![]() It is, in effect, the distillery’s fingerprint. However, it’s worth noting that each distillery is reliant on the shape and size of their stills, and it is a key component in the resulting DNA of the spirit style for each producer. “As soon as you start to vaporise the wash”, Richard notes, “it starts to eat the copper, so the head are the first part to go.” Richard Forsyth is managing director at Forsyths, a coppersmith specialising in distilling equipment that has been at the forefront of still-making since 1890. As a result, the still thins over time, and will eventually need to be replaced. In the production of whisky, their job is not just to separate the alcoholic and non-alcoholic compounds through evaporation, but for the copper to cleanse and clean the spirit. These beautiful sculptures are mostly sacrificial. By contrast, the stills at near neighbours Glenfarclas are the largest in the Speyside region and are direct-fired, giving a lighter but no less flavoursome style of new-make spirit. The small stills produce a heavy, sulphurous spirit that stands up well to long maturation in sherry casks. For example, the small stills at The Macallan distillery are listed as one of the important six pillars that makes Macallan the unique, and highly prized spirit lauded by drinks experts around the world. The result is that pot stills, running in batch processes, create a spirit that is more expensive to make, yet one that gives greater character – and part of the characteristics of these spirits comes down to the unique size and shape of each pot still. These large, industrialised continuous stills create a very high-strength spirit, but can sacrifice much of the character along the way. This is partly due to the fact that they can run continuously, rather than in batches, which is how a pot still must function. Known as a Coffey still, p atent still or column still, this format is made up of a number of plates, each acting out a micro-distillation and used to create a vast amount of spirit in a relatively short time. In the early 1800s a more industrial, efficient still was created. ![]() Pot s tills, which look like dumpy kettles or giant onions, are not the only bit of kit used in distillation. ![]() W hat’s the difference between pot and Coffey stills? The middle section, the heart, is where the tasty, drinkable compounds lie, and it is the job of the distiller to ensure that this section is selected for either bottling direct from the still – in the case of a white spirit – or resting in casks – in the case of a dark spirit. These are the compounds that, in drinks distillation, thankfully appear first and last in the distilling process. Not all alcoholic compounds are good – s ome taste nasty and some are downright dangerous. ![]() T here are greater nuances to the process, such as the cutting points. The result: a high-strength alcoholic spirit. Rising up through the copper stills, which become increasingly narrower and cooler, these gases are condensed back into a liquid – critically, with a greater percentage of alcohol in them than there was before. The alcoholic compounds evaporate at a lower temperature than water and thus turn into a gas, separating them out from the non-alcoholic compounds. It is effectively a giant copper kettle within which a low-strength alcoholic liquor – such as a beer or wine – is heated. The role of the still in making spirits is a simple one. What does a pot still actually do and how does it work? ![]()
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