Talking stills
In the first of two articles on stills, Ian Wisniewskilooks at the role of the wash still,and what happens
during the first distillation process
Itâs easy to dismiss the wash still as entirely pragmatic, like a manual labourer that repeats a basic task, while the spirit still tends to be hailed as an artist performing a creative role.But the only reason why the spirit still can yield such a refined result is because of everything the wash still achieves.
So, while each type of still has its own individual mission statement, they are both equally important.
âWe capture the key components in the first distillation, of which the majority of flavour congeners are created during fermentation, and although you canât detect some aromas in the low wines they are there,âsays Highland Parkâs Russell Anderson.
âThe second distillation concentrates the alcohols and releases some of those characteristics, allowing them to come through organoleptically, while also creating additional characteristics.â Pre-heating the wash prior to distillation is an established practice, saving energy and therefore costs.But pre-heating is also a great example of efficiency, as pot ale (ie. the residue from the previous distillation) is conducted through a heat exchanger after leaving the still, while hot.This transfers heat from the pot ale to the wash, which passes through the heat exchanger on its way to the still.
Pre-heating raises the temperature of the wash from around 25-30 degrees centigrade (ie. the temperature following fermentation), up to around 60 â 65 degrees centigrade.This means significantly less energy is requ.....
To read the rest of this article you can buy this issue
or subscribe to Whisky Magazine to have every issue delivered direct to your door.
You can unlock and read this entire article with 1 of your community tokens by clicking here.
By Ian Wisniewski
Section : Production
Page number : 24
