Whiskey stills

Whiskey distillation Whiskey stills Whistle White arsenic White blood cells... 

Whiskey stills are usually fitted with entrainment removal sections that consist of a plate above the top stripping plate to remove particles trapped in the vapor. 

The rectifying section contains three or four bubble cap (wine) plates in the top section of the stiU to produce distillates up to 160° proof. Whiskey stills are usually made of copper, especially in the rectifying section, which often yields a superior product. Additional copper surface in the upper section of the column may be provided by a demister, a flat disk of copper mesh. Stainless steel is also used in some stills. 

Bourbon Distillation. The basic distillation system for the production of bourbon and other straight whiskeys consists of a beer still and a beer heater, thumper, or doubler (Fig. 4). The whiskey still consists of between 14 and 21 stripping trays. The upper portion of the still is fitted with either a bubble cap section or a section packed with copper rings to enhance the removal of unwanted flavors and ethyl carbamate precursors. The reduction of carbamate precursors requires strict adherence to a cleaning protocol with a 5% caustic solution as often as twice a week. 

The most modern American whiskey still consists of a column and an extra head which contains two rectifying plates and one washing plate. This still and its mode of operation are described in Chapter IX on Whiskey. 

Mr. Gerber, whose Whiskey bar at the Paramount was in its heyday in the early 1990s a strictly velvet-rope, models-meet-young-money scene, issued a statement about Stone Rose which explained that it would be a bit more sophisticated and elegant, while still maintaining a chic and sexy lounge that our guests expect from us. ... 

He shakes his head. I couldn t leave the Press. Not for that long. Or the tenants in the house. They re very well behaved, whatever Izzy says, but still... He peers out of the window. Sun s over the yardarm, wouldn t you say Whiskey all right I m afraid I haven t got any wine. Can t seem to pick up you young ones habit of drinking it on its own. ... 

Cases of lead poisoning have been related to less common sources of exposure. Illicit "moonshine" whiskey made in stills composed of lead-soldered parts (e.g., truck radiators) may contain high levels of... 

Doubler. A doubler is a pot still used to redistill whiskey and low wines from a beer still. The low wines are fed into the doubler where they are redistilled by way of steam enclosed in a scroll at the bottom of the still. The bottoms, the organic components remaining at the bottom of the still, are... 

Feints. Feints are the third fraction of the distillation cycle derived from the distillation of low wines in a pot still. This scotch term is also used to describe the undesirable constituents of the wash that are removed during the distillation of grain whiskey in a continuous patent still (Coffey). These are... 

Grain Whiskey. Grain whiskey is an alcoholic distillate from a fermented wort derived from malted and unmalted badey and com, in varying proportions, and distilled in a continuous patent still (Coffey). 

Low Wines. Low wines is the term for the initial product obtained by separating (in a pot or Coffey still) the beverage spirits and congeners from the wash. Low wines are subjected to at least one more pot still distillation to attain a greater degree of refinement in the malt whiskey. 

Malt Whiskey. Malt whiskey is an alcoholic distillate made from a fermented wort derived from malted barley only and distilled in pot stills. It is the second fraction (heart of the run) of the distillation process. 

In spite of a decline over the past 50 years, whiskeys are still the most popular distilled alcoholic beverage group in the United States (Table 1) (1). However, vodka consumption has increased significandy to 22% of total distilled spirits in 1990. 

The grain whiskeys used in Scotch blends are produced using com, rye, and badey malt and are distilled using a continuous multicolumn still at 180—186° proof (90—93%). Grain whiskeys are aged in used oak barrels of 190 liter capacities. The used barrels are often purchased in the United States from bourbon distilleries. 

Irish Whiskey. Irish whiskeys are blends of grain and malt spirits three or more years of age that are produced in either the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland and comply with the respective laws regulating their manufacture. Since no peat is used in the malting process, Irish whiskey lacks the smokey character of Scotch. In the manufacturing process, the malt is soaked in water and milled to produce the wort. The fermentation usually takes about 60 hours. The first distillation in a pot still yields a 22—23% alcohol product. A second pot still distillation produces a product that is 45—46% alcohol. This is followed by a third distillation in another pot still to yield the Irish whiskey of about 68—70% alcohol. 

Steam is introduced at the base of the whiskey column through a sparger. Where economy is an important factor, as in a fuel alcohol plant, a calandria is employed as the source of indirect heat. The diameter of the still, number of perforated and bubble cap plates, capacity of the doubler, and proof of distillation are the critical factors that largely determine the characteristics of a whiskey. 

The first continuous distillation tower built, was the patent still used in Britain to produce Scotch whiskey, in 1835. The patent still is, to this day, employed to make apple brandy, in southern England. The original still, and the one I saw in England in 1992, had ordinary bubble-cap trays (except downpipes instead of downcomers, were used). The major advantage of a bubble-cap tray is that the tray deck is leakproof. As shown in Fig. 2.5, the riser inside the cap is above the top of the out-... 

The very first continuous distillation column was the patent still used to produce Scotch whiskey in the 1830s. It had 12 bubble-cap trays with weirs, downcomers, tray decks, and bubble caps with internal risers. Current trayed towers are quite similar. As most distillation towers have always been trayed rather than packed, one would have to conclude that trayed towers must have some sort of inherent advantage over packed towers. And this is indeed true, in a practical sense even though, in theory, a packed tower has greater capacity and superior separation efficiency than a trayed column. 

The initial procedure for spirits production parallel those described for beer or wine in that one starts with either a cereal source for starch to be hydrolyzed to sugar, or an inexpensive direct source of sugar itself. Thus a variety of grains or molasses are common raw materials. Whiskey has been, and still is. 

The choice of the main cereal component used is based on the lowest cereal cost on a starch content basis, since the sugar ultimately available for fermentation depends on the amount of starch hydrolyzed. Small amounts of a particular cereal, for example, rye for rye whiskey, corn for bourbon, may still be employed to provide the desired flavor element in the final beverage. Rye is used extensively by distillers in the areas where it is plentiful. Corn, wheat, millet (65-68% starch), rice, and potatoes also provide supplementary sources of starch for spirits production, depending on local cost, usage, and availability. Small amounts of hydrolyzed rye are sometimes used to favor initial yeast propagation (about 2% of the total starch input). 

Where malt whiskeys are produced, and it is the object of the distiller to retain in the product some of the esters, higher alcohols, and other bodies which give the spirit its characteristic flavour, the apparatus employed is the pot still. 

The flavour of newly-distilled whiskey is crude and unpleasant, particularly in the case of pot still whiskey, which contains more secondary products than the patent still. By storage in wooden casks changes are bro light about iu the character of the secondary constituents, with the result that the flavour is improved this process is maturing. Patent still spirit costs less to manufacture than pot still, and if the two are mixed, a milder, more uniform, and cheaper product is obtained by mixing immature pot stfll spirit—which is naturally cheaper than the fully matured article—with patent still whiskey, the unpleasant taste of the former is toned down so that the mixtiue becomes more palatable. The proportion of pot still whiskey in cheap blends depends on the price the cheapest may contain as little as 10 per cent. 

Flow Sheet for Three Types of Pot Still Whiskey. 108... 

Improved Pot Still.—In Great Britain the chief distilled liquor is whiskey. Some of this continues to be made in pot-stills... 

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