essence to flavour neutral???

[kronikbud]

Hi im very new to this, i have distilled only three washes so far, i have been using essence to flavour my spirit which is ok but i feel it could be alot better, i have a turbo500 reflux still so dont think using a grain or molasses wash will work, apparently my still will strip all flavours from the wash... i want to make good quality single malt whiskey, ive used the classic finest reserve essence from my local brewshop which was recommended to me which i thought was ok but after giving it to a few veterans to sample have been told its nowhere near good enough! i am a mixer! i know i know butcher! lol
so to me it tastes ok but i would like to produce some good sipping whiskey for the old boys, is it possible using a reflux still and can it be done with essence or oak chunks??? any info would be much appreciated, thankyou!

[kiwistiller]

I'm afraid it's not really possible to 'produce' a really good scotch from an essence.

Well, I suppose it might be possible, but it hasn't been done yet as far as we know.
Sorry,
Kiwi

[Dnderhead]

real flavors are made of 1000s of different chemicals,essence are made of just a few , that is why they will never be the same.
they will always be almost but not quiet the same .

[kronikbud]

Thanks for that, i want to steer away from essence but not to sure what to do, i was told that using a t500 will take all flavour out of my wash so no point in doing a grain or molasses wash is this true? And if so what options do i have for flavouring? I have seen a few recipe's for gin but sourcing all the ingredients could be tricky, and i am interested in infusion for making some vodka's but is it possible to make whiskey from neutral or will i have to look at getting a pot still? sorry if these questions are abit stupid, there is so much to read on this site and i am trying to find answers before hassling you guys...

[kiwistiller]

I'm not sure about detuning the t500, I've never pulled one apart. If you want to bring it over, I can have a look and tell you. I've got an old power controller that was never quite finished (needs a bigger heat sink and some testing, that's all) that you could borrow if you want to use that thing as a pot still (if it can be detuned easily, of course).

[kronikbud]

cool thanks, would be good to talk with a pro, im not sure about detuning dont know much about much in the distilling world. there are some pics of a t500 on this site not sure where i came across it though sorry.

[kiwistiller]

pics are never quite the same as pulling them apart yourself though! But yeah, if you want to come over, drop me a pm. I work from home (writing my thesis or procrastinating from it), so I'm around most of the time.

[rad14701]

Might be a bit tricky to detune for pot still use unless the coolant routing can be altered or the reflux tube can be replaced with a straight tube without a condenser coil...

I saved those pictures locally so I wouldn't have to hunt for them... Haven't gotten around to using the forum bookmarks...

[kronikbud]

Excellent, i will definately be in touch in the near future. thanks