New Guy with a Reflux and a lot of questions

[painthappy]

Sometime ago I bought a reflux still (40 quart, with a column I pack with copper mesh). I've made a few batches of this or that, and made beer for quite sometime now, so I have a grasp of the basics.

I'm into rum now, and really want to do it right, so I've been reading up everything I can on it. Before I just ran it through and drank what came out. I've learned about the foreshots, head, heart, and tails now. So my next batch will be trying to separate these out.

I currently just use a hotplate, takes a while to heat up, but keeps a constant temperature and easy for me to keep track of.

My questions are as follows: Out of a 5 gallon wash, when I get over 1/2 gallon of finished product, it will be 160 proof. How do I cut this down? I've tried a few methods, but nothing seems to work well. It was either cloudy (using tap water), or using Poland springs water, the bubbles seemed to linger too darn long. Just didn't feel or taste right. Where am I going wrong there?

Would it better if I removed the packing from my column to get less of an alcohol proof and more flavor? Is that even possible?

In regards to the rum. I've read where people insist on keeping just the hearts, and re-running the feints. And elsewhere where they seem to combine the three?

Lastly: What are rum oils collected at the end? I don't think I've ever let my still get up that high to collect them.

tl;dr:
1. How do you cut your ABV?
2. Removing packing from a reflux still for more flavor?
3. Is keeping your hearts and feints separate all that important?
4. What are rum oils in a spirit run?


Thanks in advance to the new guy, and possibly my first post. I've been lurking for ages now and have garnished a LOT of knowledge from this place. So thanks to everyone that contributes.


Carter

[painthappy]

I'm updating this post with learned information:

I broke down and purchased a Pot Still Column as I learned that while I can remove the packing and will work pretty well, it's still not the same. Instead of running an experiment, I bought a pot column.

I'm still unsure about cutting the ABV. Will research that some more.

In making Rum, the heads and the tails have the most flavor, I'm told. But I thought I should re-run those feints back through? I guess there's just an art form I'm going to need to learn on my own huh?

[kiwistiller]

most people doing two runs will dilute a little. oaked spirits are generally aged at ~60-65%. I get hearts around 80-70%, so a bit of dilution with water there. Now, if you're really hardcore, you can look at distilling to a desired strength on the stripping run, so that it will come out at the right % for aging on the spirit run. I have no experience with this, but if I remember the diagrams right it is about 27% you want aim for... this is what the scotch distilleries do IIRC.

Or you can do single runs.

Or you can add water like the rest of us

In making Rum, the heads and the tails have the most flavor, I'm told. But I thought I should re-run those feints back through? I guess there's just an art form I'm going to need to learn on my own huh?

Not really there is lots of info here to help you find the way. I'd say definately rerun the feints, after discarding the nastiest of heads (foreshots), you can add them back each time or save them up for a very special all feints run.

Kiwi

[vicrider]

For cutting your ABV, use distilled water. If you are getting bubbles when you shake, let it sit for a few days and that should help. There is a dilution calculator on the parent site.

Most people blend their hearts with a little of the heads and tails to get more flavor. When you figure out which part you don't want to keep in the good stuff, save the rest as feints and add to the next run. This is the ART part of distilling that comes with experience. To understand cuts a little better, read http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 3#p6803920

Best of luck, V