![]() Ethyl alcohol and water in the distillate evaporate out of the barrel, and the humidity in that part of the rickhouse plays a big role. The type of oak barrel can have a profound effect on the final taste, along with the barrel’s size and how charred it is.įor most distilleries, barrels are stored in large buildings called rickhouses. If you disassemble a barrel after it has aged bourbon, you can see a “ solvent line,” which shows how far into the wood the distillate penetrated. ![]() When the distillate seeps to the red-line layer, it dissolves the sugars in the barrel, as well as lignin byproducts and tannins.ĭuring the cold winter months, the distillate retreats back into the barrel, but it takes with it these sugars, tannins and lignin byproducts from the wood, which enhance the flavors. The toasting process breaks down starch and other polymers, called lignins and tannins, in the oak. Under the charred layer of the barrel is a “red line,” a layer where the oak was toasted during the charring process of making the barrel. These chemicals bind to the charred layer and do not release, kind of like a water filter. The charred wood acts like a filter and strains out some of the chemicals before the distillate seeps into the wood. During the summer, when the temperature is hot, the distillate can pass through the inner charred layer of the barrel. The bourbon gets all its amber color during the aging process.īourbon may rest in the barrel for several years. Here, the bourbon interacts with chemicals in the barrel’s wood, and about 70% of the bourbon’s final flavor is determined by this step. The alchemy of time and woodĪfter distillation, the “hearts” fraction (which is clear and resembles water) is placed in a charred oak barrel for the aging process. One of these fractions is called the “hearts,” containing mostly ethanol and water, but also small amounts of congeners, which play a big role in the final flavor of the product. As the kettle heats further, chemicals with higher boiling points vaporize and then are condensed and collected.īy the end of the distillation process with a pot still, the distillate has been divided into a few fractions. So in the case of the pot still, as the kettle is heated, chemicals that have lower boiling points are collected first. The desired vapors that exit the still are condensed back to liquid form, and this product is called the distillate.ĭifferent chemical compounds have different boiling points, so distillers can separate the different chemicals by collecting the distillate at different temperatures. ![]() Pot stills result in a spirit that often contains a more complex mixture of congeners. The type of still will influence the beverages’ final flavor, because pot stills often do not separate the congeners as precisely as column stills do. These stills heat the beer and any congeners that have a boiling point of less than 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 degrees Celsius) to form a vapor. To do this, they use pot or column stills, which are large kettles or columns, respectively, often made at least partially of copper. Separating the fermentation productsĭuring distillation, distillers separate the alcohol and congeners from the fermented mash of grains, resulting in a liquid spirit. And different yeasts produce different amounts of congeners. The longer the fermentation period, the longer the yeast has to create more flavorful byproducts, which enhances the complexity of the spirit’s final taste. Congeners can be esters, which produce a fruity or floral flavor, or complex alcohols, which can taste strong and aromatic. Yeast fermentation yields other byproducts besides alcohol and carbon dioxide, including flavor compounds called congeners. The fermented mash is now called “beer.” While similar in structure and taste to the beer you might buy in a six-pack, this product still has a way to go before it reaches its final form.
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