Feb 12
12
Pot stills are the modern descendant of the alembic still. They were among the earliest still types made to create spirits. Pot still are relatively inefficient which can be beneficial when making whiskey. For example, when making neutral spirit with no flavor and high alcohol yield you would use a reflux or column still. For whiskey one needs to make a product that maintains the flavors of mash. In this situation the pot still is optimal.
A pot still has four key parts: We will look at each one in more depth.
Pot: The body of the pot is typically a cylinder that’s wider at the top than the bottom. The pot is loaded with the fermented mash and heated up with fire or perhaps an internal heating device. The vast majority of commercial distilleries heat up the wort (aka wash) with 400 degree steam pumped by means of tubing which is coiled in the pot.
Swan Neck: The neck lets the vaporized alcohol and some water\flavor to rise up and enter into the lyne arm. The neck is commonly narrower at the topthan the bottom making it possible for non-ethanol components to condense on the walls and fall back down into the wash.
Lyne Arm: The lyne arm will change the amount of non-ethanol components that make it into the distillate. For example, while the vapors rise up the neck and into the lyne arm the temperature becomes cooler while the less volatile compounds (h2o, flavor, etc.) change from a gas into a liquid. If the lyne arm is ascending at a forty-five degree angle those compounds will pass back down into the wash. This will provide you with a ‘lighter’ flavor and increased alcohol content in the final product. Conversely if the lyne neck was angled down at a 45 degree angle the less volatile substances will condense and flow down into the condenser along with the ethanol vapors thus providing the distillate a far more flavorful, ‘fuller’, taste.
Condenser: The condenser cools the ethanol vapors to a temperature less than the boiling point of the ethanol. Therefore, it condenses the vapors to liquid. Condensers can be cooled by the surrounding air temperature, moving air (a fan) or water. With a water cooled condenser the cold water is pumped through a coil or around the exterior of the tube that carries the ethanol vapors. Different designs will utilize different approaches. The key is to chill the vapors so that they drip into a collection jar rather than escaping into the air.
Simply, the distiller must experiment with different mash recipes, still shapes and designs to develop the end product that the distiller set out to produce. In a nutshell, take notes, take your time, have fun and experiment.
To learn more about making whiskey at home, the how to of distillation and information on the equipment and hardware used in distillation stop by your local craft distillery.
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