second distillation for me is to boost the al/bv to make it easier to do cuts and get a cleaner spirit with better cuts. Single distillation (with extra low ines added) make the cuts more blurred, but can be improved with much more againg time.
MountedGoat
Swill Maker
Posts: 267
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2008 10:21 am
Location: Mountains out west

Re: Triple distilling

Post by MountedGoat »

I ran a brandy only once and it came out with great flavor. With whiskey you want flavor as well, so less is better unless you are looking for less flavor. The less times you run you have to pick out only the hearts, the more you run, the more neutral the flavor becomes so do what tastes best for you.
water + sugar + yeast = wine

water + flour + yeast = bread

wine + bread = two things I can make at home
violentblue
Rumrunner
Posts: 729
Joined: Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:20 pm

Re: Triple distilling

Post by violentblue »

I think in Irish whiskey the majority of flavor comes from oak and age.
the Irish claim a smoother profuct because they triple distill it, if cuts are made on all three distillations then yes, it'd make it a whole lot less harsh.
if you were to make a lot more conservitive cuts, you could get the same results with 2 passes.
but if it were for authenticities sake that you wanted to distill it 3x then I say don't let anyone talk you out of it.

as for malt, scotch whisky is 100% malted barley dried over peat (some more some less)
Irish don't seem to be quite as picky, they need malt to convert the starch to sugar but they also use corn, rye, barley or whatever else tickles their fancy. also their malt can be peated or non-peated. the 3x process brings it much closer to neutral (with some flavor from grain and from filtering through heather)
the real magic begins in the cask.
so if you want an authentic Irish whiskey, then be prepared to wait, only over time the leprechauns can do their work.
jim81147
Bootlegger
Posts: 104
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2004 2:10 pm
Location: colorado

Re: Triple distilling

Post by jim81147 »

That was the basis of my question , which I guess I did not put very clearly and and therefore got a well deserved spanking :oops: . It seems that traditional Irish whiskey is triple distilled , but in running 3 times , even through a pot still I would think that you would lose much of the flavor profile of the mash . Thats why I thought you may run the second a bit faster than a spirit run . I have never tried an all barley malt when distilling so I dont know if the malting process make take away a bit of flavor , hence the malt and raw barley mix? I know that in brewing , you add roasted (but not malted) barley to build a flavor profile that you want .
duds2u
Swill Maker
Posts: 258
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:49 pm
Location: Sunshine Coast, Australia

Re: Triple distilling

Post by duds2u »

Jim
Have alook at this site. The numbers are a bit faint but if you study it closely you will be able to read waht goes into each of the reciever.

http://www.gordonandmacphail.com/wg_Ben ... lcomp.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

It's for a triple distilled malt whisky but I think the numbers would be similar to Irish.
Less oak longer
punkin
Master of Distillation
Posts: 2711
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2007 12:36 pm
Location: Northern NSW Oz Trail Ya

Re: Triple distilling

Post by punkin »

Reads double distilled (in a complicated way) with recycled feints (and foreshots ) to me. :?:
trthskr4
Distiller
Posts: 1324
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:55 pm
Location: South

Re: Triple distilling

Post by trthskr4 »

Triple distilling makes a much smoother product but I always add in some wash or backset to the still on the third run to get the flavor in the product otherwise it'll be pretty neutral. I don't know what the genuine process is for what you're making, I'm just saying what I do.
15 gallon pot still, 2"x18" column with liebeg condensor on propane.
Modified Charles 803 w/ 50gal boiler, never ran so far.
Uncle Remus
Trainee
Posts: 787
Joined: Tue May 03, 2005 8:38 am
Location: great white north

Re: Triple distilling

Post by Uncle Remus »

A lot of the reason for the third distill is to further expose the distillate to the copper which removes oxidants from the whiskey. Don't make any cuts other than removing foreshot (everything that comes off before 172 F) during the first 2 distillations. On your 3rd distill make your heads and tails cut. If your using a good pot still you won't lose any real flavor. BTW I use some corn and also some rye in my grain bill for Irish, some guys also use some wheat in the grain bill..
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day and drink beer.
Dnderhead
Angel's Share
Angel's Share
Posts: 13666
Joined: Sun Dec 23, 2007 8:07 pm
Location: up north

Re: Triple distilling

Post by Dnderhead »

Single malt--- all malted barley
single grain--- malted barley and unmalted barley
blended--- malted barley and whatever (can come from pot still and /or reflux)( can be malted barley + wheat, corn,rye )
vatted -from several different distillers
pot still -- all from pot stills
single cast-- all from one barrel
Yes most run three times -- but they run so fast that it is unbelievable , what I could see, looked like a 3-4 inch (76mm--101 mm) stream coming out!
(it run threw a glass tank )
jim81147
Bootlegger
Posts: 104
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2004 2:10 pm
Location: colorado

Re: Triple distilling

Post by jim81147 »

UR , what percentage of corn do you use and what do you think it adds to an Irish? Thanks.
rilewedge
Novice
Posts: 23
Joined: Sun Jan 09, 2022 6:38 am

Re: Triple distilling

Post by rilewedge »

Pot Still Whiskey came to fruition after a tax hike on malted barley in 1785. Adding unmalted barley to the process made production a lot cheaper for the distilleries… and so the evolution of whiskey from traditional Malts to Pot Stills began.
As well as being cheaper to make, the use of unmalted barley helps Pot Still Whiskey to produce thick tears thanks to its natural oiliness. Alongside triple distillation, this creates a much smoother whiskey. Although Single Pot Still Whiskey isn’t a million miles away from Single Malt, the combination of barley adds a distinct spiciness to the overall dynamic. This new flavor profile meant that it wasn’t long after its creation that Single Pot Still whiskey became the worldwide leader in the whiskey market, overtaking Scotch completely.
The Baker
Master of Distillation
Posts: 4659
Joined: Sun Aug 27, 2006 4:48 am
Location: Northern Victoria, Australia

Re: Triple distilling

Post by The Baker »

So they use a PERCENTAGE of unmalted barley rather than a hundred percent...

Geoff
The Baker
howie
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 627
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2020 7:34 am

Re: Triple distilling

Post by howie »

also, different distilleries have very different ways they handle fores/weak feints/hearts/strong feints.
from the wash still they have a 2nd still, with different names, intermediate(springbank)/low wines(benrinnes)/feints(middletons)/high wines stills(woodford) and then the spirit still.
each have a unique way of blending back fores & feints.
i'm not an expert but i have studied the different methods and have rough sketches of a few distilleries 'flow' charts.
eg middleton basic (very similar to benrinnes)
strip run (no fores removed)everything into feints still.
from feints still - strong feints to spirit still/fores recycled to feints still/weak feints recycled to feints still
from spirit still - hearts to bottle/fores to spirit still/strong feints to spirit still/weak feints to feints still
apparently Springbank put 20% from the strip straight into the spirit still together with 80% from their intermediate still.
Woodford is pretty straight forward, although they put feints from the high wines still back into the strip still.


disclaimer - this info is what i have gleaned personally, and was correct when i scribbled it down :lol:
Attachments
whiskey still flowchart.png
Post Reply