What to do with a mediocre batch?

[Max Action]

We're still developing the business plan, and exploring different what-if scenarios. Suppose you invest some significant time and resources into a batch of product, and it just turns out ok. Not bad, but not up to the quality you were expecting. What do you do with it?

[porter]

Good beginner question!!!!!

Some of that decision would depend on what you were making. Regular alcohol, just re-run the batch and blend it with the 'good' stuff. If you're talking about blended stuff or flavored, that's different. Either way, you can still re-run to recoop the alcohol.

I'm sure the more experienced here have some good insights on that subject.

[cowdery]

You shouldn't be making anything at a commercial batch level until you know exactly how to make it. You do that by making a small pilot batch first, then scaling it up. That doesn't mean you won't ever have a bad batch, but they should be rare. That said, and as Porter said, depending on what it is there may be a way to repurpose it. Depending on your still, whatever you've done wrong can always be distilled out to neutrality. You might have to flush something at the fermentation stage but if you have the means to make neutral alcohol, that's something you can always use, so you should never have to flush something you've already distilled.

The large whiskey distilleries have various things they can do, depending on their lines and the nature of the defect, but selling it to a neutral spirits producer is always the last resort.