Noob Cuts

[Dominator]

I have done quite a bit of reading on making cuts in the lead up to building my own still as the cuts seem to be the most daunting part.

Admittedly, I have not sampled many high quality spirits, and so I always drink spirits mixed with soft drink. What I am not sure about is whenever I do try a commercial rum or bourbon straight, it just tastes like burn, in fact any spirit straight taste like burn, (except Vodka, that tastes like vomit, bad experience when I was young :rofl: ) Am I going to find it hard to separate my heads when I get to my spirit runs? Or is this something that every new stiller faces, and a skill acquired with time and experience?

[bt1]

Hello Dom,

Cuts are something you learn. it does take time but you'll get the hang of it from the first time. One thing I'd mention is don't be overly concerned you'll smell/taste the differences between the fractions very quickly they are fairly distinct, more so for some washes than others.

There's some good writes on the process so won't repeat that here. If you stick to the process you'll be fine.

Best case = you'll decide on all your first run cuts.
Normal case = You'll have a few that your just not sure about...no probs! come back to em a few days later, re test smell/taste/water them down etc , ask a few questions if your still not sure ...no issues at all.

Two cents worth...

How you start with cuts is more than likely how you'll continue to do them...be hard on cuts! chase quality

Avoid the temptation to get some extra volume in...it will happen over time you'll have more than you can handle but being greedy never pays long term cos it detracts from the enjoyment and quality of the product.

bt1

[BackyardBrewer]

Mate don't overthink this.

Turf the first 200mls as fores.

Split your run into 200ml lots in clean glass jars.

Cover the jars with paper towels and a rubber band.

Write a number the paper towel with a pen or texta.

Let it air for 48 hours.

Start sniffing from the middle jar. (10 jars? Start at #5)

At jar #1 it will smell burny but sweet. At jar 10 it will be wet dog/cardboard.

Throw everything that doesn't smell like jar 5 (or the middle jar) into a feints jar for the next run.

Be harsh, don't be greedy and congratulations you've just made cuts.

[DaveZ]

And if you can't pick the cuts, take a small sample from each (teaspoon full) and water it down with an equal amount of water. This made the biggest difference for me and made it a lot easier to pick where to make the cuts.

Dave.

[Dominator]

Thanks guys. I was planing on exactly what BB said. Start in the middle and anything that does not smell/taste the same goes in the feints jar. The running theme does seem to surround being brutal with your cuts and not being greedy. If in doubt, cut it out. :)