jamie@tamworthgarden.com

At the risk of sounding like over-complicating things, it really depends. I've never worked with grappa, but i know it is congener rich stuff. All those congeners will affect the spirit/water addition. I have heard of brandy and rum being proofed down and married back in the barrel for months as well. It's a good practice, since so much time, energy and work has gone into the product to date. Crashing it out at the last stage is a very real concern. Water quality is another factor: hard, soft, filtered, purified, spring water? All those inherent minerals could play a role. One good thing to know is there is certainly a proof 'hurdle' of sorts at around 50% abv- 44% abv. I tend to be cautious and pay close attention to 55% abv - 40% range. This threshold is here you are taking the spirit from majority of alcohol to a majority of water. That flip in proof needs to happen slowly, in my opinion. I hope this helps a little. I have yet to experience grappa, so it really may take some tinkering to find what works best for you. Good luck!

The glycerides of a saponified spirit will really impede a good bouquet of esters, but further more it will impart a recognizably soapy flavor and mouthfeel. Slow and steady seems to be the best plan of action for any proofing! That and ample agitation.

We have found that there are some solvent dissolved components that filter out better at a lower proof. If you have time, perhaps run it at a high (65%) and lower proof.(45%) There can be some shift in post-filtration proof readings, so we make sure to keep it higher than 40% abv to have that buffer. Better safe than watery.

Agreed Meerkat! We had a slight issue with this. It was in fact vapor lock, and with a small relief hole drilled into the pot return line 90 deg elbow on the interior of the pot we have never again suffered flooding.

These have sold

I have 40 Kelvin 53 gallon barrels for sale. These are #3 char and come in the original wrap. Send me an email jamie @ Tamworthgarden.com