Alcohol Distillation and Its Impact on Taste

Alcohol distillation is the process of extracting potable ethanol from other unwanted components that a distiller would prefer to discard, producing stronger, purer, and more flavorful spirits as a result. Distillers employ both precision and intuition when distilling; alcohol’s lower boiling point than water allows it to evaporate while all other liquids remain liquids when heated; its vapor condenses into one container where it collects as distillate for collection as distillate.

Distillation can be accomplished using a copper still called an alembic or pot still, which acts like an enclosed kettle with narrowed top that collects vapor that then condenses down through cold water into an enclosed vessel for receiving. Copper makes this method ideal as it draws out impurities from alcohol while providing heat resistance – also making this traditional approach labor-intensive and time consuming as each pot still must be loaded, boiled, cleaned and recharged each run before becoming available to produce spirits with distinct congeners profiles!

At the outset of distillation, undesirable compounds with lower boiling points–like volatile acids that give gin its distinctive ‘nail polish remover’ aroma–evaporate first. This stage is known as “heads,” and once all desirable ethanol alcohol has been captured as “heart,” its discard will also take place. Distillers take great pride in selecting when to make their first cut for maximum spirit yield.