StillSmart

Ok so I’ve bitten the bullet and done 4 strip runs which I’ve now merged into my first spirit run. After the fores, I’ve taken some 250ml cuts largely determined not by the volume but by the temp at the top of the pot head lyne arm.
Then as I’ve got further into the heads I’ve taken 3 lots of around 750ml
Then hearts a demijohn full down to 50%abv
The a litre of tails down to 20% abv
Im Going to let all th3 jars air for 24 hrs but then what exactly???

Do I taste/smell the heads working backwards from the hearts and mix with the hearts until I reach a stinky portion of heads? Is that the idea? If so what does one do with the heads that don’t make the errrrr cut ?

Yep, after airing your heads jars smell taste them then water the ones that pass down to 40%ish for taste test.

Smell test fail is strong like nail varnish remover (acetone?) and pass is minimal smell just like vodka and taste test for me is dipping a finger in and then seeing if it's too sharp and burny on the tongue.

Heads that don't pass the smell test can be used for cleaning, lamp fuel, lighting BBQ and those that fail either can be stored and re-distilled later as there will be more hearts mixed in with the heads that can be extracted.

This is not a science, and numbers alone will not help you, until you have learned your own from consistent replicated washes.
Where your perceived fores, heads, hearts and tails are will remain subjective.
You have to learn some tasting processes.

Robert.

Yup absolutely Robert. It's a taste thing. Be generous, cut hard and recycle them.

Hi H12rpo

You’ve got some large volumes there, I personally would have collected in a larger number of smaller jars, the hardest part is determining the cut point between heads and hearts, it only takes a little trace of Ethel Acetate to taint a hole jar, so if you’ve collected a big jar and the cut point was just after it started, the hole jar will appear to be heads.

Plus it sounds like your collecting off a pot still, so your unlikely to find a really neutral tasting jar, think of your pot still output as a long line if you will, the heads at the beginning starting high and tapering off like a volume control sign, then the tails starts small and increases like a volume control sign in the other direction, in essence with a pot still you will collect ethanol throughout the run but almost the entire run will be tainted at any given point by heads or tails,

So it’s a tough job to find the cleanest middle jar, this is where plates and packed sections help, by running a packed and/or plated column, the heads and tails are compressed at the beginning and end of the run, leaving wider band of clean neutral in the middle, if that makes sense lol

That was very good. Take a bow.

Brilliant in fact.

Thanks boys, it seems that you are agreeing with what I am trying to tell H12rpo.

Robert.

Indeedy, thanks guys, great advice. It’s pretty much where I ended up although I think next time I’ll collect smaller amounts around the change points if I can call them that.
After I aired the jars when I smelled and tasted the tails really jump out at me. The change point between the hearts and the heads I found a bit more difficult, however, that I guess is ok. I’ve learned quite a bit about how my pot head performs by the process, and ended up with a lot of quality high abv brandy.......the culmination of my earlier efforts in October when I was asking @bout grapes and grappa etc.
Next year I’ll have the benefit of the free grapes again after delivering a bottle of the brandy to my friend. I will also do the process a bit differently having learned some along the way.
My brandy is now resting on some oak :-)

A result is a result.
Happy that you got there.

Robert.