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Oxygenation and its effects on vodka


excogitationist

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Howdy,

Here is a good book on filtering with activated carbon: http://homedistiller.org/activated_book1.pdf

The book says that the process needs to be void of any air within the tube containing the carbon and to use a water prewash to force any air out. Air would take up space against the carbon pores which would not allow the spirit to contact it, greatly limiting the cleaning surface of the carbon.

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Thank you for the link. That is an awesome PDF!

I was thinking more about adding the air separately, and not within the carbon itself. I had a pretty lengthly discussion with Rusty Figgins from Batch 206, Mike McCaw from Amphora Society, and Iain McCallum from Bowmore's discussing oxygen and its roll in smoothing things out. I think I have a better idea of how I can use it.

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  • 2 months later...

The O2 in the air combines/reacts with ethyl acetate, thus giving you a product that is more balanced, mellowed out and not so hard on tongue or throat.

Just read a Dutch book on making "malt wine" (base whiskey for genever making) from 1916. It states that the actual effects of carbon filtering may be more in the very close (close to molecular level) contact between air and alcohol than anything else.

Edwin.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi excogitationist,

I am a vodka maker but i have only been doing small batches with PAC (powder activated carbon) put directly into a tank with water and Ethanol (GNS)

When you mention about oxygenation, are you specifically talking about using Oxygen to bubble through the tank while the vodka interacts with the carbon

powder? I understand you wouldn't want the air in a carbon filter but would the O2 help in a batch method ? Thanks, Neil

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  • 4 months later...

To improve on the effects of oxygenating vodka, try adding Ultrasonic Cleaning to the equasion. Put together the results are impressive.

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  • 2 months later...

Most correct method to improve organoleptic properties is processing by special charcoal in columns, it is so called dynamic method. Of course, there are different processes of oxydation and as well as other chemical reaction, for instance forming semi-acetales and full acetales and so on. As for oxigen it is contained both in charcoal in column and in water-spirit mixture before processing by carbon. So, processes of oxydation, condensation, etherofication is very important when vodka is producing (though as well as for brandy).

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  • 3 months later...

Scrounge, thanks for the Master Distiller comment, it is nice to be recognized.

You have the right tools,

O2

Active carbon

but your missing the nobel metal / metals

also you have to have the understanding of which order to process the product, and also how it chemically works.

Truth be told using just O2, and some nobel metal /metals can make any product taste so much better.

But the thing is, if everyone was doing the something, most of all the products on the market would taste the same, as far as vodka goes.

Take Care.

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Certain metals can certainly can help; but they're not distinctly advantageous over other metal oxides, which can be put in the column to similar effect and are much cheaper. Copper oxide is a great example, and is present in small quantities within most stills anyway.

One of the big ones, to me, is the presence of a mild base. Vodka is slighlty acidic fresh from the still. Many of these acids can be neutralized without the need for esterification using slight bases, which can either then be filtered, or allowed within the final spirit (Though calcium does cloud the spirit). Some of course choose the low wines from which to do this, though in that case, I'd recommend a very strong base e.g. calcium hydroxide.

The fourth is that any kind of passive, enhanced energy can help vodka over time. I have seen studies for everything from electromagnetic fields to cavitation machines to conventional microwaves, to, of course, oxygenation. In any case, all of them were shown to produce reactions similar to aging. And of course, if you're feeling traditional, there is just straight up, good old-fashioned aging :). Believe it or not, it does make a difference.

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  • 6 years later...
On 10/8/2012 at 10:34 AM, Panoscape said:

Howdy,

Here is a good book on filtering with activated carbon: http://homedistiller.org/activated_book1.pdf

The book says that the process needs to be void of any air within the tube containing the carbon and to use a water prewash to force any air out. Air would take up space against the carbon pores which would not allow the spirit to contact it, greatly limiting the cleaning surface of the carbon.

The homedistiller link is dead, but I was able to track down the pdf if anyone is interested.

https://distillery-yeast.com/activated_book1.pdf

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  • 2 months later...
On 11/21/2014 at 4:18 AM, Dehner Distillery said:

but your missing the nobel metal / metals

also you have to have the understanding of which order to process the product, and also how it chemically works.

Truth be told using just O2, and some nobel metal /metals can make any product taste so much better.

But the thing is, if everyone was doing the something, most of all the products on the market would taste the same, as far as vodka goes.

Take Care.

older discussion, but noble metals would have to be readily available if used, some interesting and non-available options:  https://www.thoughtco.com/introduction-to-noble-metals-608444 anyone with experience using any of these?     intriguing idea.

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