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Did my 1st spirit run, I was nervous as hell. Not for any other reason other than I wanted to make a good product that I or someone else may like.

I have done a few sugar wash runs just to clean the still and get the feel of things but for my 1st spirit run I used some Apfelwine I had made a few years ago. It's good stuff just not my flavor, so I ran it.

I made a fores cut with about 250ml with a 4 gal wash. This actually had me nervous too but I saved it to compare the smell to my other cut. As for my other cuts I cut at about 150mls. They are sitting inter coffee filters right now waiting for blending in a few days.

One thing I wasn't sure about was when to shutdown. On my last 150ml I saw what I think was Fusel oils floating around on top... I tasted it and it tasted very odd, that's the only way to describe it. So I shut down the still.

Was that too early? Should I have kept going and collected some more?

get an alcoholmeter

Sounds like tails? But until you learn the ropes. You won't know. And really we can tell you. Since we aren't there. And only know half the info needed.

pounsfos wrote:get an alcoholmeter

Got one...the containe I got just before it was at 80 proof.

Prairiepiss wrote:Sounds like tails? But until you learn the ropes. You won't know. And really we can tell you. Since we aren't there. And only know half the info needed.

Fair enough....Ill figure this out. Gonna keep reading.

80 proof and oily should be into tails. There is a whole thread on cuts. The easiest way I have figured it out is to smell the beginning, smell the end, and smell the middle jars. The first jar is obviously heads, the last is obviously tails, and the middle is obviously hearts. Then I start smelling them all and decide where I stop smelling the heads and when I start smelling the tails. From everything I've read I think I may be making stricter cuts than others but it's my nose. I also found that some washes are a lot harder to detect heads hearts and tails in the distillate. I had a hard time with rum.

tropik wrote:80 proof and oily should be into tails. There is a whole thread on cuts. The easiest way I have figured it out is to smell the beginning, smell the end, and smell the middle jars. The first jar is obviously heads, the last is obviously tails, and the middle is obviously hearts. Then I start smelling them all and decide where I stop smelling the heads and when I start smelling the tails. From everything I've read I think I may be making stricter cuts than others but it's my nose. I also found that some washes are a lot harder to detect heads hearts and tails in the distillate. I had a hard time with rum.

Thanks..

I have read that many times and each time it does make more sense. The problem is, as a new distiller certain terms confuse me and with it being more 1st spirit run I wasnt sure what to expect.

I now wish I ran it a bit longer and just tossed the last few jars into the feints.

Lesson learned....can wait to fire her up again.

brazenheadbeer wrote:

tropik wrote:80 proof and oily should be into tails. There is a whole thread on cuts. The easiest way I have figured it out is to smell the beginning, smell the end, and smell the middle jars. The first jar is obviously heads, the last is obviously tails, and the middle is obviously hearts. Then I start smelling them all and decide where I stop smelling the heads and when I start smelling the tails. From everything I've read I think I may be making stricter cuts than others but it's my nose. I also found that some washes are a lot harder to detect heads hearts and tails in the distillate. I had a hard time with rum.

Thanks..

I have read that many times and each time it does make more sense. The problem is, as a new distiller certain terms confuse me and with it being more 1st spirit run I wasnt sure what to expect.

I now wish I ran it a bit longer and just tossed the last few jars into the feints.

Lesson learned....can wait to fire her up again.

He He Welcome to the club . We have all had those opening night jitters . The more you practice the more comfortable you will get with it

brazenheadbeer wrote:On my last 150ml I saw what I think was Fusel oils floating around on top... I tasted it and it tasted very odd, that's the only way to describe it. So I shut down the still.

Was that too early? Should I have kept going and collected some more?

I have been in the habit of taking all my distillate out in the sunlight, examining each jar for fusels, skimming it off with a teaspoon, and keeping on distilling until I'm satisfied that I've gotten all that I want to get.

That "oil slick" stuff on the surface tends to come more towards the end of the run than the beginning, but for me, there's no absolute rhyme or reason to it. It just comes over when it comes over.

So I wouldn't treat it as an indicator of anything. Skim it off when you find it and let your other senses tell you when to make your cuts.