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Has any one tried putting vanila beans in the vapor path while distilling rum? I was going to do it this weekend but my plans got cut short.

How much would be to much I was thinking one bean for a 15 gallon wash.

I like your style. I put vanilla beans in my rum anyway, sooo... I'd say only one for a 15 gal wash.

For use in the vapor path would it be best to use the whole bean choped up or scrape out the inside of the bean and leave the peel out? The peel tends to leave a bitter tast in cooking. I gess I could try it both ways but I would just rather get it right the first time. Any thoughts?

I can only offer that I chuck the whole bean into rum, and it doesn't seem to impart bitterness. thats at 65% though, no idea what your vapour will be.

Thats about what i'm hitting on my pot. This is going to be a intresting experiment once I get around to it.

I wonder if you'll loose too much through the heads and foreshots? the bean might be pretty much spent by the time heats rolls around.

I would split it and expose the innards to the vapour; that's where the goodness is. bd.

kiwistiller wrote:I wonder if you'll loose too much through the heads and foreshots? the bean might be pretty much spent by the time heats rolls around.

I'm kinda thinking that also.

I've never heard of any one trying this so I'm thinking if it works it's going to be a real learning curve to get it right.

I make my fair share of rum and am definately with Kiwi on this.

blanik

I finaly got around to doing a run with the bean in the vapor path and so far the results are mixed.

I did a 40 gallon wash two 15 gallon stripping runs and then a spirit with the last 10 gallons of wash and the 5 gallons I striped plus som heads and tails.

I used the inside of one bean, (minus the peel). I put the been on a copper scrubber inside the column.

As one might expect the flavor was intense in the forshot and heads but it carried over nicely into the first gallon, after that the bean was pretty much spent.

The thing about this method is that the vanila flavor is more in the mid-notes and the product dosen't have the aftertast I get from soaking the beans in the rum.

This was a first generation rum being that I lost all my dunder. The vanila is a bit lighter then I was looking for so next time I will try two beans.

Any way this was a fun experiment and definitely a work in progress.

Thought I would update for any one that might be interested. It's been 50 days on a well striped out 2.5 gallon keg. I' m aging at 60% and the vanilla is really starting to come through in the middle right where I want it. I'm going to let it go for 40 or 50 days more and report back, but this stuff is getting good.

you got a doublein keg. put a plug up top to shoot it with. add beans as you go.
aint sure what type outfit you got so mite note work.

so im tole

Ya Goose I have a thumper on one of my rigs. I'm going to try that idea soon. I think with the higher vapor content on the doubler, one could do a small batch and strip the been faster for a more vanilla flavor.

Adding the beans as you go is a really good idea. Thanks for the input Goose.

Was wondering if you have done any more with this Rubber Duck???? Ive been thinking about doing this since I started researching and would really like to try it.

I was thinking of using my gin basket with a few vanilla beans. I reckon I'd try two beans (not skins) for a five gallon wash.

kiwistiller wrote:I wonder if you'll loose too much through the heads and foreshots? the bean might be pretty much spent by the time heats rolls around.

How about make your cuts first then take the hearts cut, dilite it back into the pot still on its own and run the entire thing back over without cuts quickly with the beans in the vapour?

Wondering if you could push the bean to the top of the leibeg with a piece of copper 12ga wire... Maybe have the bean, a wad of copper scrubber, and then push both up the bore of the leibeg, like cleaning a gun. You wouldn't want a tight fit, but you could insert the bean when the foreshots are past.

Kind of like the dude with the semen sample at the ranch. Or is that TMI?

Bull.

RD! Since I have a MileHi still. What about letting the fore go thru and maybe about half of the heads (a wag on that part) then drop a bean thru the top onto the copper scrubbers for the rest of heads and thru hearts? Shoud work, I would think?
But then I used to have a boss whom always told me: Jackie, you don't get paid to think, please don't.
ArkyJ

I have done a couple of more runs with vanilla beans in the vapor path. I haven't got it dialed in just the way I want it yet.

The problem that I'm running into is that the vanilla is lighter than I'm looking for. It does make a really interesting whit rum though.

This is what I'm going to try on my next run. I'm going to do a slower stripping run and remove the forshot and some of the heads in the striping run. Then I'll do 4 beans for a 20 gallon wash. On the spirit run I'm going to save the first part of the heads and blend it with hearts. I'm thinking this should get me closer to where I want it to be.

AryJ, I think that would work, you could even load in a new bean when the old one is spent. Just be careful opening a hot still full of alcohol to the environment, it could be a fire hazard.

rubber duck wrote:AryJ, I think that would work, you could even load in a new bean when the old one is spent. Just be careful opening a hot still full of alcohol to the environment, it could be a fire hazard.

+1 and with that still where you would be opening it up is where the highest concentration of alcohol vapors are. But you could run it till you got to where you wanted to start adding flavor and then take the still back to full reflux while you opened it and added the beans. Then cut the coolant back and start collecting again. Wouldn't that work? It will add some time to get it lined back out but if you get a good drink out of it should be worth the time spent.

had a idea that I thank would work,,something for you to work on. take two reducers the size of your take off'
like 1/2 (25mm) X 1" (50mm)??,a piece of pipe about 6-8" (300mm)? long ,,install before the condenser.leave one end unsoldered ,, put your herbs in this ,maybe a bit of screen or packing to hold herbs in.