By Joe Alba

1. Figure 1: Modern day distillery, Pot Stills passed around Europe with the rise and fall of different dynasties until whiskey moved to Scotland where it took the shape we know it today. Later in America, whiskey was first produced as a way to preserve and market corn back when transportation of crops was very inefficient. In the 1920’s alcohol was made illegal during the prohibition giving rise to bootleggers. The bootleggers used to make whiskey in homemade stills and transport it by moonlight, thus giving it the name “moonshine.” Today whiskey is sold by a large number of distilleries offering an array of flavors and types of whiskey. Although this beverage has such an extensive history, the whiskey still has remained very similar through out the years. Alcohol production dates back to 4000b.c. with the first known pictorial of alcohol production in Egypt. However, Distillation of the alcohol has only been around since approx. 800b.c. Through the years, many types of alcohol were Whiskey Distillation Whiskey Still - is a fractional distillation unit that separates two liquids with different boiling points, alcohol from a water based solution (the mash). This process is typically performed commercially through out the world but has also been considered a hobby by many home distillers. (However, it would be wise to check if the home production of alcohol is legal in your area before you begin the home distillation of alcohol.) By Joe Alba History of Whiskey Production

2. Figure 2: Whiskey still Labeled (picture courtesy of http://www.thewhiskystore.de) • for the production of whiskey a pot still is typically used, where one batch is distilled at a time. The most common material used to make a still is copper because of its even heating properties. Parts of a Still A – Vessel - This is the place where your mash and condensed vapors reside. – Column – alcohol and water have very similar properties so you can not avoid both the water and alcohol to vaporize so a column is a section of the still devised to allow the water condense back into the mash and the alcohol to continue into the condenser so that the product has a minimal amount of water concentration. The column is typically packed with either glass or copper beads. This packing is to increase the contact area of the water molecules thus giving a more complete distillation. – Neck – This angled piece of copper is the connection between the Column and the Condenser. Even though this piece is atop the column the alcohol is mostly in a vapor. – Condenser – The rest of the still is a condenser, the entire condenser will be positioned in a downward angle away from the neck. This is so that any condensed liquid will not flow back into the mash. Typically a condenser is a series of copper piping that is cooled by water. This cooling condenses the vapors released from the column. Once all the vapors are condensed into a liquid the product is then collected many times in oak barrels to age. B&C D E

3. Figure 4: Jim Beam Whiskey Distillery Figure 3: Fermenter at Jack Daniels Distillery Figure 5: Various Whiskeys Process of Whiskey Production The first step of this process is to find a suitable mash. The mash is made up of water, sugars, grains, or fruits depending on the whiskey type. Yeast is then added to this mash which will produce alcohol from the sugars anaerobically in a fermenter, like the one shown in figure 3 below. Once the mash is completed it is put into the sealed vessel and slowly boiled. As the mash boils the entire column begins to slowly heat. This will have a temperature the same as the vapor effluent coming from the mash that must be maintained so that the vapor has only a small concentration of water. After the whole column is heated the rising vapors escape into the condenser where they are converted into liquid and the resulting product is collected. In some situations and additional distillation is performed, for higher alcohol concentration (up to 96%). After distilling the whiskey is put into oak barrels to properly age the product, from this many different styles of whiskey arise ranging from scotch to a Kentucky bourbon. Final Product The final product of this process comes in as many varieties as the methods of its production. If you would like further information about distilling whiskey or its legality in your area visit: http://www.atf.gov/