Where do you cut the tails?

by **Alchemist** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 3:32 pm

In conventional distilling, one typically cuts tails at a certain temperature. Since that really can\'t be measured in an SS, you have to rely on ABV% and smell. I am wondering where everyone stops collecting the hearts with a SS?
Assuming you use a typical turbo/sugar wash:
Some say they collect to 40%, but I noticed 40% smells pretty foul. On my next run, I was thinking about collecting hearts to a higher percentage, then continue to collect to about 10%-15% and store the second portion for future re-distillation.
Has anyone found a sweet-spot % for cutting the tails? I use a 250ml tube as a \"parrot\" to keep an eye on %. Considering collecting 100ml at a time for more exact cuts.

by **goinbroke2** » Fri Jan 22, 2010 11:23 pm

\"In conventional distilling, one typically cuts tails at a certain temperature\"

Incorrect.

The distillate is corrected for temp and cut at [/b]ABV in the spirit safe. However, that is why store bought crap gives you hangovers etc. Keep in mind every still has it\'s own characteristic\'s and runs a bit \"different\".

If you run the exact same wash with the exact same cut points and exact same everything then you would be able to change one of a hundred things and see if it was an improvement or not. Since we do not have the capability to replicate everything exactly each time on a \"home distilling\" set up, I do the following;
Watch your parrot and collect in small jars marking the ABV on each jar. Air them over night and do your cuts by nose and taste. When you\'ve decided which ones are the heart then you can see where on your particular rig the heads stopped and the tail started.

Then, next time you run a batch exactly the same at the exact same speed, etc you can do your cuts by ABV only if you want.
Personnally....I do my cuts with my nose and taste. That way if anything changes that I don\'t know or recognize, my booze is still good. Yes I check my ABV during the run but mostly near the end to know when to shut down. 20-30%ABV and I turn off the propane.

by **Opus 27** » Fri Jan 22, 2010 11:50 pm

I\'m a bit confused here, depending on what type of SS still your using. You can control the cut by temperature on the reflux version which is what I do, taking my good stuff between 78 and 82 degrees C. All be it that the normal spirit type thermometer is not to accurate you can be very precise with a good quality digital with a suitable probe.

Heads and tails for re-distilling is OK but I have to confess if I can finish up with 3 Litres plus of 90+% good stuff out of a 25 Litre wash I\'m quite happy to bin the rest after all thats still pretty cheap spirits and you can be pretty confident you don\'t have any of the nasty stuff left in it.

Opus27

by **trelliS** » Sat Jan 23, 2010 6:09 am

With the pot still using sugar and turbo yeast i take 800mls at 60% then let down to 40% then take 500mls of tails and save this in a demijohn.This gives me 2.5litres at roughly 30% this then goes into the still and i take a further 900mls to 60% let these down to 40% and call it a day for that 25ltr wash.Then 500 of tails to put in demijohn for next wash.
Ps if anyone can let me know if i am going wrong or ways i could possibly improve on this i would be grateful

Cheers Folks

by **Alchemist** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 4:36 am

opus 27 - I a using the SmartStill, EasyStill, Mr. Distiller as it is called. The counter top air still the looks like a coffee maker. Is this the device they call the \"SS\" on the forums here? That is why I said you can\'t monitor column temperature like a pot or reflux still.
goinbroke2 - Thank you. I am more or less using the method you described, just new to the craft and not really good at judging by smell/taste yet. I think the cuts will get better with experience. I think I will get a 100ml tube (instead of 250ml), so I can get more exact sample.
For now, I think I will do as trelliS does, collect the higher % hearts and re-distill the lower. I\'m stoked, my first 5 gallon wash has almost stopped bubbling after a week - lots of runs are on the horizon.

by **Phantom** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 7:39 am

With my reflux I do it a bit differently, but with my table top, I do it as per the instructions i.e. take 800mls at about 60%, but then I just leave it running and take the tails down to about 10 or 15% - the tails go straight back into the next batch.
If I\'m in \"obsessive mode one alpha\", the 800mls is then let down to about 40% and then run through again, I think, from memory, I can usually get about 500mls at about 80%, then I just collect tails from the \"re-run\" down to about 10% and the tails again, go back into the wash for a later redistill with the next batch (in practice - I actually finish distilling a whole batch at about 60% first, getting about 5 litres total, but make that up to 8 litres with water for 2 x 4litre \"charges\" of the still. The aim being purity etc, but any tails are then saved until I\'ve got another batch of wash to mix them into....)
Hopefully, that makes sense...

by **Alchemist** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 9:15 am

Thanks Phatom. On the next run, I will shoot for about 750ml per 4l wash and run the rest down for re-distallation.
My SS came with the non-modified (water only) instructions. If someone has the \"modified\" instructions and the time to donate, I think it would be great resource to have a scanned copy available on this site. I had been initially going off of a YouTube video that wan\'t totally comprehensive.