Distilled hops vs. dry-hopping?

[Teacher]

So I've read about people distilling hop oils, and I'm intrigued. The old Ballantine IPA achieved an incredible hop flavor and/or aroma through this method, according to everything I've read. However, once or twice I've come across information that the result is similar to dry-hopping. For those in the know, how do they compare?

 

[RadicalEd]

Hmmm, I'm cautious to believe this--most everything I've heard on the distilling side of things screams "Don't distill beer! The hops make it taste like burnt rubber!" Of course, this could possibly be due to the interactions with the hop compounds and alcohol, which would mean that perhaps you could distill with pure water with positive results.

Fair warning, and good luck.

 

[Teacher]

It is done commercially and used in commercial brewing. I assume they're only doing it with water, but I don't really know for sure.