StillSmart

Well, I've distilled down the first 20 liters of my 70 litre batch. Can't say I'm too impressed with the results although I seem to have hit my numbers.

I loosely copied an Isley Whiskey recipe but made sure I used the correct weight of Peat Malt. I did boil the wort for 60 minutes as I do when making Beer but since I've read that this is not the norm? Would be interesting to get some feedback on that.

I fermented with a whiskey yeast I found on eBay at 22-25c. My OG was 1.074 and my FG was 1.010 so I ended up at 8.4% ABV. The Peat smell and taste was still there as expected but not as pronounced and I was getting a strong banana smell too. I guess due to the fermentation temps?

I did a stripping run through my VM Still I bought off a buddy and had the column 1/2 packed with stainless steel scrunchies. I also added a few copper coins to the pot after they had been well cleaned. I initially produced 60% and ran till 10%. I ended up with 4.5 liters of 35%ABV Low Wines that had lost all of its Peat aroma but kept its banana aroma.

When I carried out my Spirit run I tried to produce 10mls/minute but my I induction hob would not produce at its lowest setting and at its next lowest setting produced 10mls in 40-45 seconds.

As my temp probe died on me I relied on my hydrometer readings and taste/smell to make my cuts. Following a guide I discarded my first 100mls and waited till my percentage was down to 80% to cut to Hearts. I'm not getting the 'whiskey' smell/taste I read I should expect. I cut my tails at 62% and not long after I noted the off smells accociated with tails.

In the end I collected 1.2ltr hearts at 74% and 1.5ltr feints at 58%. I watered the Hearts down to 60% for casking (I intend on adding a few more liters over the next few days) I can't say I'm getting a resounding 'whiskey' taste and no Peat at all.

I'd really appreciate any feedback and criticisms so I can improve next time.

Thanks in advance!

Hi there.
Firstly,expect the peat content from a wash to drop to possibly half in a pot stllled whisky raw spirit.
Secondly,and these are my opinions,You should not have used ANY scrubbies at all.
Your low wines are coming off very strong,a result of using a refluxing still.
Unsure about your boiling for an hour,Bowmore distillery for instance has a first water at 84°C,2nd at 90°C and a third at 100°C. This may explain your banana aroma?
Your wash ABV sounds about right, higher than I manage using 25Kg malt to 150 litres of water.
If you fancy a read,the link is to a detailed description of my methods.
And FYI, I use a 30 litre air-cooled pot still.
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=3027
HTH

Robert.

Thanks for the reply.

I was following a book I found on-line as I found it very informative.

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0054/6 ... ok.pdf?914

To hit the numbers he talks about I have to run my Still with the Scrubbies in. I think Im only getting 60%ABV when they are removed, is this ok for a Spirit run? How would I know when to make my cuts then? Smell and taste only?

I'm away to have a read of your link, thanks for that, I appreciate it.

Andy

Easydrinker,

I just had a skim through your post as Im heading out the door but are you using only Peated Malt? I must have made a mistake as I thought I was to use just a percentage of Peat Malt. Off the top of my head I used 6kg of Peat Malt, 15kg of Pilsner Malt and 6kg of Crystal Malt. No wonder Im not getting much Smoke.

I guess I could age on heavily charred Oak?

Not sure it a recipe issue.

I think Roberts first point was bang on. This is ideally distilled with a pot not a column.

I have heard of people using a column to produce whiskey, here is one example
http://www.home-distilling.com/store/pc/PDA-1-p325.htm

Note that he is making Bourbon Whiskey not Scotch Whisky and the PDA-1 is not a VM still. The peat flavours may well get stripped out in a column.

Chuck

I have made whiskies by my PDA-1.
Not tried peat, have found smoked ingredients carried flavour across well to finished product.
Don't see why it wouldn't work with peat. Will get around to completing the circle one day.

trigger_andy,
Welcome to the world of whisky distilling.

It is a hard place to be,
Your still,your wash,possibly your granny's maiden name will have an influence upon what you produce.
Aging will also play a part for sure.

I have no experience of your still and cannot tell you how to make a quality product with it.

Maybe someone else will come along with better advice.

Until then can I suggest that you do a little reading around,to see what others have done?

Home distillers love to share,and there is possibly a wealth of information waiting for you.


Robert.

Using a column still for whisky is fine. BUT it must be configured as a pot still. Remove all packing and don't allow any reflux. Run it wide open with no restrictions in the line. If you can adjust the length of the column, use the shortest length.

+1....whisky runs are best run in a 'potstill' mode (eg I use a potstill )and, with peated grain washes, its certainly best to strip right down into the veylow ABV% tails IMHO.
It you're getting yeast flavours/aromas (aka banana) in your product, then
- your yeast was likely straining during the ferment due to temp or underweight issues AND
- it may be that the wash entered the boiler with not enough clearing/settling first or that the wash dregs entered the boiler?

trigger_andy wrote:Thanks for the reply.

I was following a book I found on-line as I found it very informative.

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0054/6 ... ok.pdf?914

To hit the numbers he talks about I have to run my Still with the Scrubbies in. I think Im only getting 60%ABV when they are removed, is this ok for a Spirit run?
How would I know when to make my cuts then? Smell and taste only?

I'm away to have a read of your link, thanks for that, I appreciate it.

Andy

Have just re-visited this thread,to try and see where you are coming from.
I have just read the book that you link to.
Please don't take offense,but I do not consider it very helpful to a new home distiller.
Informative maybe.
The numbers described therein seem high to me for making a "whiskey" i.e. low wines at 35% before the addition of feints.
You do not state where your 60% is,in the parrot or combined collected spirit?
But even in that book it does state that final cuts are made on smell and taste alone,and for final barreling of a 53(US) Gallon barrel,that the sampling is done by several people.
This IMHO is not a guide for a home distiller.
My biggest issue with the book,and something that makes me view it unkindly are the various references to the "Angels Share".
It claims a 10% loss per year in barrel,in temperate climes,rising to 15% in hot ones,by volume alone,not including alcohol content,resulting in a barrel aged 7 years to be only 48% full,of weaker spirit.
Unless I have it wrong,and sometimes I do,HM Customs and Excise allow Scotch whisky distillers to write off 2% alcohol per year for barrel bonded whisky losses to the angels.

Anyway,I hope that you take my points,and those of others here as well meant advice,and do not feel that we are ganging up on you,we want you to have a good time!

Robert.