StillSmart

On my first run I used a basic sugar wash with a yeast that claims to yield 20%. The product coming out (after the heads) has a strong smell almost like paint thinner. It is coming out at about 93%. Is this common with high proof spirits or are there any techniques I could try to get a smell thats less potent?

In addition to Ethanol - the tasteleass good stuff that you are trying to collect, after the first run the distillate will contain many other less desirable elements including Acetone and Ethyl Acetate which are as you describe smelly and not very pleasant to drink and are responsible for hangovers.

There is no magic recipe that will produce only ethanol the other elements are a natural part of the fermentation process but can be removed during a second or "spirit run" by "making cuts".

It may seem a chore the first time but it is well worth the effort and will give you a much cleaner prodct.

Have a look at this link on making cuts viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1326#p10465

Toodlepip

Brian

Is a "spirit run" where I just run my finished product a second time? Would it be beneficial to add it to my next batch or just run it by itself?

A spirit run is where you run the already distilled product through the still again and make cuts.
I wouldn't add this distilled product in with another wash, but some folks will do several stripping runs (distilling from the wash and collecting everything), then put together all of this raw distilled alcohol to do the spirit run.

This gives you much more alcohol in the boiler, and you'll collect a lot more product during the spirit run, making the cuts easier. Just don't put anything of too high a proof in the boiler, make sure its sub 40%ABV for safety reasons (I don't ever put anything over 30% in these day as I'm sure it yields a better product).

Have fun, and be safe.

CC

+1 what the Capt said about using a low ABV charge for the spirit run.

I have found that the lower the ABV of the Low Wines is, going into the still boiler, the cleaner the final product will be and the easier it is to make clean cuts between the fractions. I routinely dilute my Low Wines to 20% and the overall running time is only marginally longer for a 40l charge.

My motto has become "Spirits Taste Better Clean rather then Fast"

AM

Ok so I collected about a 70 to 80 ounces on my first run in the t500. The alcohol content is right around 92%. So what I need to do now is water that down until its at or below 40% and run it again?? Also when using the t500 is there a minimum amount of liquid that should be in it?

By the way, high proof alcohol has a strong smell of alcohol (funnily enough :-))

put a tablespoon or some other measures worth into a glass, then add 1.5 times as much water, give it a swirl, then give it a smell and a taste.

You can't really make cuts with high proof as the alcohol is overwhelming.

Have you collected in separate jars or have you ran it all into one container?

After the first 4 or 5 ounces I collected it into one container. I just did not know if there was anything I could do to make it smoother without altering the amount of alcohol.