StillSmart

Hi Fuf, if you have collected 3L, and you have put everything bar the first 150mls through the filter you are definitely consuming heads. And depending how much alcohol was in the boiler to begin with, there are probably some tails in there too.

Dont get me wrong, what you have made is no worse for you than what you buy in the shops, but it is possible to do better by making a slightly narrower cut.
This seems wasteful at first, but you get most of the alcohol back by throwing the parts that don't make the cut in with the next boiler charge.[/quote]
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I ran the whole lot including my second run through the still again, watered down to 25 ABV. I discarded the first 350 ml and let it run for about 6 hours at 50c. Total yield was one gallon @93 ABV and did not bother with collecting all the tails as my demijohn was full.
All watered down to 40 ABV, that gave me 16 pints and it's quite smooth
I reckon it's double distil from now on, but I'm on a learning curve at the moment and things will evolve

aidanmac wrote: A word to the wise...

I take your point am. Got to make sure all the angels get their share

Not having tasted "neutral" from a T500 I don't know what it should taste like.Maybe this is success? fuf seems happy enough. You're saying a neutral is just that. I'll see what it tastes like when I've macerated a few fruits in it?Crap neutral with a few fruits macerated in it?

I think that's the point. Neutral from a reflux column is best used for making spirits that are to be flavoured with other things, fruits, botanicals, etc., to produce a final drinkable spirit. The neutral from a reflux is no use as 'Vodka' as it lacks any taste or character.

AM

aidanmac wrote:I think that's the point. Neutral from a reflux column is best used for making spirits that are to be flavoured with other things, fruits, botanicals, etc., to produce a final drinkable spirit. The neutral from a reflux is no use as 'Vodka' as it lacks any taste or character.

AM

Totally agree with aidanmac.
I have used Still Spirits Top Shelf Irish Whiskey and Still Spirits Top Shelf Vodka to flavour my spirits. These flavourings make it quite drinkable but at a cost. But hey, I'm new to all of this and I have to try stuff to find my own way. Thankfully, there are a great bunch of blokes on here with good advice and they are always willing to help.

'Apple Pie' is a nice way to flavour neutral. Various recipes posted here but a quick and easy one I use is (per litre bottle) 1 cinnamon stick, 1 capful of vanilla essence or flavour (cap of small dinky bottles from supermarket) 250ml of undiluted hearts (~92%abv in my case) and top up with your favourite apple juice.

Store for at least 48 hours then enjoy. It's about 23%abv so can sneak up on you as it tastes like it's about 5%abv.

Thanks for the recipe RJ. Made a couple of litres. Tasted ok after 48 seconds. Better again after 48 minutes and better still after 48 hours.