Distilling Absinthe using a bubble plate?

[Al_The_Chemist]

I know this may sound a little nutty, but has anyone tried distilling a heavy botanical (like absinthe) using a bubble plate for more control over the profile? 

 

[Gwydion Stone]

What kind of control are you looking for?  Absinthe is a pretty delicate and complex solution, so I can't imagine the bubble plate would be any good for it. Also, clean-up is going to be a bitch; unless that's all you'll be using that still for.

 

[Al_The_Chemist]

Hey Gwydion, 

 

I've been making absinthe for quite some time now, and have recently updated my still. Even when running very low and slow, I'm finding it difficult to extract the aromatic content I'm expecting without running into heavier byproducts I'd relegate to tails. I need an added level of separation, or to collect so slow that the still upgrade becomes void. 

It giving me a good tasting product, but it will likely cause headaches. 

 

The cleanup is what I'm more worried about. The kettle I keep separate though I use the same column. If I do use a plate it will be dedicated to the absinthe. I imagine it will soak up far too much of the oils to use for anything else. 

 

If I end up doing it I'll post my findings. 

 

[Al_The_Chemist]

I completed the run and I would say it was a success. The plate along with running the still gentle provided really good control. I was able to buffer out the undesirable flavors much deeper into the run. The flavor is much cleaner and more along the lines of what I had in mind for that recipe. 

The copper plate didn't soak up as much smell/residue as I was expecting, still needed a cleaning though. 

Oddly, I'm having more trouble removing the residue form the steel column.