General Spirits and Distillation Flashcards
What is the boiling point of alcohol?
173 degrees F
What is the simple premise behind distillation?
Alcohol has a lower boiling point than water
What is the separation of two liquids with different boiling points called?
fractional distillation
What are 3 other names for a modern continuous still?
- Coffey still
- column still
- patent still
What is the fermented liquid to be distilled called?
the wash
How is the wash distilled in a simple pot still?
- wash is placed into the closed vessel and heat is applied directly to the vessel, vaporizing the ethyl alcohol, a certain amount of water, and congeners-volatile molecules (such as esters and aldehydes)
- these vapors travel up through the vessel and into a condensing coil
- the vapors will be cooled, condensed into liquid and collected in a separate vessel
How is the wash distilled in a continuous still? How does it differ from the pot still? How is the flavor impacted?
- a continuous still has two columns (the analyzer and the rectifier) and uses steam, rather than direct heat, to vaporize the alcohol
- alcohol is condensed in a purer fashion, stripping the liquor of excess congeners and creating a higher-alcohol spirit
- while congeners are responsible for impurities, they are also the source of flavor, so the continuous still sacrifices distinction for a clean spirit
How does maceration/infusion differ from percolation as flavoring techniques?
- maceration is cold method in which flavoring agents are steeped in alcohol, slower method
- percolation is a hot method in which base spirit is pumped through the flavoring agent, faster methos
Until 1980, Britain based its legal calculation of the alcoholic strength of liquor on the proof test. What does this test measure?
The ability of gunpowder to combust when doused in the spirit
If a spirit is cask-strength, what does this mean?
The spirit has not been diluted with water prior to bottling
