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Im only new to distilling, so im confused as to why anyone would want an alcohol percentage of 95.6?

No one would need it that high unless they were making absinth? So what is the real benefit as to having the alcohol in such a pure proportion?

Neutral wrote:Im only new to distilling, so im confused as to why anyone would want an alcohol percentage of 95.6?

No one would need it that high unless they were making absinth? So what is the real benefit as to having the alcohol in such a pure proportion?

You are correct that you DO NOT drink 95.6%.

But if you want genuine neutral (ie as clean and tasteless as possible), you have to make azeotrope strength (95.6% ethanol, 4.4% water), then cut it back to normal drinking strength.

Getting 95%+ is actually easier for some of us. At 95% many flavors both good and bad get through so there is variety.

Pure tasteless vodka is a step higher, and a good pot stilled flavoured run is more higher.

In my experience a High ABV% is the first step.

Now I'm no vodka drinker and I'm no reflux runner either. But I did a WPOSW recently of 36 gallons, was very careful in every step of the process and triple distilled it. Never let it get above 60% and made good cuts on it and my brother-in-law said it tastes the same as store bought but is much more drinkable and smoother even at 110proof vs. 80 with store bought. You can still make a very good vodka at low abv. but it's alot easier if you're running it to azeotrope to get the flavor and nose totally neutral.

I am having more fun with the neutral than I was with whiskey.

trthskr4,
How much likker did you end up with from the 36 gallon wash?

3 gallons of 50% after cuts.

Thanks for the replies.

Ive only got an airstill at the moment (Yes I know they have a terrible reputation and am currently in the process of trying to upgrade as the things too small im having to run it through ten times just to empty the fermenter) Im wanting to build a 50L pot still, so i'm going to hit you with a few questions. Are rubber bungs okay to use to seal copper tubing to the boiler? Or would these leach like plastic? Also is it possible to get a flavourless vodka with just a single distillation using a pot or will there always be a few off flavours and smells? (I have been getting a yeasty flavour I think maybe because the recommended amount on the turbos is too much? Ive got a batch of birdwatchers recipe going now so hopefully this should be good)

Sorry for going a bit off topic

edit I just noticed trthskr4 said I could still make a very good vodka at low abv, but also said he triple distills and cuts it back afterwards so it wont go over 60% during the next distillation (i think?). So im still wondering if I can make a very clean neutral spirit in one distillation not just ignoring his post haha

I really don't think you can get a clean product with just one pull through a pot. There is just too much of the wash that comes over.
Now, if you used a 40L charge in a keg boiler and used the middle 1/5th cut, you could get some clean drink. You would be wasting a lot of good alcohol though.

So if I were to just take the middle 1/5th and keep that as a good clean spirit could I not just redistill the rest however many times to clean that up a bit aswell?

Neutral,

It is impossible to get a clean neutral with an air still.

1. It is a pot still, which is difficult to do this for anyway.
2. If you do not make mod's, there IS some plastic in the end of the still (after the condenser)
3. It is too small, the cuts are damn near impossible, as the output is simply in a continual change. At 4L, it is simply too small.

You can get some spirit out of the still that is decent, but trying to get a neutral, is not a goal you should worry about.

H.

What I said was, you can get a pretty good vodka out of a pot still. It's still gonna have some flavor however minute, even after 3 runs like with a WPOSW. You have to take great care and have alot of patience with the wash and its handling though. For a really neutral product you need to reflux it.

Thanks for the replys Husker and trthskr4,

Im aware of the faults of an airstill, and to be honest im not a fan of it myself, its yet to produce any sort of decent spirit. I bought it on impulse as it seemed so easy without any form of research and long before I discovered this site. Then after that I thought id build a pot still as it was relatively simple. But it obviously doesn't suit my needs. I think its now back to the drawing board to figure this reflux out.

I am very interested in experimenting. You ask who would wanna have High ABV ? No idea. Perhaps the Vodka distillers.
I just wonder how column stills manage to make low proof alcohol for Whisky?
One cool thing would be to go extra low and create an oily and creamy Whisly just 68 or so. Wait 3 years and get 60 from the barrel. Consider then if you poured some 190 Proof neutral spirit and mixed it. Just so you get 80 proof. You would keep all the oils and taste but how would that affect the taste? Would it taste invertedly dilluted or just like garage fumes?

SherrodBrown wrote:...go extra low and create an oily and creamy Whisly just 68 or so. Wait 3 years and get 60 from the barrel....You would keep all the oils and taste but how would that affect the taste? Would it taste invertedly dilluted or just like garage fumes?

If you put it on wood (barrel age) at a low proof, it will extract different things from the wood, and not necessarily what you would want extracted. There's a reason whiskey is cask aged at 120-130 proof...not just convenience. It has proven to be the best range for flavor extraction, or rather interaction with the barrel.

Although I haven't done (and don't do) it, I would believe and oily spirit put into an aging cask at a low proof would not improve the drinkability much. It may buffer the tannic, fusel oils a little. But I don't like those within my taste threshold at all. So, a little improvement would still be not enough (for me).

Perhaps your friends like it coarse and cloudy. Good luck with that.
ss

Thanks for the extraction info. It make sence. I think that I will try my idea anyway and see if I somehow can compensate for the flavour loss ( e.g. using even longer matured brown vodka ) for the mix. I certainly like creamy and cloudy whiskeys. I will return with results in 8years.

For some it's a cultural thing. People around my parts has always prided themselves on being able to produce a bottle of 96%. We don't drink it pure. usually we mix it with coffee or makes drinks with it like vodka. From a practical perspective it makes sence to distill it at azeotrope level since this is the easyest way to get rid of most contaminants.

On a commercial level, to make vodka it has to be distilled above 190 proof and to be without distinctive flavor or aroma or charcoal filtered. This makes it impractical to use a pot still to make vodka.

On barrel entry proof it was legally at 110 proof until the early 60's when the law changed to the current 125 proof that is used now. Scotch's are reported to be barreled in the 140 proof range although they are in used barrels.