Rectifying

KatoFong · Post by **KatoFong** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 6:49 am

I've been looking for Everclear 95% for a while, and recently found out that it can't be bought where I live for zoning reasons. It can be bought outside the city, but not within city limits. Weird.

Anyway, I can buy Everclear 75.5%, so what I'm thinking is that I'll take the Everclear 75.5, dilute with a little water, and then run that through my potstill. If I'm right, I should be able to get most an 85% spirit out of the run, shouldn't I? Am I way off, here?

Post by **Grayson_Stewart** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 7:18 am

Depends on what you dilute it down to and what type still you have. Why would you want to dillute it down if the object is to strip it to a higher proof?

KatoFong · Post by **KatoFong** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 7:57 am

I thought a little dilution would help me control the temp a bit, keep it from boiling to quickly and getting out of my hands. I'd hate to accidentally distill the acohol to the same proof it started at. That'd be weird of me.

I also thought I might use a little white wine for the dilution. Maybe work a little flavor into the new spirit. Not much at 85%, but enough to smooth out the everclear.

My still is a simple potstill. It's got a five-quart boiler and uses a 1/4" copper lyne arm and coil. The coil is 15 feet of 1/4" coil in a five-gallon bucket.

Post by **Grayson_Stewart** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 8:58 am

If you distill the 75.5% Everclear in a potstill, that will give you a single distillation and only raise the proof to about 86% alcohol by volume; and this is without added dilution. If you are looking for 90% you will have to distill that 75.5% Everclear twice without any added dillution....and even then it may turn out slightly below 90%.

I doubt you would retain any of the flavor of the white wine, at least not enough to be noticeable after you cut the product back down to a drinking strength that wouldn't kill ya.

If you take all the necesary precautions you should be fine distilling without diluting the Everclear. Just watch the heat input once the vapor starts moving and don't collect near an open flame or be smoking.

Brett · Post by **Brett** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 9:02 am

im a little lost, why go out n buy it when ya can make it with a sugar wash n multiple runs. its like buyin a bottle of whisky or rum, stillin it to make it stronger then dilutin it back down so's ya can be drinkin it?

rectifier · Post by **rectifier** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 1:31 pm

Yeah, I say just make it from a sugar wash too, which would you rather spend for your materials, $2 or $20...

KatoFong · Post by **KatoFong** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 1:57 pm

Thanks, all. I'll keep that in mind for next time. Of course, since I've already got the three bottles of Everclear 75.5 that I'm planning on stripping down a bit, I might as well go ahead as planned. But maybe the time has come to give a sugar wash a second try.

KatoFong · Post by **KatoFong** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 6:48 am

Just thought I'd update. Ran everything last night. Just as predicted, I got a couple of bottles worth of 85%. Which is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the help.

I agree that this was a back asswards way of going about getting the spirit, so I think as soon as my recent order of yeast nutrient comes in, I'm going to try a simple sugar wash.

The Chemist · Post by **The Chemist** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 6:55 am

KatoFong wrote:Thanks, all. I'll keep that in mind for next time. Of course, since I've already got the three bottles of Everclear 75.5 that I'm planning on stripping down a bit, I might as well go ahead as planned. But maybe the time has come to give a sugar wash a second try.

Keep in mind, also, that Everclear does have a citrus flavoring added (a tiny bit--not like these flavored vodkas). I've never tried redistilling it, but there's a good chance that the flavoring is difficult to remove. I generally try to stick with McCormick's "Grain Alcohol" for truly neutral spirits. Good, if you can get it.

Post by **Grayson_Stewart** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 7:14 am

Is that McCormick's as in the seasoning and flavoring people? Makes sense if it is because all there bottles of flavoring are about 70% by volume anyway.

KatoFong · Post by **KatoFong** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 8:12 am

Chemist:

If the flavor is there, I haven't noticed it. I use it in absinthe-making (which is why I needed such a high proof) and if it's ever flavored the final product, it hasn't done so with adverse effects.

And alas, the selections of pure grain alcohol is absymal where I live. I've been looking into a Polish product called "Spirytus". It's supposed to be good, but as a non-Polish person, it's nigh impossible to get it sold to me at the right proof.

The Chemist · Post by **The Chemist** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 10:21 am

No, Grayson, not the spice people, complete name is "McCormick Distilling Co.", they're in Weston MO.

Kato: you'd probably recognize it if you compared it to GNS, shows up on my GC, but if you're making liquers, it's not gonna be a problem.

KatoFong · Post by **KatoFong** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:19 am

GC? Geiger counter?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 5:56 pm

Gas chromatograph. If you're not a chemist, a piece of equipment you will probably never see lying around

To put its function very simply, it separates chemicals in a mixture so you can detect them individually. It functions much like a very, very long fractionating column.

I see what you were doing with the everclear... sugar wash wasn't working out but you wanted to distill something

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 5:57 pm

That guest was me

rectifier · Post by **rectifier** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 5:58 pm

Why am I not logging in? I should be logged in. Maybe I am this time?
Lol, sorry for 3 useless posts

~Rectifier

KatoFong · Post by **KatoFong** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 6:11 am

Yeah that was basically it. The last time I tried a batch of sugar wash, it failed miserably. And since I'm fairly new to distilling, making cuts, etc., I didn't want to use my home made sugar wash in absinthe until I got better at making it.

The Chemist · Post by **The Chemist** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 10:01 am

Anonymous wrote:Gas chromatograph. If you're not a chemist, a piece of equipment you will probably never see lying around :D

Yeah, sorry, sometimes I get ahead of myself. I haven't run Everclear in quite some time, but now I have MS capability (Mass Spectrometer-a really cool add-on for a GC. Blasts the molecules to bits and then you can identify the compounds by the fragments.). I'll pick up a bottle and see if I can identify the culprit.

KatoFong · Post by **KatoFong** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 6:26 am

Well, keeping in mind what you told me, Chemist, I did a little tongue test on the few drops of Everclear I had leftover. There is definitely a slight citrus taste to it. I don't notice it so much in the stuff I distilled, though, so I should be okay.