getting the most taste

[cyrusvalkonen]

So I improvised a basic pot still, and the end result tasted like pure rubbing alcohol basically. You could taste a hint of fusel alcohol, but really whether or not this was pure ethanol mixed with water from a pharmacy or not, it would be almost impossible to tell the difference.

I then infused this alcohol with the rowan berries I also made the wash with, and after 2 days it already had a nice taste to it. Pretty much more like I imagined the distillate to taste like.

The issue I take is, that I could have basically taken vodka from the supermarket, and infuse this to yield the same result. Making my distillation superflous.

I am interested in getting a more unique taste out of the distillation, and what apparatus or process would maximize towards that goal. But without adding anything else during or after the process.

I have seen people done taste tests who were talking about lots of nuances, like different mouth feel, hints of grain, etc. with stills that should yield even cleaner results than my pot still. It kind of makes the impression of false advertizement to me in hindsight. I drank from a plastic cup, and that alone produced taste alterations about 20x stronger than whatever I got from the distillate. Just to put things into perspective.