Arielle Cruz
The process of distilling alcohol involves using a vessel called a retort or an alembic, also known as a pot still. These are large, kettle-shaped vessels with long necks that act as air-cooled condensers. The fermented liquid, known as a wash or mash, is heated in the pot still, causing the alcohol to evaporate before the water and rise into the head of the still. The vapours are then drawn off into an arm and a coil, which is submerged in cool water to condense the alcohol back into a liquid, which is collected in a vessel. This process can be repeated to increase the ABV (alcohol by volume) of the final product.
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What You'll Learn
The history of distillation
The process of distillation involves separating a liquid using evaporation and condensation. The word "distillation" comes from the Latin "de-stillare", which means "drip or trickle down". The basic concept of distilling alcohol is simple: making a harder alcohol from a lower alcohol base.
The history of distilling alcohol is tied to the history of alchemy. The first method of distillation in history was "Alembic", or "pot distilling". The "alembic" is a large kettle-shaped vessel where the primary fermented liquid, known as a ""wash" or "mash", is heated up. Ethanol evaporates before water, travelling into a cooling tube and back into another vessel to condense. The "alembic" was probably invented around AD 200-300 by Maria the Jewess, or Zósimo of Panoplies, an Egyptian alchemist, and his sister Theosebeia, who invented many types of stills and reflux condensers. Others state that during the eighth or ninth century, Arab alchemists devised the alembic in an effort to obtain finer essences for perfumes, while other Arab alchemists used the alembic in an attempt to convert base metal into gold. The use of the alembic as a way of obtaining alcohol is attributed to Ibn Yasid, probably after the 10th century. The first distilled spirits were made from sugar-based materials, primarily grapes and honey, to make grape brandy and distilled mead.
The distillation of wine is attested in Arabic works attributed to al-Kindī (c. 801–873 CE) and to al-Fārābī (c. 872–950), and in the 28th book of al-Zahrāwī's (Latin: Abulcasis, 936–1013) Kitāb al-Taṣrīf (later translated into Latin as Liber servatoris). In the 12th century, recipes for the production of aqua ardens ("burning water", i.e. ethanol) by distilling wine with salt started to appear in a number of Latin works, and by the end of the 13th century, it had become a widely known substance among Western European chemists. The works of Taddeo Alderotti (1223–1296) describe a method for concentrating alcohol involving repeated distillation through a water-cooled still, by which an alcohol purity of 90% could be obtained. The distillation of beverages began in the Southern Song (10th–13th century) and Jin (12th–13th century) dynasties, according to archaeological evidence.
In the 19th century, commercial distillers sought a faster distilling method than the pot stills, which had to be washed after each batch. Robert Stein and Aeneas Coffey separately invented and improved upon the process of "column distilling", which involves giant gleaming columns that can reach several stories high. Column distilling not only requires no cleaning between batches, but its structure also allows for efficient, repeated distilling, resulting in more neutral, higher ABV spirits than pot distilling.
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How distillation works
Distillation is a process of purifying a substance, or separating its components, by evaporating and then condensing it. It is used to separate liquids with different boiling points, such as water and alcohol.
The basic concept of distilling alcohol is simple: making a harder alcohol from a lower alcohol base. However, the process is more complex than simply fermenting to higher and higher ABVs. This is because, at a certain point (around 14 to 18% ABV), alcohol levels become toxic for yeast. To create anything substantially “harder”, distillation must be used to physically separate the alcohol from the water.
The first method of distillation in history was alembic, or "pot distilling". The "alembic" is the large kettle-shaped vessel in which the primary fermented liquid, or "wash", is heated. Ethanol evaporates before water, travelling into a cooling tube and back into another vessel to condense. Less water present means higher ABV. However, ethanol is not necessarily alone; congeners such as esters, tannins, methanol, and fusel alcohols also evaporate during distilling and can impact the flavour.
In the 19th century, a faster method of column distilling was developed. This involves continuously injecting the wash into a giant column, with steam rising up to meet it. The steam is at the perfect temperature to strip alcohol from the wash and leave undesired compounds behind. Column distilling requires no cleaning between batches and allows for efficient, repeated distilling.
Distillation is also used in other applications, such as desalination to produce potable water, and in the petroleum industry to separate the components of crude oil.
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Different types of stills
Stills are apparatuses used to distill liquid mixtures by heating them to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapour. The two main types of stills used in alcohol distillation are pot stills and column stills.
Pot Stills
Pot stills, also known as alembic stills, are the simplest type of stills and consist of a single heated chamber and a vessel to collect purified alcohol. They are similar to giant kettles with a "'swan neck" and "lyne arm" that feed into a condenser. The contents of the chamber are boiled, and the vapours are directed into a tapered space, where they are cooled and revert to liquid form. Pot stills are typically made of copper, which improves the flavour of the alcohol by removing undesirable sulfur-based compounds. They are favoured for producing more full-flavoured spirits, such as single malt Scotch, Cognac, mezcal, and rum.
