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In food production, distillate is understood as strong alcohol obtained by evaporation and condensation of a fermented alcohol-containing liquid in a special apparatus.
Depending on the feedstock and processing technology, different types of strong alcohol are obtained by distillation: cognac, whiskey, vodka, rum, moonshine, schnapps.
When tasting their own alcohol, novice distillers rarely think about what preceded its appearance. But the modern pure distillate is very far from the experimental product of the first distillation.
History of distillation
The first alcoholic drinks appeared in prehistoric times. Archaeological finds indicate that ancient people were engaged in their manufacture for several millennia BC. As for distillates, they were tested much later.
There are no exact data on the time of the first distillation, but it is assumed that distillation apparatus appeared in the Ⅰ-Ⅱ century AD. The authorship of a unique invention is attributed to the ancient Chinese, but this is just an assumption. The Arabs and Greeks also quite actively mastered distillation.
It is curious that before coming to the distillation of alcohol, our ancestors experimented with different liquids for a long time.
The first distilled substance was water, which was replaced by resins.
It is known that the ancient Greeks and Egyptians used the method of distillation to make essential oils used for medicinal and cosmetic purposes.
In the Middle Ages, alchemists became interested in alembics borrowed from the Greeks, trying to find the elixir of eternal youth with their help.
And only in the XII century, the distillation of alcohol in Europe stood out as an independent industry. Around the same time, the distillate also had its own name – “water of life”.
The first spirits were distilled from wine. However, not only traditional raw materials were used to obtain them. Legends say that the pharmacist of Louis XIV distilled a wide variety of substances and considered the best medicine for all diseases to be a liquid distilled from the heads of healthy, violently dead men. Whether he tried his eccentric recipe is unknown, but glorified his “invention” through the ages.
In the XIV-XV century, the art of distillation spread to different regions, which led to the birth of special drinks in each locality:
Cognac was invented in France.
In England, gin.
In Scotland, whiskey.
In Germany, schnapps.
In Russia and Poland – vodka.
In Denmark, aquavit.
Later, rum, calvados, sake, rakia, slivovitz, chacha, tequila and other types of strong alcohol were created on their basis.
In the XNUMXth century, high-quality moonshine began to be produced in Russia, but it was produced in small quantities and was used mainly for medicinal purposes.
At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, the primitive alambic was replaced by a more advanced “patent still” or “coffey stil” apparatus, which not only saved time and labor resources, but also made it possible to obtain purer and stronger alcohol.
As a result, the production of distillates has moved to a new level and acquired an industrial scale.
Types of distillation and distillate
At home, the distillation product is classified according to the type of raw material used for its manufacture:
Fruit Moonshine
It is obtained from juicy garden and wild fruits: apples, plums, different types of berries. It is the basis for the production of brandy, slivovitz, calvados.
grape distillate
One of the most valuable species, necessary to obtain cognac, brandy and chacha.
sugar moonshine
The most affordable and easy-to-prepare type of distillate without a pronounced aroma. An alternative is a milder fructose/dextrose alcohol. This group also includes the distillate from molasses used to make rum.
Grain distillate
Different types of cereals can be taken as a basis: wheat, corn, rye, barley. Whiskey, vodka, bourbon, gin are obtained from grain raw materials.
Other types of distillates are less common: potato, beet, starch, etc.
The most primitive method of distillation is simple distillation. It is the partial evaporation of an alcohol-containing liquid by continuous heating and condensation of vapors in a refrigerator.
A more perfect way to obtain strong alcohol is fractional (fractional) distillation. It involves the division of the distilled liquid into parts (fractions), resulting in a better and healthier alcohol.
For oral administration, only the “heart” of moonshine (the purest fraction) is used, containing a minimum amount of fusel oils and harmful impurities.
In industrial conditions (and sometimes at home), rectification is used to obtain strong alcohol. For its implementation, a special apparatus with a column is required. The rectification process involves the return of part of the condensate to the still during distillation. As a result of repeated repetition of the cycle, the final product is stronger and cleaner.
Distillate and rectified: which is better
Before comparing rectified and distillate, it is worth clarifying that we are talking about high-quality alcohol. Moonshine obtained by simple distillation, without separation of fractions, does not apply to them.
The choice of one or another method of distillation depends on the desired result. Rectification gives a purer and higher degree product (about 96%), but practically odorless and tasteless.
During distillation, alcohol turns out to be of lower quality and strength (about 60–70 °), but retains the aroma of the original raw material. As for the production technology, the rectification process is more complex.
What to choose? If alcohol is required for diluting drinks, making liqueurs and tinctures, it is better to give preference to rectified.
If you want to get a “live” drink with a delicate aroma, it is best to use double / triple distillation with mandatory separation into fractions.
Relevance: 20.07.2019
Tags: vodka, mash, moonshine