Can we save our schorched Distillate

[Packersfan1964]

Not sure how this happened.....but in our bain marine still with an agitator we scorched the mash, and now the distillate is pretty stinky and tastes bad. Is there any hope for re-distilling or barreling or are we simply out a batch?

[JustAndy]

It's easier to scorch in a bain marie if you have a lot of unconverted starch. You could try re-distilling it but I've never heard that to help.

[PeteB]

Have a sip of a heavily peated whisky then try your "scorched" again. Maybe it is not so bad afterall, just call it a smokey whisky.

[Packersfan1964]

In case I wasn't clear, we scorched the mash during the process of distillation - not during the mashing process.

Andy - thanks for the thought - this was the most grain we've ever tried to convert (2 lbs per gallon) we passed our starch test and our SG was close to projected but it could have been unconverted starch... thanks for the idea

Pete - smelling it the next day, it certainly smells better - maybe a barrel and a few years will help.

Guys I really appreciate the comments - keep em coming!

 

[Falling Rock]

Use that scorched product as an element to mix with non scorched product. A little may go a long way and add complexity!

[Packersfan1964]

20 hours ago, Falling Rock said:

Use that scorched product as an element to mix with non scorched product. A little may go a long way and add complexity!

We redistilled it and it came out much better. Due to the second distillation it's certainly missing a lot of the sweetness and flavor, but we'll find something to use it for.

Thanks!

[LibertyCall]

I know I'm a little late to this topic, but we scorched some whiskey awhile back due to the Rye not completely converting during the mash. We double distilled and ran it through an activated Charcoal filter, and it was completely better. Lost a lot of flavor, but it's better than throwing away $4500 worth of whiskey. We are aging it separately for an exclusive tasting room release...

[bluestar]

If the stink was ammonia-like or sulfurous, more exposure to copper during the distillation would help. On the redistill, a very slow start up to allow evaporation of the same can help.

[Packersfan1964]

Conclusion to our issue - we did a re-distillation, aged in oak for 60 days and it tastes great.

Thanks for your feedback!