Part I

Distilled beverages – general

Part II
Distilled beverages – special

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 Distilled beverage alcohols
(whiskey, rum, brandy, gin, vodka, shochu, raksi)

History
• Fermented drinks have been produced over
7000 years ago in Babylon (now Iraq), over
5000 years in ago in Egypt, over 4000 years ago
in Mexico and 3500 year ago in Sudan
• Early distillation was believed to be originated
in Mesopotamia (in Iraq) in ca 2000 BC

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 Types of liquors and raw materials
Liquors Raw materials
1 Whiskey Cereals based
• Bourbon whiskey >51 % corn + 30% rye+10% malt
• Rye whiskey >51% rye +?corn + rye malt
• Corn whiskey >80% corn +? +?
• Tennessee ~ Any combination
•Canadian ~ Corn + rye+ Barley malt
• Scotch ~
• malt ~ malt
• grain~ corn + barley malt
Irish ~ 60 % malt +25 %barley + ?rye+ ?
Wheat and /or oat

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 Types of liquors and raw materials

2 Gin GNS + herbs

3 Vodka Any combination of cereal potato,
cereal grains
4 Brandy Fruits
5 Rum Sugarcane, molasses
6 Sochu Rice
7 Raksi Millet, other grains

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 Process
Raw materials

Mashing

Fermentation

Distillation

Maturation

Processing
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 Raw materials
 Starchy raw materials—wheat, rye, barley,
maize, rice, millets, etc.
 Quality check-up
 Milling—dry or dry milling (hull, germ, gluten
separation)
 Sugary raw materials—sugarcane or molasses,
fruit juices

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 Mashing
(process of conversion of starch into sugar and development of flavor)

Grain meal
Water (100 L/bushel= ~1:3)

Malt meal Mixing

0.5 % malt (?)

Slurried (46-50C) Cooking pH 5.5

Pressure cooking
Gelatinization takes place

Cooling Pressure released and

vac. applied for cooling
(63C)

Saccharification Malt enzymes saccharify

It also contributes flavor
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 Fermentation
Mash

LAB 15 % malt
53C
3.9 pH Malt reduces viscosity
Yeast LAB reduces pH

Pasteurization
Propagation (82C/30 min)

Cooling
(23C)
3%
by vol.
Plant
 Favorable conditions maintained
dona for desirable yeast growth
 Quick start required
Fermentation  QC at regular intervals
(22-30C/3-5 d) • TSS, pH, temp., acidity
 Fermenters—concrete, wood, SS
Sanitary condition is very imp.

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 Distillation– Pot still
• Batch or continuous
• Normal pressure or vacuum still
• Single or double distillition
• Removal of “heads and tails”

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 Distillation– column still

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 Distillation

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 YouTube - Distillation Tower.flv

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 Maturation
(time between distillation and bottling)
Aged in new or old, charred or normal oak barrels
Generally aged for 2 years +
Cost of aging vessel is about 0.26 USD/L
Alc lost during maturation—barrel surface act as
semipermeable membrane
Aging changes in color, flavor, texture, etc.
For clean fermentation and proper distillation, 2 yrs aging is
adequate
Excessive aging, 12-15 yrs—tends to impart similar flavor
Low temp. and high RH is maintained in aging room
Objective and subjective analyses done to
determine adequacy of aging

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 Processing
(warehouse  emptying from barrels  proof reduction, special treatment (?),
filtration, lab. analyses, blending, bottling, labeling and packing )

• Filtration—chilling, filtration
– Filter aids—pads, papers, cellulose granules,
activated ‘C’ may be used
– Two stages—coarse filtration and polishing
• Bottling, labeling and storage

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 Expression of alcohol concentration
 New system—alcohol content should be expressed by per cent alcohol
by volume (% abv) at 20C by law
 Old system
 18th century to 1 Jan 1980, proof spirit was used to expressed
alcohol content in alcoholic beverages
 If burn with blue flame—proof (seamen ration)
Gunpowder + alc burn with blue flame
 UK: 100 Proof = 57.15% abv
 USA: 100 Proof = 50% abv
 Writing % abv is mandatory
 The US regulation prevents the rum
over 155 proof from
entering the market

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 Part I
Distilled beverages – general
_______________________________
Part II
Distilled beverages – general

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 1. Brandy
(distilled wine, >38 % by vol.)

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 Brandy (also called Weinbrand) is a alc. beverage
distilled from wine made of selected grape varieties,
esp. non sweet varieties grown in France
 The resultant wine is slowly distilled in pot-stills and
may be combined and re-distilled
 Matured at least 6 mo. in oak casks (cap.<1000 L)
 Alc. content varies from 36-50 % abv; raw material
and cask derived volatiles; conc. > 125 g/hL abs. alc.
 Not flavored but may contain caramel color

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 The main fraction is about 70 % abv is matured in
oak casks
 It assists in the formation of the characteristic
bouquet
 Vine area of Cognac is 80,000 ha

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 Distillation— 2-3 times; head and tail removed, heart
taken
 Aging— 350 L oak cask; leach out color (amber color),
aroma, tannin, lignin; 2.5 to 60 y
 Blending— different spirits used; adjusted to 40% abv;
with spring water or DW
 Sometimes herbs, cinnamon, vanilla, may be added
 Bottling— after that aging time not counted

