The Science of Aging in Alcohol Distillation

Whisky connoisseurs know that barrel selection plays a huge part in its captivating flavor profile, yet have never really understood why this happens? Well, here is your opportunity to do just that as this article explores all aspects of aging science.

Alcohol distillation involves creating a distillate with high quantities of drinking alcohol as its core, alongside various lower boiling point chemicals like aromatics and esters that have pleasant odours that contribute to quality of the distilled product; yet at certain concentrations can become potentially dangerous. After distillation is complete, its core is separated from watery wash alcohols called heads or tails (known as heads or tails) which may be useful as animal feed sources.

As the ethanol in its heart evaporates, it leaves behind heads and tails which contain water, proteins, carbohydrates, low boiling point alcohols, as well as fertiliser for further processing or spreading on fields as fertiliser. Furthermore, tails contain toxic methanol compounds which can even lead to blindness at very low concentrations.

Methanol molecules cling tightly to ethanol molecules, making separation during distillation challenging. But due to its extremely low boiling point of 64.7@C and ability to dissolve easily in water, it must be removed before selling and consuming spirits such as vodka. To do so, separate liquid in a still, chill it to -80degC and allow the methanol molecules to escape via evaporation.