Double distillation of moonshine at home: steps, description and tips
The best way to improve the quality of any moonshine product is to re-distill. The resulting beverage will be stronger and purer than raw alcohol: it will remove impurities and odors, and the taste will be softer and more pleasant.
It will take a couple of hours longer to prepare "double" moonshine, but the time lost will be more than paid off by the excellent characteristics of the final product.
Why you should do double distillation
Repeated distillation is the most reliable way to protect yourself and your loved ones from drinking low-grade alcohol containing toxic and poisonous compounds.
In this way, you can refine not only freshly made moonshine, but also a product that was distilled earlier.
The type of raw material and the technology of its processing do not matter: you can subject fruit, sugar, starch and other types of brag to "double distillation".
Stages of producing high-quality moonshine:
Preparation of brag and first distillation.
Dilution with water and/or purification of the distillate.
Secondary distillation.
Reducing the strength to the desired level.
The first distillation
Before pouring the mash into the still, it should be removed from the sediment, filtered and clarified. Read about methods of raw material purification in this article.
Then you can start distillation: pour the brew into the still, filling it no more than ¾ (and preferably 2/3), assemble the apparatus and put it on fire. The main task at this stage is to get the maximum amount of raw alcohol by removing insoluble compounds from the brew.
Separation of the product into fractions at this stage is not necessary if you plan to re-distill. But if you want to get a perfectly pure product, it is better to do it. The result is three components:
"Heads"
The most dangerous fraction of moonshine, containing the bulk of harmful impurities and occupying about 10-15% of the total volume of the product.
In no case should it be consumed internally, it is better to pour it out immediately.
The exact amount of this part depends on the category of brag.
When working with sugar, it is usually recommended to remove 30 ml for each kilogram of sand, t. е. 6 kg of raw materials will yield about 180 ml of "heads".
"Body"
The beginning of the release of the second fraction is indicated by the disappearance of a pungent acetone odor.
This is the purest part of the product, which is the basis for the next distillation.
"Tails"
When working with grain or fruit brew, it is not necessary to separate this fraction of moonshine, during sugar brewing it is desirable.
The "tails" are collected after the strength drops below 42-40°.
You can stop the distillation process altogether at this stage or add the final fraction to the brew to increase the degree before re-distilling.
Second distillation
This stage is performed according to a similar scheme. Before pouring the mash into the still, it is diluted with water and subjected to "intermediate purification".
To reduce the strength of raw alcohol, first measure the "degree", then dilute the drink with water to 18-20%.
Some moonshiners prefer to distill the product in undiluted form, but this is quite dangerous and can lead to a fire in the cube.
In addition, the addition of water reduces the strength of the bonds between alcohol and impurities, which contributes to a better product.
Fruit distillate usually does not need to be purified, while grain and sugar distillate is better to be "treated".
Purification methods can be selected from of this article.
Several methods can be combined. The drink is then passed through a cotton, coffee or gauze filter.
After reducing the strength, purification, and filtration, the distillate is poured into a cube and distilled in the traditional way - with separation:
"Heads" (while the smell of acetone is felt - about 10% of the total volume)
"Bodies" (before the strength decreases below 45-50% - approximately 80% of the total product)
"Tails" (before the presence of signs of alcohol in the collected liquid - about 10% of the total amount)
This time, too, it is better to get rid of the "heads" immediately or use them exclusively for technical purposes, for example, for disinfecting surfaces.
The "tails" can be left to be added to the next batch of raw alcohol or run in a distillation column.
The resulting "double moonshine" of 60-70% strength must be diluted to the desired "degree". Additional purification is not required, but zealous fans of perfection can perform it. Carbon filtration will bring the product closer to vodka. If you plan to use it in its pure form, you need to let the moonshine settle a little.
Update: 19.01.2019
Category: Vodka an Moonshine