What is heads in whiskey?
Heads: Spirits from the beginning of the run that contain a high percentage of low boiling point alcohols and other compounds such as aldehydes and ethyl acetate. Hearts: The desirable middle alcohols from your run. Tails: A distillate containing a high percentage of fusel oil and little alcohol at the end of the run.
What are heads in distilling?
The distillate’s initial part is called the “head,” and the head’s own initial part is called the “foreshot.” The foreshot contains most of the toxic methanol produced as a fermentation byproduct. Most traditional distilleries have a significant amount of foreshots from their pot stills.
What happens if you drink the heads?
The heads won’t make you blind, but the volatile alcohols they contain will give you a whopping hangover. The product also smells and tastes terrible, this is because of the acetone that is present.
Can you drink the heads?
Once the distiller makes the first cut, the heads are generally either disposed of or redistilled in able to collect more alcohol from them. After the distiller has decided that the quality of the incoming distillate is good enough to keep for drinking purposes, they will cut to “hearts”.
Is whiskey good for your heart?
Heart Health Whiskey has high levels of polyphenols, plant-based antioxidants linked with lowering your risk of heart disease. The polyphenols in whiskey have been shown to decrease “ bad ” cholest erol (LDL) and increase “g ood ” cholesterol (HDL) levels, and reduce triglycerides, or fat in your blood.
How much are Foreshots and heads?
Always discard the foreshots — they make up around 5% or less of the product collected during a run. Throw out the first 30 ml on a 1 gallon run, the first 150 ml on a 5 gallon run, or the first 300 ml on a 10 gallon run. Heads come off of the still directly after the foreshots.
How much are Foreshots per gallon?
So this is what you want to collect—and then discard. You’ll collect the foreshots until your vapor temperature reaches about 175°F (80°C), and Rick recommends collecting at least 4 ounces per 5 gallons that you’re distilling. This would be at least 5.2 ounces for a 6.5 gallon batch, or 10.4 ounces for a 13 gallon run.
How do distilleries make cuts?
Making cuts refers to the process of switching out the container collecting the distillate, separating it into four different stages: foreshots, heads, hearts and tails. One of the hallmarks of a seasoned distiller is the ability to gauge the right moment to transition between those stages.
How much is a head of moonshine?
In general, roughly 20-30% of the liquid collected during a distillation run will be heads.
How much moonshine do you get from 5 gallons of mash?
1-2 gallons
A 5 gallon run will yield 1-2 gallons of alcohol. A 8 gallon run will yield 1.5-3 gallons of alcohol. A 10 gallon run will yield 2-4 gallons of alcohol.
How much do you pour off when making moonshine?
The rule of thumb is to discard 1/3 of a pint jar for every 5 gallons of wash being distilled. How much initial product to discard: 1 gallon batch – discard the first 2/3 of a shot glass. 5 gallon batch – discard the first 1/3 of a pint jar.
What are heads and tails cuts in whiskey?
Most people know that distillers make heads and tails cuts when they’re making whiskey, which separates the good parts of the spirit from the poisonous and/or unappealingly flavored portions.
What is howler head whiskey?
Howler Head has taken the best of Kentucky Straight bourbons and blended them into what they call a ‘’bourbon whiskey with natural banana flavor.’’ They might call it that. We just call it whacky genius with an impressive 40% ABV.
What happens to whiskey heads and tails after distillation?
Ultimately, though, most distillers are left with some portion of volatile, methanol-containing heads, and funky, vegetal-tasting tails. Some distilleries discard the whiskey heads and tails but many municipalities require onsite remediation before dumping them down the drain.
What makes a good whiskey?
A whiskey that’s intended to be bottled and consumed relatively young, like American craft whiskey, might benefit from tighter heads and tails cuts to produce a very clean-tasting distillate.