flavorful malt and corn whiskies to 60–80%.
Crudely distilled moonshine is only 20–30%
alcohol, and therefore harsh and even
hazardous.
Pot or Batch Distillation: Selecting Volatiles
by Time There are two ways for distillers to
separate the vapor into undesirable heads,
somewhat desirable tails, and the desirable
main run of alcohol. The original way, and the
way that is still used for many of the finest
liquors, is separation in a simple pot still by
time. It can take 12 hours or more for a batch
of beer or wine to be heated close to the boil
and then distilled. The very volatile head
vapors come off first, followed by the main
alcohol-rich run, and then the less volatile
fusel-oil tails. So the distiller can divert the
initial vapors, collect the desirable main run
in a different container, and then divert the
late vapors again. In practice, distillers repeat
the pot distillation, the first pass giving spirits