Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Well i have done a comparison of brandy. I had equal measurements of brandy 30ml at the same ABV%. One brandy was made using a pot still and the other with a 4 plate bubbler.

Potstill:
Smell: This was clearly fuller on the nose, some pleasant and others not so. It carried over more aroma from the original wash which was nice but also had a more lingering smell that i can pin point but didn't like very much. It smelt a little like tails but i thought i made quite conservative/modest cuts considering i have a lot of it.

Taste: It was also a lot thicker in the mouth. My Dad i think nailed it when he said it had a soapy feel. Rather than a cleansing finish on the palate it seem to linger and coat the mouth which i found very unpleasant. I have had some of this stuff on oak for a few months now and the thick mouth feel is still present

Bubbler:
Smell: The nose if much more subtle with this spirit. As first it almost seem neutral but after a more analytical smell it has some very nice, clean aromas. Not a smack in the face as i got from the product out of the pot still. I am smelling and writing at the same time and it's getting better, very crispy and subtle smells

Taste: Instantly i notice a difference in the mouth feel. Very crisp and cleansing. The liquor falls away from the tongue quicker and cleaner leaving a fresh feel in the mouth as opposed to the potstill. Much more enjoyable to drink.

Result: Everything is down to personal preference and i am really keen to run a similar taste testing with other people. My family are wine drinkers and although wont admit it, they have quite reasonable palates.
At first i was a little disappointed with the nose on the bubbler brandy. I could almost not detect any but now i realise it is far more subtle than the pot still version. Now after playing around with them for sometime i find the pot still version very over powering and while having a more full smell, they are not all entirely pleasant.
The main kicker for me is the cleansing feel i have mentioned. Same in a fine whiskey. The liqour hits the sides of my tongue, makes an impression and then dissipates very quickly, almost evaporates leaving your mouth to chase the delicious flavours. My potstill brandy lingers too long and becomes unpleasant making quick succession sips very difficult.

Note: I am but no means a master cutter. I have been working at this game for only a few years so i suspect someone could have made better cuts on my potstill brandy and produced a nicer, cleaner product. But having only done 2 previous runs on my bubbler, i am very happy with this product and already have some on oak to compare at a later date with some of my potstill brandy on oak.

Cheers

Excellent read mate thanks for sharing :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Bubbler:
Smell: The nose if much more subtle with this spirit. As first it almost seem neutral but after a more analytical smell it has some very nice, clean aromas. Not a smack in the face as i got from the product out of the pot still. I am smelling and writing at the same time and it's getting better, very crispy and subtle smells

Taste: Instantly i notice a difference in the mouth feel. Very crisp and cleansing. The liquor falls away from the tongue quicker and cleaner leaving a fresh feel in the mouth as opposed to the potstill. Much more enjoyable to drink.

This is very typical of what I have found, with just about everything, I've taken a disliking to most things pot stilled :handgestures-thumbupleft:

:text-+1: yes it is with brandies the difference is most pronounced. The plated stills the hobby stills are adapted from are German brandy stills. Your findings are not new, I pulled down an old brandy still years ago that was made in 1911 that was a type of plated still . :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Excellent write up davecuds
Thank you
I don't have a pot still and it is looking more and more like I never will
Got as far as gathering all the bits together (free to me) but just haven't got round to it cos I enjoy my plater and what it makes too much

Sounds good mate. :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Brandy is something I'm very keen to do more of, is there a recipe around here you followed? Love to know some more about you procedure: fruit type, yeast, fermentation temp. Basically whatever you could be stuffed writing down :wave:
I was really happy with the plums I ran earlier this year and looking for the next project.
Cheers.

G'day Res. I wish i could take credit for the brandy but i can't. My parents own a small scale hobby vineyard and they had some wine thats been sitting around in barrels since 2005! It's not drinkable as wine but luckily they haven't gone off. They have this really rich, earthy, chocolaty smell that i was hoping would carry over into the product. Its one of the reasons for getting into this hobby as i don't like seeing things go to waste. Especially when so much time and energy has gone into making it.
So i can't even tell you what wine it is, how alcoholic or anything. It was definitely organic and is either a cab sav or shiraz.....it's making some bloddy good brandy though if i do say so myself.
As for me, im not much of a brandy drinker. Maybe it will grow on me. For me, its best white with a twist of lime and either tonic or lemonafe...very refreshing summer drink. I have some on oak now and experimenting with that to see how it turns out. I am also buying store bought brandy for comparison sake. My stuff is gonna leave that for dead, i can be sure of that.

Sorry i couldn't give u any more, but let me know how you go. I would be interested in your results....maybe a tipple or 2? hahaha

davecuds wrote:G'day Res. I wish i could take credit for the brandy but i can't. My parents own a small scale hobby vineyard and they had some wine thats been sitting around in barrels since 2005! It's not drinkable as wine but luckily they haven't gone off. They have this really rich, earthy, chocolaty smell that i was hoping would carry over into the product. Its one of the reasons for getting into this hobby as i don't like seeing things go to waste. Especially when so much time and energy has gone into making it.
So i can't even tell you what wine it is, how alcoholic or anything. It was definitely organic and is either a cab sav or shiraz.....it's making some bloddy good brandy though if i do say so myself.
As for me, im not much of a brandy drinker. Maybe it will grow on me. For me, its best white with a twist of lime and either tonic or lemonafe...very refreshing summer drink. I have some on oak now and experimenting with that to see how it turns out. I am also buying store bought brandy for comparison sake. My stuff is gonna leave that for dead, i can be sure of that.

Sorry i couldn't give u any more, but let me know how you go. I would be interested in your results....maybe a tipple or 2? hahaha

Fantastic luck there buddy, gotta be happy with a vineyard in the family :dance: So it sounds like this wine you used was oaked and turned out ok, that's good news for my own long term wine reclamation project. (saving and freezing the ends of open to long bottles from work until stripping) Typically brandy is made from low alcohol un-oaked wines, but not always it seems :handgestures-thumbupleft: . When I get some time I'll go to the market and track down some grapes and see what can be down.
Cheers.