Everything about Pot Still totally explained
A
pot still is a type of
still used in
distilling spirits such as
whisky or
brandy. Heat is applied directly to the pot in which the
mash (in the case of
whisky) or
wine (in the case of
Cognac) is contained. This is called a
batch distillation, (as opposed to a
continuous distillation).
At sea level, water boils at 100 degrees Celsius (212º F) but alcohol boils at 78 degrees Celsius (172º F). Therefore, in the distilling process, while there's still alcohol in the mash, the vapour is richer in alcohol than the liquid itself. When this vapour is condensed, the resulting liquid therefore contains more alcohol. In the pot still, the
alcohol and water vapour, combined with vapours of the multitude of aroma components such as
esters,
alcohols that give the mash or wine its aroma, evaporate and flow from the still through the condensing coil. There they condense to the first distillation liquid, the so-called 'low wines', with a strength of about 25-35% alcohol by volume, which then flows into a second still below. It is then distilled a second time to produce the colourless spirit, collected at about 70%
alcohol by volume. Maturation in an oak
aging barrel typically causes the brown color to develop over time.
The modern pot still is a descendant of the
alembic, a
distillation device invented around the
eighth century AD for use in
alchemy.
The largest pot still in the world is in the
Old Midleton Distillery,
Co. Cork Ireland. It has a capacity of 31,618 gallons (approximately 140,000 litres). It is no longer in use however.
Image:Cognac_pot_still_DSC04032.JPG|a Cognac pot still
Image:Whisky safe DSC05276.JPG|a whisky safe (for example padlocked apparatus at the end of the pot still enabling the distiller to cut off the "heads" and "tails" of distillation; it's padlocked for excise reasons)
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