The document summarizes the process of liquor distillation. It involves heating an alcoholic wash made from fermented sugars to boil and separate out ethanol and water based on their different boiling points. The vapor is cooled and condenses, separating the ethanol in the distillate from other liquids and solids. There are two main distillation methods - pot distilling uses a kettle while column distilling uses tall columns with continuous injection and vaporization. The goal is to increase the concentration of ethanol for drinking liquors.

1. 4/3/2018 Adam Quirk: What Happens During Liquor Distillation?
http://adamquirk001.blogspot.com/2017/11/what-happens-during-liquor-distillation.html 1/2
Adam Quirk
Tuesday, 14 November 2017
Distillation refers to the process of
separating components or substances
from a liquid mixture. This is done
either via selective boiling and
condensation. Both complete
distillation and partial ones are
possible; the former refers to the
separation of nearly pure components,
while the latter increases the
concentration of selected mixture
components.
Whatever the chosen process used,
the idea is to work on the volatility of the components. Heat is applied to what is called a boiler, a
container with an alcoholic wash, some mixture of ethanol (drinking alcohol), water, and often other
solid and liquid substances. The distillation process happens with the interaction of yeast and
sugars, a process called fermentation.
When the alcoholic wash is heated to a boiling point,
some of the wash becomes vapor, which expands
and leaves the boiler by way of its lyne arm. The
vapor travels through this lyne arm and goes into a
separate container called a condenser which is
cooled externally, often by circulating cooling water.
When the vapor is cooled, it condenses back to a
liquid called the condensate, which when collected
becomes the distillate.
The two methods for distilling are pot distilling and
column distilling. The former, also known as the
alembic method, is the use of a big, kettle-shaped
vessel where the primary fermented liquid is heated
up. Column distilling involves giant gleaming
columns. The wash is continuously injected into the
column, with steam constantly rising up to meet it.
Adam Quirk is a former operative at a tech startup
and the co-founder of Cardinal Spirits, a craft
distillery opening in Bloomington, IN. More writings
on liqueurs and spirits here.
Posted by Adam Quirk at 22:05
Labels: distillation, liquor, spirits
What Happens During Liquor Distillation?
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Adam Quirk
Adam Quirk is a former
operative at a tech startup and
the co-founder of Cardinal
Spirits, a craft distillery opening
in Bloomington, IN, that produces premium
whiskey, gin, vodka, rum, and liqueurs using
local ingredients. The company brought its
production facilities to downtown Bloomington,
which brought in great jobs and support to the
local community.
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2. 4/3/2018 Adam Quirk: What Happens During Liquor Distillation?
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