same taste and smell every time

[hopkins21]

So far I have done 3 runs 2were with turbo (bad I know) second was red star yeast. First run was sweet feed AMD turbo, second was just surgar and turbo....third was birdwatchers and they all taste and smell like tequila kinda....any ideas.

[stairman]

make margueritas?

[hopkins21]

Thinking about it.

[rad14701]

Was the Birdwatchers made using turbo yeast, or Red Star...??? What were the exact recipe proportions...??? Are you letting your washes clear...??? Are you racking properly...??? Are you making proper cuts during distillation...??? Are you letting the spirits air for 24 - 48 hours before blending...??? Are diluting to drinking strength...??? And on and on...

You see, we have more questions than answers at this point... The more information you provide, the better able we will be to assist you...

[hopkins21]

The bird watchers was red star, and everything has been a 5 gallon wash. I'm still learning how to make propper cuts, but everything from start to finish has the same smell so its hard for me to make proper cuts. My wash is clear and I run through a filter a couple times before it goes in my pot. Again I'm still learning and could be missing a couple things here and there.

[rad14701]

Use multiple small jars... The easiest method for small batches is to collect in small 4 or 8 ounce jars... I use 4oz/125ml baby food jars... I just collect in as many as I need, filling all to the top, and then use smell, taste, and feel to detect the separate cuts... You won't waste nearly as much good alcohol this way... For my small runs the first jar holds all the foreshots and some early heads... Jars 2 and 3, and sometimes jar 4, are usually heads... I start in the middle of the jars and alternate working my way outwards so my nose doesn't get locked in to a specific smell... Using this method I can go primarily by smell and then use taste only when needed... Use the foreshots as cleaner or for starting fires... Toss the heads and tails into your feints jar... Dilute and enjoy the hearts or age if desired...

[jholmz]

how fast are you running it could be smearing all the way through

[hopkins21]

It gets up to temp pretty quick around 134 I would say, then I back the heat off and slow it down. And since I'm running a 2inch traditional pot still head I was told not to really pay much attention to the temps. Also I never change the mash bucket either ( use the same bucket from start to finish) or transfer the wash to another bucket after it has settled I should say, I just filter it all out before I dump it into my still. And usually when I do my cuts I use small pint mason jars and discard 125ml or about a little more than a half cup at beginning and start collecting from there. But again it smells and tastes the same all the way through so its tough to decide what's what. And I'm getting decently high proof alcohol to ( first couple pint .jars are around 165-160 range. And I run it all the way down to about 80 proof and it smells and feels AMD tastes just like the stuff I collect at the beginning although I can tell the tails feels almost kinda slick I guess is how you would describe it. Also I will add that the finish product is not cloudy it is crystal clear.

[Dnderhead]

you never will on one run. first pick something and go with it.save the heads 0r tales or both and put them in the next run,fruit usually have flavors in the heads ,grain in the tales.its sort of like making ''never ending pot luck"where you just keep adding to it .

[hopkins21]

I guess what I'm getting at is I don't get how a sweet feed run can taste just like a sugar wash.

[Buccaneer Bob]

Few thoughts.

First, when I'm tasting, I dilute a sample with water to somewhere in the 10-20% ABV range. That's what works for me. But sometimes I'll dilute with soda, depending on how my tastebuds are running that day.

Second, all heads taste like cheap tequila to me. If I didn't know better, I would swear that the folks selling cheap tequila buy all the heads from other distillers, bottle it up and call it tequila.

Third, for a very generalized -- and I mean generalized -- cutting system, I divide my run into 1/3 heads, 1/3 hearts, and 1/3 tails. Again, this is a very generalized system, but it's a starting point for me to work from.

Fourth, I start my tasting session in the middle of the run and work my way to the edges. If I start off tasting in the heads, my tastebuds are pretty much worthless for the rest of the day.

Fifth, try running at least down to 20% or so. Depending on what I'm running, that's where I find a lot of the flavor. For my plum brandy, it really starts tasting like fruit punch down there. Also, just because something tastes like "wet cardboard" or "dishrag" to your tastebuds today doesn't mean it won't rock your world in a week or two, when mixed with the other stuff and diluted to drinking strength.