alcohol distillation

Alcohol distillation is a core process in the creation of spirits such as gin, vodka, rum and whiskey. Distillation differentiates spirits from other fermented beverages like beer and wine.

Distillation apparatus, more commonly referred to as stills, comprises three main parts. They include the following: (reboiler), condenser and receiver for extracting distillate from hot vapors cooled back down by condenser cooling, receiver from which concentrated or purified liquid can be extracted, air/moisture control/safety issues with vent connection; in sealed versions vacuum pump is often required in order to keep atmosphere pressure within acceptable levels).

Under negative pressure distillation conditions, in order to achieve the same concentration in the vapor state as would be achieved through normal pressure distillation methods, the boiling point must be decreased in order to achieve equal concentration in both states – an increased temperature difference will also be needed between the coolant and vapor phase requiring additional equipment and energy resources to make this possible.

Alcohol concentration in vapor does not remain static; rather it varies. At first, alcohol content peaks with the initial wash vapors but gradually diminishes through subsequent distillation fractions due to repeated evaporations and condensation processes, producing increasingly less-concentrated bottoms fractions as the process goes forward.

Alcohol distillation is an integral component of creating spirits such as whiskey, rum and vodka. Distillation separates these beverages from nondistilled ones like beer, hard cider and mead.

Distillation is a process by which fermented mash or liquid alcohol products are separated into their component parts by cooling, which allows water to condense out of the vapors and condense back onto their original liquid state. Once separated, this concentrate of alcohol then must be further refined until reaching desired proof levels.

Distillation begins by heating a mash to a low temperature, which vaporizes alcohol at its lower boiling point than water – meaning its vapor evaporates on its own and is easily collected – as its concentration grows, so too does its concentration of alcohol; after multiple steps are complete, the product can then be cooled off before being packaged at minimum proof level for bottling and sale.

Before the advent of distilled alcohol, people drank fermented beverages with relatively low alcohol contents such as mead, ale, and wine. Distillation knowledge first spread from Italy to northern Europe during the early 17th century and by its end was widely available, revolutionizing social health as much as water purification had done over 10,000 years prior. Dysentery, cholera, and typhoid were major killers then and continue today due to poor water quality.