Column Stills
Column stills, also known as patent, continuous, or Coffey stills, are set up as two large stacks, with one column acting as a distiller and the other as a condenser. They consist of a series of plates with holes, through which the mash flows downward, separating the alcohol from the mash. Column stills can be made of copper, stainless steel, or a combination of both. They are preferred for producing neutral spirits, such as gin and vodka, and are also commonly used for bourbon, brandy, and white rum distillation. The invention of the Coffey still revolutionized the liquor industry, allowing for the production of purer spirits on a larger scale and at a lower cost.
Hybrid Stills
Some distilleries use hybrid pot stills, which have a pot still at the base and one or more columns, allowing for greater flexibility in producing different types of spirits.
Reflux Stills
Reflux stills, including reflux column stills, are designed to increase the purity of the distillate. They incorporate a fractionating column, often created by filling copper vessels with glass beads to maximize the surface area. As alcohol boils, condenses, and reboils through the column, the effective number of distillations increases, resulting in a purer product. Vodka, gin, and other neutral grain spirits are often distilled using reflux stills.
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The distillation process
The process of distillation has been an integral part of human history, fundamentally changing the processing of crude oil and influencing the kind of alcohol consumed for centuries. The basic concept of distilling is simple: making a harder alcohol from a lower alcohol base.
The earliest known evidence of distillation is a terracotta distillation apparatus from an Indus valley in Pakistan, dated to around 3000 BC. The first distillation devices were simple, consisting of a container and a lid. The distilled condensate settled on the lid and was soaked up with sponges or wool. Even in the Neolithic Age, people distilled pitch and sulphur to seal ships.
The distillation of wine is attested in Arabic works attributed to al-Kindi (c. 801-873 CE) and al-Farabi (c. 872-950 CE). By the 12th century, recipes for the production of aqua ardens ("burning water", i.e. ethanol) by distilling wine with salt started to appear in Latin works. By the end of the 13th century, it had become a widely known substance among Western European chemists.
The basic process of distillation involves heating a liquid to its boiling point, causing it to turn into a gas or vapour. Because different components have different boiling points, the desired element can be extracted by converting it into a gaseous state. The gas or vapour is then cooled and converted back into a liquid, resulting in a composition that differs from the initial mixture. This process is repeated to improve the purity of the product.
In the context of alcohol distillation, the liquid is typically a fermented solution of ethanol produced by allowing carbohydrate-containing plant materials to ferment. Yeast is added to the sugary liquid, and as the yeast consumes the sugars, it creates alcohol (ethanol) and carbon dioxide. The ethanol is then evaporated, collected into a tube, and condensed back into a liquid through cooling. This process separates the alcohol from water and other components, resulting in a more concentrated form of alcohol.
Different types of stills and distillation methods have been developed over time, such as pot stills and column stills, each with its own advantages and applications in the production of various types of spirits and alcoholic beverages.
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Uses of distillation
Distillation is the process of separating the components of a liquid. It is used to separate alcohol from water, but it does not produce alcohol—it merely concentrates it.
Alcoholic Beverage Production
Distillation is used to separate alcohol from water to produce spirits such as whiskey, rum, vodka, gin, brandy, cognac, armagnac, grappa, tequila, and cachaça. The process involves heating a fermented liquid (the "wash" or "mash") to evaporate the alcohol, which has a lower boiling point than water. The alcohol vapours are then collected and condensed back into a liquid, resulting in a higher alcohol concentration.
Desalination
Distillation is used in desalination processes to produce potable water. This application was first described by Aristotle, who wrote about the Greeks' use of distillation to produce drinkable water from seawater in the 4th century BC.
Crude Oil Stabilisation
Distillation is used to stabilise crude oil by reducing its vapour pressure, making it safer for storage and transport and reducing atmospheric emissions of volatile hydrocarbons.
Fractional Distillation
Fractional distillation is used in oil refineries to produce fuels and chemical raw materials for various applications, such as livestock feed.
Freeze Distillation
Freeze distillation is a method of purification that uses freezing instead of evaporation. It is used in the production of ice beer and ice wine to increase ethanol and sugar content, respectively. However, it is prohibited in the production of some alcoholic beverages, such as applejack, due to health concerns as it concentrates poisonous congeners.
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Frequently asked questions
The big thing used to distill alcohol is called a pot still.
A pot still is a large kettle-shaped vessel used to distill alcohol.
A pot still works by heating up a primary fermented liquid, known as a "wash" or "mash", to the point of evaporation. The vapours are then collected in a cooling tube and condensed back into a liquid.
Pot stills were traditionally made of glass or copper.
Pot stills can only produce one batch of spirits at a time and have a limited level of purity, usually between 60% and 80% alcohol by volume.
