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Just curious on how much blending you guys are doing?
What I mean is, (for example) my last run was 2 1/2L of heads, 5.5L of hearts, 3.5L tails. I kept the 5.5L of hearts (very little smell and clean tasting) and didn't mix in any of the obvious heads or tails.

Do you guys take a little bit of the heads(or tails) and mix in with the heart to get a particular flavour or do you just take/keep the hearts.

Just curious after reading some comments on other threads and didn't want to hijack.

(I guess another question would be am I taking too much as hearts and am in fact actually taking a little heads/tails and not know it?)
11L total and I have 5.5L heart?

You are going to have some heads and tails. Wether or not you add any of the obvious heads and tails back all depends on what you like. Totally subjective.
I'm sure I get late heads/early tails in mine. When testing for cuts though, if I cut it to 40% and it clouds in the slightest, it goes to the feints container.
On some recipes you will also find a jar fairly deep into the tails that is actually very good. (I've noticed that I get cloudy tails from just under 40% down to about 25%, then get a little bit from 25 down to 15% that is clear and sometimes very good flavored)

Hawke wrote: On some recipes you will also find a jar fairly deep into the tails that is actually very good. (I've noticed that I get cloudy tails from just under 40% down to about 25%, then get a little bit from 25 down to 15% that is clear and sometimes very good flavored)

ive only done a few non-neutral runs but ive found this with my rum. look up 'pugirum' it talks about this in his recipe. i added some of thie "rum oil" into the product and it tasted great. added alot of flavor back after going through my column

blending up some rum with my stepdad (teaching him about making cuts) its amazing what portion of the run, that by itself tastes terrible, you blend into the hearts and makes vor a very tasty and smooth drink.
late heads and early tales have a lot of flavor potential when blending up a non neutral.

I take off in 500ml mason jars. I have them lined up as they come off. So I have my hearts, and then I should take a bit of the late heads/early tails and dilute/taste and add to a bit of hearts to see if I like it? Man that seems like I would waste a lot.

I put 1/2 tablespoon of bottled water on a spoon and fill the spoon with each jar to find if it tastes good or not. I find after a couple, even after spitting it out, I can't taste anything/it all tastes the same.
Lately I've been going by %ABV and smell and seeing if it is oily on my hands.

All the "put some on your hands and see how close to your nose before you smell it" stuff doesn't work for me.

Anyway, it appears I know WHAT to do, just can't actually DO it!
I'll try again next batch regardless and see if I can figure this out.

even after spitting it out, I can't taste anything/it all tastes the same.

Go slower...

Take something else (mild) to refresh your mouth....

Get up and do something else for a minute...






Not saying it's the only way for everyone, but tasting (combined with nosing) is the only way it works for me. Can't do it nosing alone.

Tasting doesn't work for me, because with rum, I -like- the flavor of the mid to late heads, and all the tails <lol> But if I line up the collection jars, let them air for 24 hrs, I can smell the distinction from heads to hearts, and hearts to tails clearly, and that's where I make my choices. The rest gets reused in the next batch. No waste. Foreshots are used as a cleaning solvent 'round here.

For blending, I pour all the good, aged jars(often from many runs/batches) into a BOP, mix it, add any caramel, maple syrup, whatever, that I may want to add to that particular batch, give it a good mixing, and then bottle it all up.

most folks think making it is the hard part its what ya do after the run that makes or breaks it. good thing i can be redistilled...lol i've done plenty of that myself

big worm wrote:most folks think making it is the hard part its what ya do after the run that makes or breaks it. good thing i can be redistilled...lol i've done plenty of that myself

This is all so true. My all barley whiskeys take a good month before I can tell what parts to blend. Starting out with up to a week of airing, then I put oak in everything and let it set for several weeks. After that, it's time to sniff, taste, and blend. To me, none of it smells all that great the first few weeks. Lately I've noticed a pretty good oil slick has come to the top on some of the late tails that can be wicked off leaving more good flavors for the blending.