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Question for everyone and wondering what opinions are:

I distilled about 9.5 liters (from 70% corn and 30% malted barley) to come up with what is now in a 10L barrel for aging. It's my first bourbon run. I distilled this mix of mash recipe into low wines (3 batches) until I had enough to do a spirit run. I had probably 4 gallons of 30% low wines. I discarded 1/3 jar of foreshots, but that's when I got greedy. I didn't discard heads.

I collected the right range but think I just left too many heads in. I collected from 85% down to 73% and put it in oak. I was reading in how to "check for fusels" section of this parent site and it led me to test out the spirit by swirling some in a glass, emptying it out and smelling it the next morning. If you made you cuts right, which I didn't, you should get nice perfumed aroma. If there is any brackish, sour, solvent-like, or wet cardboard flavors, the post says, "shame on you- you got greedy and ended up with heads or tails in your spirit."

I definitely have a an off aroma, like wet cardboard or something, not a perfumed aroma. So, is this batch ruined? should I just pitch it and chalk it up to a learning experience? It's been in oak for 3 weeks. Or should I just try diluting and distilling again? I have another batch of corn mash low wines. thanks for you opinions.

First off, pitch nothing. Its not ruined, you can always do a third run, I often do. Its even traditional for Irish whiskies.

You mention keeping too much heads but then talk of wet cardboard. Wet cardboard is tails, but as long as you didnt go too deep into tails, those fusels will mellow into a fine grain character. The wet cardboard smells and tastes go away with time in a barrel. 4- 6 months is a good place to begin tasting and enjoying what youve made.

Heads is a solvent acetone sharp smell and bite. That unfortunately does not dissipate with time. If youre getting a harsh bite and solvent character, just water the batch down to below 40% and run it again. No harm done.

Congrats on your first barreled bourbon.

Cheers.

Thanks Jimbo - that helps. I'm not getting a harsh solvent smell doing this "next morning" test I mentioned in my original post. I'll let this play out and see how it goes in a few months.

Good. If you change your mind in 4 months or a year, you can run it again then too, of course you'll lose some oak flavor, but even some of that will come through.

Cheers

Heads catch me on the tip of my tongue tails at the back and as jimbo said that smell is tails.
I think in a few months when you taste that you will be pleasantly surprised.
congrats.

Post the results when it's done in the barrel......real interested in the barrel aging. Seems as it really smooth's an mellows everything, as well as givin it a nice color.