Avid distillers claim that good moonshine is far superior in its characteristics to even the best factory vodka. And this is quite true, if we are talking about a quality cooked product. In good moonshine, the content of fusel oils should be minimal. How to achieve this – Shake it now will tell.
What is “sivuha” and why is everyone afraid of it
Under the “sivukha” is usually understood:
Poorly prepared alcohol containing toxic impurities.
The fusel oils themselves, which pose a threat to health if ingested.
The insidious compounds got their name for the bluish (gray) shade that they give to poorly purified alcohol.
Fusel oil is an oily liquid consisting of a mixture of monohydric saturated alcohols, esters and other components (up to 40 in total), which are formed in raw alcohol during rectification.
It is worth noting that 100% cleaning of them is not required, and indeed impossible. In addition to negative, fusel oils also have useful properties: they determine the taste and aroma of drinks, reduce the strength of alcohol, prepare the liver for alcohol processing, and prevent intoxication of the body.
The benefits and harms directly depend on the amount of compounds contained in the product. In order not to become a victim of alcohol poisoning, their proportion must be reduced to a minimum.
How to remove fusel oils
There are many ways to clean moonshine from “sivukha”. They are used at all stages of the preparation of homemade alcohol:
For the preparation of mash, it is necessary to use only high-quality raw materials. After the end of fermentation, the mass should be subjected to decanting (that is, carefully drained from the sediment through a hose), if necessary, filtered or clarified.
It does not hurt to equip a moonshine still with additional cleaning devices: a steamer, a reflux condenser, a distillation column. Distillation must be performed twice with the mandatory selection of “heads”, “body” and “tails” (at least at the second stage). If you want to get the purest product with virtually no color and odor, you can resort to rectification.
The product of the first distillation is recommended to be cleaned and filtered. First of all, this applies to sugar and grain drinks. When working with fruit distillates, you can limit yourself to one thing or completely omit this stage.
It is not necessary to use absolutely all methods for removing fusel oils: when choosing them, you should focus on the characteristics of the raw materials and the finished product.
If the output is not sufficiently clean moonshine, you can additionally pass it through the filter, and then let the drink settle.
Relevance: 07.12.2019
Tags: vodka, mash, moonshine