Taste and smell of heads,hearts and tails
Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 3:34 am
Before the lectures start, yes I have read the rules and the parent sites offerings on making cuts and I am now as well versant on as much as any newbie should be, plus ive been taken to school a few times over the last few weeks, mainly because of schoolboy 101 errors which hopefully wont be repeated an ive learned my lessons the hard way.
In regards to the title, my aim, if its possible, is to delve further into the definitive smells and tastes heads, hearts and tails give out. I have a fantastic sense of smell and taste, but sadly, and dont berate me, I DONT DRINK. Ergo ive no idea what a good vodka taste like or how the burn or sweetness should profile out on my lips and tongue. I make gin for my family and friends as therapy for my brain tumour and it keeps me busy.
Ive been experimenting and now ive got a good wash (WOSG) followed by a strip on my pot and a spirit on my reflux collected in 200ml or 500ml jars, dependant on the size of the run, I then get a bit lost.
As a former publican Ive got a shed load of shot glasses so now I line them up in front of my collection jars. I then take my hypodermic needle and suck up a small sample of the spirit and put it into the shot jar followed by a little more of my collected RO water. This effectively drops the abv from 93 to around 40 which is what ive been told. Now I start with the fickled finger of fate and the nose of a beagle.
If I take the small sample from the middle jar/shot glasses contents, that is my benchmark sample. I sniff it and go up and down the line of shot glasses sniffing. Obviously, the smell varies the wider the sniffs become but ive no idea where to stop and call the hearts blending into heads and likewise the other way into the tails, so I prefer to taste instead as the difference is more pronounced with the tongue.
When I taste the very middle shot glass, I dip my finger in and rub it on my tongue, what Im getting is a warm and quite sweet taste. I then dip and wipe my finger and dry it and wash my mouth with fresh water to rid the taste of the sample. As I move down to the heads, the sweetness is always there, but the burn gets more pronounced the further I go until the sweetness is replaced by a slightly bitter and plasticky taste. The same kind of taste is prevalent the other way to the tails but the plastic is replaced by a woody one.
Im asking for your perceptions of both tastes and smells just to see if i can relate and make better cuts. A footnote to all of this, by the way, is very simple in my case. Using the same washes and the same cuts, Ive found that, without exception, im keeping the middle 1/3rd as hearts and the front and back 1/3rds are destined for the feints jar for recycling. So Im getting very close to just running, the cuts, and keeping the middle third and recycling the outer thirds as feints, but id like to hear what tastes and smells you guys come up with if you are willing to offer a comment without being too judgemental.
In regards to the title, my aim, if its possible, is to delve further into the definitive smells and tastes heads, hearts and tails give out. I have a fantastic sense of smell and taste, but sadly, and dont berate me, I DONT DRINK. Ergo ive no idea what a good vodka taste like or how the burn or sweetness should profile out on my lips and tongue. I make gin for my family and friends as therapy for my brain tumour and it keeps me busy.
Ive been experimenting and now ive got a good wash (WOSG) followed by a strip on my pot and a spirit on my reflux collected in 200ml or 500ml jars, dependant on the size of the run, I then get a bit lost.
As a former publican Ive got a shed load of shot glasses so now I line them up in front of my collection jars. I then take my hypodermic needle and suck up a small sample of the spirit and put it into the shot jar followed by a little more of my collected RO water. This effectively drops the abv from 93 to around 40 which is what ive been told. Now I start with the fickled finger of fate and the nose of a beagle.
If I take the small sample from the middle jar/shot glasses contents, that is my benchmark sample. I sniff it and go up and down the line of shot glasses sniffing. Obviously, the smell varies the wider the sniffs become but ive no idea where to stop and call the hearts blending into heads and likewise the other way into the tails, so I prefer to taste instead as the difference is more pronounced with the tongue.
When I taste the very middle shot glass, I dip my finger in and rub it on my tongue, what Im getting is a warm and quite sweet taste. I then dip and wipe my finger and dry it and wash my mouth with fresh water to rid the taste of the sample. As I move down to the heads, the sweetness is always there, but the burn gets more pronounced the further I go until the sweetness is replaced by a slightly bitter and plasticky taste. The same kind of taste is prevalent the other way to the tails but the plastic is replaced by a woody one.
Im asking for your perceptions of both tastes and smells just to see if i can relate and make better cuts. A footnote to all of this, by the way, is very simple in my case. Using the same washes and the same cuts, Ive found that, without exception, im keeping the middle 1/3rd as hearts and the front and back 1/3rds are destined for the feints jar for recycling. So Im getting very close to just running, the cuts, and keeping the middle third and recycling the outer thirds as feints, but id like to hear what tastes and smells you guys come up with if you are willing to offer a comment without being too judgemental.