Alcohol distillation is one of the oldest industrial processes known to humankind. Distilling involves heating an alcoholic wash to high temperatures before collecting and distilling its components back together again – producing purer products which can then be used in making various drinks such as vodka, whisky or rum. Distillation was first documented around 800 BC across various civilizations worldwide.
Ethanol has a lower boiling point than water, enabling it to be separated from it by evaporation. By heating a wash and collecting any alcohol vapors that emerge during this process, concentrated ethanol from a mixture can be isolated for use as an alcohol spirit product with higher content ethanol levels.
As soon as vapors reach their boiling point, they dissipate into two components, A and B, each having different boil points; A having a lower one than B. Vapors with desirable amounts of ethanol are known as the hearts while those containing undesirable components like fatty acids or congeners must be discarded as waste.
Deliberation over when and how to cut is a critical aspect of distilling. Based on experience and intuition, distillers make these decisions by redirecting remaining vapors back into another batch for redistillation; the cycle repeats until all desirable alcohol has been produced. Distillers employ various tools such as optical density testing or specific gravity testing in order to evaluate product quality.
