Jasper "Jack" Newton Daniel was one of 13 kids. No one knows exactly when Mr. Daniel was born, resulting from his birth records being destroyed in a fire, nevertheless during the year 1875, the Jack Daniels Whiskey distillery was established. There are claims that Jasper was just 20 years old when he became a licensed distiller. In spite of this, to this day, nobody knows for sure if this is fact.
Sadly, after stubbing his toe and getting an infection during 1911, Mr. Daniel died. He never got married or had any offspring, so he entrusted the distillery to his nephew, Lem Motlow. After Motlow's death in 1947, the distillery was handed to his offspring.
There may have already been laws against the manufacturing of alcohol during the early 1900's, but this would not stop many folks from continuing to produce distilled spirits. Jack Daniels Whiskey saw tough times at the time of prohibition. However, because Motlow happened to be a state senator in Tennessee, he had influence in helping to repeal this law. This made it possible for production to begin again in 1938.
Daniel's whiskey is known for being filtered in vats constructed from wood prior to being left to age. This is not something that is typically done when creating most Bourbon whiskeys. Although technically "Straight Bourbon," none of us seems to mind it being termed Tennessee Whiskey. The Daniel's brand also filters their drink with sugar maple charcoal. Many claim this is one of the reasons Jack Daniel's is probably the finest of all whiskeys.
Traditionally, the Daniel's corporation made the drink 90 proof (45% alcohol by volume). The black label was, once, widely known as a higher grade versus the green. Although, today most bottles of both labels are eighty proof. In 2011 the company developed Holiday Select. Bottles with this label are 100 proof. Currently the highest proof the company has ever made.
To learn more about how to make whiskey, how to distill and the equipment and procedures used, Google "How To Make Whiskey HQ". There you will see whiskey mash recipes, a step-by-step approach for making whiskey at home and much more.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
The Best Whiskey Still - Pot Still
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| Copper Pot Still |
Pot stills are the modern descendant of the alembic still. They were one of the earliest still types employed to produce spirits. Pot still are rather inefficient which can be a good thing when producing whiskey. For example, when making neutral spirit with no flavor and high alcohol yield you would use a reflux or column still. For whiskey one needs to make a product which retains the flavors of mash. In this situation the pot still is best suited.
A pot still possesses 4 primary parts: We will look at each one in more detail.
Pot: The body of the pot is typically a cylinder that is wider at the top than the bottom. The pot is loaded with the fermented mash and heated up with fire or perhaps an inner heating apparatus. Nearly all commercial distilleries heat the wort (aka wash) with four hundred degree steam pumped through tubing which is coiled inside of the pot.
Swan Neck: The neck permits the vaporized alcohol as well as some water\flavor to rise up and enter into the lyne arm. The neck is often narrower at the topas opposed to the bottom allowing for non-ethanol compounds to condense around the walls and fall back down into the wash.
Lyne Arm: The lyne arm will impact the amount of non-ethanol compounds that make it into the distillate. For instance, when the vapors rise up the neck and into the lyne arm the temperature becomes cooler and the less volatile compounds (h2o, flavour, etc.) change from a gas into a liquid. If the lyne arm is ascending at a 45 degree angle those compounds will run back down into the wash. This gives you a ‘lighter’ flavour and higher alcohol content in the finished product. Alternatively if the lyne neck was angled down at a forty-five degree angle the less volatile substances will condense and flow down into the condenser together with the ethanol vapors thus supplying the distillate a more flavorful, ‘fuller’, taste.
Condenser: The condenser cools the ethanol vapors to a temperature that is less than the boiling point of the ethanol. As a result, it condenses the vapors into liquid. Condensers may be cooled by the ambient air temperature, moving air (a fan) or water. With a water cooled condenser the cold water is pumped through a coil or around the outside of the tube that carries the ethanol vapors. Different designs will utilize various strategies. The key is to chill the vapors so they drip into a collection container versus escaping into the air.
A pot still possesses 4 primary parts: We will look at each one in more detail.
Pot: The body of the pot is typically a cylinder that is wider at the top than the bottom. The pot is loaded with the fermented mash and heated up with fire or perhaps an inner heating apparatus. Nearly all commercial distilleries heat the wort (aka wash) with four hundred degree steam pumped through tubing which is coiled inside of the pot.
Swan Neck: The neck permits the vaporized alcohol as well as some water\flavor to rise up and enter into the lyne arm. The neck is often narrower at the topas opposed to the bottom allowing for non-ethanol compounds to condense around the walls and fall back down into the wash.
Lyne Arm: The lyne arm will impact the amount of non-ethanol compounds that make it into the distillate. For instance, when the vapors rise up the neck and into the lyne arm the temperature becomes cooler and the less volatile compounds (h2o, flavour, etc.) change from a gas into a liquid. If the lyne arm is ascending at a 45 degree angle those compounds will run back down into the wash. This gives you a ‘lighter’ flavour and higher alcohol content in the finished product. Alternatively if the lyne neck was angled down at a forty-five degree angle the less volatile substances will condense and flow down into the condenser together with the ethanol vapors thus supplying the distillate a more flavorful, ‘fuller’, taste.
Condenser: The condenser cools the ethanol vapors to a temperature that is less than the boiling point of the ethanol. As a result, it condenses the vapors into liquid. Condensers may be cooled by the ambient air temperature, moving air (a fan) or water. With a water cooled condenser the cold water is pumped through a coil or around the outside of the tube that carries the ethanol vapors. Different designs will utilize various strategies. The key is to chill the vapors so they drip into a collection container versus escaping into the air.
Naturally, the distiller must experiment with numerous mash recipes, still shapes and designs to create the end product that the distiller set out to create. Bottom line, take notes, take your time, have fun and experiment.
More details concerning stills, whiskey making, whiskey mash recipes, the how to of distillation can be found online.
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