LIPIDS, O F FAT S , O I L S , O R N O I S R E V N O C E H S T S A P O N I F I C AT I O N I H E AT BY THE ACTION OF L O H O C L A D N A P INTO SOA LI. OF AQUEOUS ALKA IN THE PRESENCE

up to a year. this program. It can be rels I lower it Then from the same bar again.” ducted with In an informal poll I con , the answers the Good Guy Distillers ” to “severtes ranged from “20 minu ut anything we al years.” Like just abo it 100 percent do within our industry, that you want depends on the product to produce. rit? A gin? An unfiltered aged spi Single barrel? Upwards of a month. a week or two. Bottled in bond? Maybe any sort of Or seven to 10 days for three days for aged spirit and then vodka and gin. more than Or, if you’re Fraley — three years sometimes.

SA PO N IF IC AT IO N

ee different There are actually thr a look at when factors we want to take tion, floccufica proofing spirits: saponi lation, and louche. talking a lot Obviously we’ve been and it tends to about saponification — terms of propbe the biggest issue in s it make the er proofing. Not only doe nt, it makes the product look unpleasa nt. But what is product taste unpleasa

it? ey science Let’s put on our old-tim and get nerdy professor mortar-board at is saponifiwith it for a second. Wh cation, really? conversion of Saponification is the o soap and alcofats, oils, or lipids, int t in the preshol by the action of hea e hydroxide Th ence of aqueous alkali. solution reacts anion of the salt in the up of the ester. with the carbonyl gro de generates a Expulsion of the alkoxi oxide ion is a carboxylic acid. The alk proton is transstrong base so that the WWW.ART ISANSP IRITMAG.COM  

ylic acid to the ferred from the carbox alcohol. alkoxide ion creating an tion, this lica In a practical app r distilled spirmeans that if any of you of fatty acids — its that are chock-full — are reduced say brandy for instance ength quickstr from barrel to bottling n to soap. The ly, it will essentially tur ing increases likelihood of this happen percent ABV. the closer you get to 50

FL OC CU LATI ON

other hand Flocculation on the -chill-filtered is often found in non up a bottle of whiskies. Ever picked too cold and le whiskey that got a litt ps and clouds you start seeing wis together? You that seem to be bonded they float back move the bottle, and spirit warms and forth, but when the That’s flocculaup, they’re all gone. tion. the oils, fats, In high proof spirits , etc. tend des proteins, oligosacchari giving a bright, to stay in solution — en you begin crisp and clear spirit. Wh water, however, to add your proofing teins are then those oils, fats and pro n and create pulled into suspensio on, those floaty what we call flocculati to settle at the little clouds that tend en things get bottom of the bottle wh chilly.

LO U CH E

le bit about Finally, let’s talk a litt to oils and e du louche. Louching is compounds other water-insoluble mentation and produced during fer out of solution distillation that come er proofs. This into suspension at low up in oil- and louche effect shows h as corn new fat-heavy distillates suc distilled gin, make, macerated and

It may not fulbrandies, and liqueurs. re of a slightly ly cloud, just give mo t scattering in bluish cast due to ligh the liquid.

IT ’S IN TH E PR OO F, PU DD IN ’

staring down So, say you’re now spirit and you the barrel of a murky do with it. The can’t decide what to several things good news is there are t with saponthat you can do. (Excep luck if you get ification. You’re out of too quickly. All over-eager and proof till a new batch you can really do is dis you’re proofing and make sure that y. Sorry.) slowly and purposefull ofing times As we noted above, pro tillery to distillvary massively from dis to product. To ery and from product t for you and establish what works bes all amounts of your products, take sm at-proof and each of your products of your samstart experimenting. Pro times, tasting, ples down at various along the way. smelling, and analyzing vention is worth Again, an ounce of pre ple hundred not having to toss a cou gallons of soapy booze. culation — The good news on floc rits — is that it especially in aged spi only a cosmetic isn’t a bad thing. It’s nt to call it that. “issue” if you even wa removed from Flocculation can be chill filtering — your final product by down to freezbringing your product to precipitate, ing, allowing the floc boy through a and then run that bad filter bank. within the There’s a fierce debate chill filter or distilling community to w my cards — not to chill filter. I’ll sho t don’t chill filI’m in the 100 percen removes a lot ter camp. Chill filtering ors that we’ve of those wonderful flav

115