In the first of two distillations the fermented
liquid, or wash, is piped through to the wash
still. There it is brought to boiling point by means of steam-heated
coils. As the wash boils the alcoholic content vaporises, passing
up the neck of the still and along the lyne arm, before being
condensed back into liquid form by the cooling system beyond.
This first distillate, known as "low wines",
is collected in a receiving vessel and then run off into the spirit
still, where the distillation process is repeated more slowly.
The flow of raw spirit that emerges is divided into three parts.
The first, called "foreshots", contains oil and other
impurities. The second and purest, the "centre cut",
is collected to become whisky.
Finally comes the "feints", the back end
of the run, which together with the foreshots is returned to the
process to be re-distilled with the next batch of low wines.
Read more about Copper
Stills.
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