Dilution of wines going in for the spirit run

[cmac62]

Okay, so I have 1 gal of sweetfeed sugar wash stripped and 1 gal of head and tails. I was going to use everything to make a spirit run. If together the abv is 50% + do I dilute it, or run it low and slow at that %. This is only my third spirit run, and the other's I diluted the low wines going into the still. I looked a lot on line and could not find the answer. I did see somewhere that diluting the charge will dilute the taste of the final product, but was not sure. If I pull start keeping the run and it is coming off the still at 80% how does the added water dilute the flavor? Help would be appreciated.

Unrelated but all in the spirit run theme. I understand that adding part of the original wash into the spirit run charge will add a bit more of the flavor though into the spirit. I don't have any of the original, but I could do a quick one or two gallon sugar molasses wash and add that. Is it worth it?

Thanks

 

[Jayjay1976]

Dilute it down to 40% or lower. Both for safety, and because IME, a bit of extra water seems to pull more undesirables out of the ethanol yielding a cleaner neutral. I fill the lower end of the column to about 8" high with ceramic raschig beads and get really clean taste in 2 runs with sugar wash.

 

[cmac62]

Thanks Jay, I was thinking the same. I use about 10" of copper scrubbies in the riser, then straight out to the PC. So far so good. Next up is an American signle malt with some peat smoked malt.