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 Brandy

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 2. Scotch whisky
• All ‘Scotch’ leveled whiskies are produced in
Scotland; distilled 2 or 3
• Whisky means ‘water of life’ !
• Unblended malt whiskies are derived from malt
• Blended malt whiskies are derived from a blend of malt and
grains
• Matured in oak cask (min. 3 y 1d)
• A very peculiar product—nobody can imitate it !
• Blended whiskey—time of youngest one is written
• Alc. content >40 % abv
• Water and caramel allowed

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 Other whiskies

• Whisky—a type of alcoholic beverage distilled from

fermented grain mash and generally aged in white
oak except maize whiskey
Named types
o Rye/wheat/corn, bourbon /malt/rye whiskies
A named type whisky distilled at <80 abv; aged for
more than 2 y in white charred oak is called
‘straight’ whisky, e.g., straight (rye) whisky
Am. blended whiskey –GNS +St. whiskey + coloring
+ flavouring

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 Distillation
• Pot still is still common in Scotland
• Fusel oil—higher alcohols, mildly toxic, and
strong disagreeable smell and taste
• #200—300 compounds detected
• Acetals—acetaldehyde diethylacetal (more in
malt)—fruitiness
• Diketone diacetyl –pleasing smell

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 Maturation
• Bourbon, rye, and Tennessee whiskies are aged in new charred
white oak barrels
• Corn whiskey—may be finished in used barrels
• Greater the conc. of fusel oil, more the maturation
• In the case of light whiskey, long aging should be avoided to
prevent dominant woody flavor
• Clean fermentation and proper distillation require shorter
maturation (3-4 y)
• More aging in wood—12-15 y—is bad (same flavor develops)
• Period of aging is determined by objective and subjective
analyses
• Lactone (3-methyl-4-octanolide), found in oak, imparts coconut
aroma, and phenolics from charred oak are extracted
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 Blending
• Different whiskies are blended to produce
target whiskies
• Proof reduced by untreated soft water or by
demineralized water

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 Polishing

• Chilling (4C) followed by tight filtration

before filling into bottles

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 3. Rum
• Rum is a spirit distilled from fermented sugar
cane juice or molasses.
• It is principally made in Jamaica and other
areas of the Caribbean
• Molasses is diluted, fermented, distilled, may
be aged in cask
• During aging, color is taken up from the
wood

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 Process

Molasses Fresh cane juice, blackstrap molasses and cane syrup

Yeast Dilution Water

Fermentation • Brix (ca 20), pH (4.1) maintained

• In 36 h, all available sugar is utilized
• Temperature controlled at 32-33C
Distillation

Maturation White oak barrels are used

Blending

Packaging
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 Distillation

• Pot still

• Column still
Lower bp fraction—head (rich in aldehydes & esters), little allowed to
remain in the product

Main fraction—ethanol

Higher bp fraction—higher alcohol (fusel oil) or

tail (amyl-, isoamyl-, butyl-, isobutyl alcohol)

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CDBT/L#4/GPK
 Maturation
 Distillate is aged in new or old oak barrels for > 1 y
Alcohol in rum interacts with barrels and adds color,
flavor and smoothness
Method of maturing varies greatly
Rums generally gain golden to amber hues during maturing
Caramel may be added to impart dark color
Great secrets…??
Generally, the age statement must refer to the youngest
rum in the bottle

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 Blending rum

• Master blender is the rock star of the

organization
• Different rums, spices, etc. nay be blended
• The great secret remains in each industry
• Agingblending Bottling
• ….marry of flavor, complex blend often
described as ‘symphony of tones’

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 4. Vodka
 Vodka is a distilled liquor originally produced
in Russia and neighboring countries from
potato, grains (wheat, rye, barley, maize,
rice) and molasses
 It is now also produced in UK, Spain, and the
USA in large quantities

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 Raw materials

• Starchy—grains (rye, wheat, sorghum, barley,

corn, rice), potatoes
• Sugary—sugar beet molasses, grapes

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 Characteristics

• Composed mainly water and ethanol with traces of

impurities and flavorings
• Crystal clear, blend taste
• Head and tail discarded and distilled until pure
alcohol

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 Distillation and filtration
• Distilled until bland taste and flavor
• Heads and tails are discarded
• Blending, 50 % abv—demineralized water
• Filtered through activated charcoal
• Types
– Unflavored vodka, clear and blend taste vodka –common
– Flavored vodka –herbs, vanilla, chocolate (no sugar)
• Standerdized—37.5—50 % abv
• Bottling (maturation not required)

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 5. Gin
(berries and spices used, >38% abv

 Gin is a diluted highly rectified spirit,

flavored with juniper berries (Juniper
communis) and extracts from other plants
 Natural flavorings: Juniper berries together
with 6-10 other “botanicals” such as
coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon and
orange/lemon peel are added to the still
prior to the second distillation.
 The basic spirit is made from maize and rye
grains together with malted barley or rye
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 Grain neutral spirits (GNSs, flavorless) are
used for gin production
 Types: distilled gin and gin
GNS + Herbsdistillation distilled gin
Ginherb flavor added in GNS

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 The end

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