Alcohol distillation is one of the key steps in producing spirits such as wine and beer, as well as fermented beverages like bourbon, gin and vodka. Distillation also plays an integral part of cultural symbolism for spirits industries, from pot stills used by Dionysian cults to modern column distillation using shiny copper towers with multiple-story copper columns used today – yet what lies behind all this magical distilation magic?
Alcohol (ethanol) boils at a lower temperature than water – approximately 212o F – meaning when heated, its alcohol molecules will vaporize while other liquid remains unchanged, producing an alcohol-rich vapor cloud which can then be collected and condensed back into liquid form with increased concentrations of ethanol by volume.
Distillation involves more than simply extracting alcohol; there are numerous other chemical compounds–aldehydes, acids and esters–that give spirit its flavor as well. Distillers refer to these elements as congeners. Their job is to keep those they like while eliminating those they don’t.
Here, various types of stills come into play. A basic pot still is a closed vessel equipped with a heat source at its base and a collection vessel at the top, eventually evolving into more intricate models used today for making whiskey and some gins. By the early 19th century commercial distillers were seeking quicker methods, prompting Robert Stein and Aeneas Coffey to develop large scale column stills with giant glistening columns that reach several stories high – an accelerated method they called column stills.
