Neutral stripping runs - pot or reflux mode?

[StillyStrings]

I have a big (~200L) BW style wash currently fermenting for my first go at neutral, and I'm trying to plan ahead for when its ready. My understanding is that the usual practice for this sort of thing is to do stripping runs with the still in pot mode, to save time, and then run in reflux mode for the spirit run.
I was considering doing the stripping runs in column mode also. Obviously this will take longer but the main reason I want to do it is that I don't think I have enough glassware to store all the low wines if I was to strip in pot mode and end up with low wines at 30-40%. But if I do it in reflux mode and my low wines are all >90% than it should take up a lot less room. Obviously I would have to water them down for the spirit run.

Is there any downside (other than the time) that I'm missing? It should only help the quality of my final product, no?
Also, I have a few bottles of rum I made that I'm not happy with. I was thinking of throwing them in with one of the stripping runs. Double reflux distilling should easily take care of the unwanted rum flavours? I plan on using sodium carbonate in the low wines also.

[howie]

thankfully, refluxing a rum will not take out the rum flavour.
i reflux rum low wines to produce a white bacardi type rum that is immediately drinkable.
i have refluxed feints of one of my 'dirty' rum runs, and got 'dirty' white rum, not very nice at all.
i would try refluxing the rum separately though, or just re-distill it, see what you get.

[Saltbush Bill]

As you stated there are no real disadvantages except your time.
And yes if you made some rough cuts on the first strip you should end up with a cleaner spirit on the second run.
Its not common practice to do it that way, but will work.
I'd be wary of mixing the Rum into the equation, you could find it harder to remove that flavour than you think.
It would be a shame to have tthe rum ruin the rest of your hard work.
Another way of looking at this is that it's your own personal experiment to see just how clean you can get your neutral.
Edit
Posting with howie.

[Salt Must Flow]

I've done it both ways and I VERY MUCH prefer to do stripping runs in pot still configuration. The additional time did not seem worth it. By all means try it for yourself. No advice beats first hand experience.

For making the cleanest neutral, the thing that made the most noticeable difference in quality was clearing the wash after fermentation using Bentonite Clay. The only other thing that did a better job was running the product from the spirit run through the reflux column a 2nd time.

[MooseMan]

I wouldn't personally be willing to spend all that extra time "Stripping" with reflux.

Just strip hard and fast, then do your reflux run really slowly with tight cuts and you'll get a good product.
Corny kegs are good for storing low wines, just wrap the rubber seals in PTFE.

I would absolutely not add the rum to your neutral run, you'll never get rid of the taste!
Pour it back into an ageing vessel and proof it back up, add some wood, and forget it for a bit.

[NZChris]

Keep an eye out for a SS keg/container for storing Low Wines, they hold a lot and don't break when you ding them. Your local metal scrap yard might have something.

[Salt Must Flow]

^ ^ ^ Exactly.

When I first started, I bought cheap glass 5 gal carboys at local junk shops. Later I started gathering 15.5 gal kegs and 7.5 gal kegs. Now I collect Low Wines into an elevated 15.5 gal keg with a bottom drain. When it's time to do the Spirit Run, I just drain the Low Wines directly into the boiler. No lifting, no glass to break and it's really convenient.

I shopped around at junk shops and eventually found a bunch of 1 gal glass jugs to store product and I buy corks from WidgetCo. You can find canning jars CHEAP at yard sales, junk shops, on Marketplace, etc...

[Saltbush Bill]

Obviously this will take longer but the main reason I want to do it is that I don't think I have enough glassware to store all the low wines if I was to strip in pot mode and end up with low wines at 30-40%. But if I do it in reflux mode and my low wines are all >90% than it should take up a lot less room

Considering that this is your main concern right now, not later when you may have found more and better storage.
I still say go at it, you have nothing but some time to loose, make the best of the time spent as see just how clean you can get that neutral.

[Pure Old Possum Piss]

Since you have a reflux rig just do a slow "One and Done" run instead of strip/spirit.

[SW_Shiner]

He wants a quality neutral. A slow one and done does not make a nice clean neutral. I've done both ways, one and done and stripping runs. There was a noticable difference between the two.

[shadylane]

Many ways to skin a cat.
For neutral I strip with 50% ish reflux. In other words 50% is take off and 50% of the available alcohol vapor rains back on the packing. This obviously doubles the time needed to strip but the low-wines make a cleaner neutral after being diluted and run again.

[Saltbush Bill]

He wants a quality neutral. A slow one and done does not make a nice clean neutral. I've done both ways, one and done and stripping runs. There was a noticable difference between the two.

For neutral I strip with 50% ish reflux. In other words 50% is take off and 50% of the available alcohol vapor rains back on the packing. This obviously doubles the time needed to strip but the low-wines make a cleaner neutral after being diluted and run again.

Both of those methods will make a much better neutral than a one and done from my experience.

[zed255]

I've done it both ways. I didn't find the 'improvement' in quality to be worth the time. That is to say stripping with reflux didn't seem to improve the product enough to justify the time spent, like very minimal improvement if not just placebo effect.

My approach was a fast and loose reflux runs at about a 1:1 RR with a smallish heads cut and letting the VM output tell me when the run was over. This was followed by a normal reflux run with combined low wines, which obviously required much more water for proper dilution.

My current preferred method is rolling the low ABV portion of multiple strips back into the next strip. If I use my 210L barrel for fermentation I need 4 or 5 strips in my keg boiler depending on headspace requirements. Strip 1 >40%ABV goes into strip 2 and so on until the last strip where I go as low as I normally would. This doesn't add a ton of time but seems to make an impact on quality. YMMV.

[Pure Old Possum Piss]

Sorry about that. I thought he was just wanting high proof. I missed where he was wanting a true neutral.