Hello,
When I got into the distilling business I was told a column with a minimum number (21) plates is necessary to practically achieve 190, so a 21 plate column is what I have. I know a lot of small distilleries making vodka distill without a column, with a pot and 4 plates or with a column having less than 21 plates. I assumed these distilleries are yielding 190 (painfully slow and not efficiently) or processing NGS. Recently, a couple of prospective distillers asked me to try and achieve 190 with my pot and 4 plates. A domestic manufacturer has assured them they will reach 190 with 4 plates. After a couple of tries with a +60% ABV charge in my Carl Still, four plates and a lot of cooling 187 is as high as it gets. The results I get contradict an established still manufacture unless I am distilling improperly. Therefore I ask, have you yielded 190 with only 4 plates? If so, how do you do it?
Thank you,
Paul