First Wash, First Run

Many like to post about a first successful ferment (or first all grain mash), or first still built/bought or first good run of the still. Tell us about all of these great times here.
Pics are VERY welcome, we drool over pretty copper 8)

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Sputley
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Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:01 am

First Wash, First Run

Post by Sputley »

Today I’m finishing up my first run (over 3 days) with a final feints run. It is a rum wash and it has turned out amazing.
Recipe:
Unsulfered Molasses 1.5 gallons
Raw Sugar 12#
Dissolved in 9 gallons filtered well water heated to 120 F
Pitch 20g activates DADY when cooled to 80 F
Placed in 3 carboys (To work with my 5 gallon still)
Ferment took forever. Over 2 weeks. Just kept bubbling!

My still is a 5 gallon pot still with a thumper, but after my cleaning runs (and the amazing smell of the rum wash) I decided to run it without the thumper to pull over more flavor.

First run I collected in 12 jars making a strict heads cut and went slightly into the tails to blend. Great aroma and flavor. Yield was about 3 pints spirit and 4 pints feints after discarded foreshots. Aging on toasted cherry.

Second run I kept a gallon or so of dunder in the still, added the wash and the feints from the first run. I wasn’t quite as strict on the heads cut and went into the first tails. Again great aroma and a richer molasses flavor. Yield was 4 pints spirits, and 4.5 pints feints. Aging on toasted apple.

Third run, again kept about a gallon of second gen dunder, added the wash but no feints. Made a strict heads cut and went slightly deeper into the tails. OMG! This is the best rum I’ve ever tasted!! Complex molasses flavors, amazing feel and aroma! Yield was almost 3 pints spirits and about 4 pints feints. Think I’m going to leave this as a high proof white rum.

So today I’m running the feints from the second and third runs on about 1.5 gallons of 3rd gen dunder. Going well, but I was expecting more flavor and aroma.

Two questions: Is an all feints run, even on the dunder, typically not as rich?? And after you run feints, do you keep the feints from the feints 🤔

All I can say to all the folks on this forum is that you guys are great. So much knowledge and experience to pass on to us newbies. Thanks!!
Life is tough, but it’s tougher when you’re stupid.
bacstill
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Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2020 3:28 am
Location: TX

Re: First Wash, First Run

Post by bacstill »

no answer to the richness of the all feints run, but I see no reason you couldn't keep reusing the feints. At the very least I think you could use in your thumper to boost the ABV
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SaltyStaves
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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Re: First Wash, First Run

Post by SaltyStaves »

Sputley wrote: Sun Oct 11, 2020 10:18 am I decided to run it without the thumper to pull over more flavor.
And more of the undesirable congeners too. Don't forget all that Ethyl Carbamate that you'll be aging. Sugar washes should never be considered drinkable after a single pass through a pot still.

What you are calling feints here, are in fact low wines. You'd have to run them through more than a single distillation for them to be considered feints.
Sputley
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Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:01 am

Re: First Wash, First Run

Post by Sputley »

Very good information Salty!! Thank you. That’s why I’m here! Ok, so that brings up two more questions.
First, if I had used the thumper, can you make a single spirit run?
And second, I will dilute all I’ve collected to 40% and run it again. Should a portion it the delusion be dunder for more flavor or does that give me the same issue again?
Life is tough, but it’s tougher when you’re stupid.
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SaltyStaves
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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Re: First Wash, First Run

Post by SaltyStaves »

What you put in the thumper will affect the outcome (low wines in there vs wash etc), but generally its a second distillation. At a minimum, some would consider it a 1.5 times distillation, but many people run thumpers for that reason. To achieve a single run.

Having three fermented charges might require some creative running, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. You have options.
Just don't go sending a boiler full of clean spirit or low wines through a thumper full of wash or dunder and expect it to work in that order.
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