Diskussion – Schnaps, Ätherische Öle, Essig

Hier ein post aus einem Moonshine-forum, in welchem bezueglich der Heads von Kopfweh und schlimmen Geruch (aehnlich den Foreshots?) berichtet wird:

"Foreshots
Foreshots are the first vapors to boil off during distillation. They should not be ingested as they contain methanol and other volatile alcohols. Always discard the foreshots ? they make up around 5% or less of the product collected during a run. Throw out the first 30 ml on a 1 gallon run, the first 150 ml on a 5 gallon run, or the first 300 ml on a 10 gallon run.

Heads
Heads come off of the still directly after the foreshots. Simply put, they taste and smell bad. Heads smell like paint thinner or solvent. They are not worth drinking and are said to be the main culprit in hangovers.

Hearts
Hearts come off the still after the heads. The hearts are the sweet spot during the run: This is the good stuff. The easiest way to tell when you?ve reached the hearts is simple: The harshness of the heads is replaced with a mellow, sweet-tasting flavor. Once that harshness of the heads fades away, you know you are in the hearts. The heart cut is very important and this is where the skill of the distiller comes into play, because they must recognize the end of the heads, and the beginning of the tails.

Tails
Tails come off the still following the hearts. The tails start once all of the lower boiling point alcohols have evaporated. The tails contain a lot of fusel oil and other alcohols that are not desirable in a finished product. The tails are mostly water, proteins, and carbohydrates and do not taste very good. The tails start once the rich full flavors from the hearts taper off and start tasting thin. The tails make up between 20-30% of the run."

Bei HD gibt's auch ein Eintrag bezueglich Foreshots und Heads:
http://homedistiller.org/distill/dtw/foreshots

Zuletzt noch ein Beitrag von der Seite einer kommerziellen Destillerie. Hier geht's um Rum:

"The process of separation during distillation is known as making the "cuts." There are four components to the distillation run: "Foreshots", "Heads", "Hearts", and the "Tails." The foreshots and heads are the first portion to be collected as they evaporate at the lowest temperature. These are identified ... by temperature, scent, and flavor. Once this portion is collected and set aside, the hearts are then collected. The hearts are the portion we barrel and age, ... The tails are then collected after the hearts, combined with the heads, and are stored for redistillation as they still have a significant amount of high quality rum to be extracted.

The cuts are a very important factor in the process. We cut the heads very deep, meaning that with the heads there is a good deal of the hearts that go with them as it isnt a defined separation; it is more like a blended spectrum that you have to select the point that defines your flavor profile to make the cut...

The cut to tails is also critical. Cutting to the tails too late results in an offensive odor and a noticeably less pleasant flavor..."