Crap i burnt it!!!

[beefbandit]

hey all,
I got some peaches (30kg) I de skinned them an got rid of the pip. Then emulsified them with a blender. I then put them in my fermentor with aronud 15l of water and 3 kg of sugar. The wash turned out nice peach smelling wash. Thought about bottling a couple for wine, then thought na it would be better for spirits. So i did my first run with half of it on my still in pot mode, came out awsome 200ml foreshot weed killer, 1l heads, 3.5l hearts, the rest smelt like peach but had that tail taste . Second half i ran not so high temp because i knew it was more pulpy I burnt it though. I can taste peach but that burnt smell is very off putting.

In the second striping run there was way more pulpish stuff from the peaches so i lowered the gas temp but it didnt work. this sucks.

i have herd on here to leave it an see what comes with mellowing. I can do that, i would like to wood age it but cant find any white oak cheap around here (apart from the ones at the brew shops) i dont want to go buying at that price if i can help it.

what other wood has anyone tried and was good?

cheers MK

[Bugflipper]

I always save the pruned limbs from the orchard. Apple, peach, pear, apricot and plum are fine. Cherry can be a bit much. Personally to my taste oak gives a very acidic, tart flavor to it. Assuming it's the same tanic acid as in the acorns, but really don't know for sure?
For nut trees, tried hickory once and it was a bit to smokey for me. Pecan and walnut are fine though. English walnut almost has that acidic taste but more subdued. Hazelnut was fine as well. Almond had an astringent flavor. If there are any grill shops over there then maybe they would have some chips for you to char yourself if there aren't any wooded areas nearby.

[NZChris]

Thanks for the warning. I just trod about 30kg of peaches today. Haven't even put the yeast in yet cos they were frozen and the temp ain't up there yet.

I did a test run with a mini pot made out of a steamer heated with a cheap picnic burner a few days ago. Two strip runs of the less pulpy stuff, then a spirit run with the remaining pulp in the steamer. It worked really well and there was no burn on. Steeped a peach in it for a few days to get some colour and flavour and am supping on it right now. The heart cut was done on the fly and could have been better. The Missus reckons it is much improved with a healthy dose of sugar to make it more like a liqueur.

The tree had some old branches blown off in a recent storm and I have saved some for the ageing.

[NZChris]

Added some sugar wash today to up the ratio of liquid to pulp in the ferment. Freezing the fruit seems to have helped with extraction and there appears to be good separation between the wine and the solids so I'm feeling a bit more confident now.

I found a steamer basket for $3 at a hospice shop yesterday. It only needs a millimeter taken off and it'll fit into the still perfectly. The plan is to distill as soon as the ferment is finished, keeping the chapeau aside to put above the basket for the spirit run.

[beefbandit]

Update!
I left it to age with a coffee filter over the jar an the lid slightly on (breathing room). Still has a slightly smokey smell but the flavor is not to bad, slightly smokey and this is only around a month aging.

It droped a few %ages so is now only 34%, Started at 42%. im guessing the really off putting smell an taste has evaporated.

I have kept some to wood age, just have to find some wood suitable.