Useful to know about home distilled spirit

One cannot become blind from drinking home distilled. That is to say one cannot become blind from drinking spirit distilled at home from mash. It is a myth that stubbornly lives on. A distilling apparatus does not create any products, it only separates different products. Because one can drink mash without harm it follows that home distilled spirit is also drinkable. It is not possible to mess things up and make poisonous spirit. But it is true that small amounts of impurities (fusel oils) are formed during the fermentation of the mash. This is why spirit smells bad before it is purified. The amount is not dangerous but spoils taste and odour. Remember that fusels form in the fermenting of beer, wine and cider, in fact in any fermentation process. In the case of beer and wine the product is not purified at all. The alcohol content is low so the amount is not noticed so much and can even add to the aromatic flavour. For example whisky is relatively crudely distilled spirit which is then stored in barrels where the fusel oils, thanks to long storage adds aroma to the spirit.

One can be blinded by spirit, so-called industrial spirit. In the case of Sweden all illegally consumed spirit is termed “black spirit”. This can be a little of anything, such as smuggled spirit, home distilled or industrial spirit. It is industrial spirit that is the real problem. Both ethanol (drinking spirit) and methanol (wood sprit) have industrial uses. Methanol both tastes and smells the same as ordinary spirit. One can get drunk in just the same way. However the hangover is quite different and the effects can sometimes be fatal. Unfortunately the term “home distilled” is used wrongly instead of “black spirit”. If you are offered home distilled you cannot be certain it is actually home distilled.

In the worse case it can be industrial spirit of unknown provenance. Make spirit yourself if you can legally.