Improving results (or resetting expectations)
I don't know if I need to either change something about how I do things or if it instead is my expectations that needs to be reset. I find that when I do a run I have no problem at all hitting a rock solid 96% ABV according to my hydrometer throughout basically the whole run (at the very end it tapers off for the last 100ml of output or so at 97-98C boiler temp, but with a horrible tails smell, so I usually stop there). But even if I manage to hit azeo the "neutrals" are not as neutral as I would expect.
Don't get me wrong, it is not bad, but it is still easy to taste the difference between the hearts (after diluting to 40%) and for example Absolut or other commercial vodkas, and has a bit more of a "burn" to it.
So to the question, should I either modify my approach, or reset my expectations to more reasonable(?) levels? Should I run multiple spirit runs, run it slower (or faster?), skip the sugar washes (I have a beer brewing setup and experience brewing beer, so a all-grain mash is not out of reach, even though it is a bit more work), or should I start carbon-filtering the product (I was lead to think this would not be needed with a high-efficiency column)
I have a 2" 1m long SPP packed column in a CM setup on a Digiboil i have modified with a dimmer for power control. I have a ~10cm long roll of copper mesh in the vapor path to catch sulfur compounds (the still itself is 100% stainless)
I ferment 3*23l of TFFV, strip them in pot mode, then distill the ~30% low wines with the full column.
- run at ~1500W for 30 minutes with full reflux
- slowly reduce reflux until dripping start. Slowly take off ~1-1.5dl. This goes into the burn jar for camp stoves so it doesn't go to waste
- slowly increase power to ~2000W and tweak reflux to get ~1.5l/h output. This hits 96% on my hydrometer without problems. (output is room temp, so the temp correction shouldn't be that big?)
- Continue take-off in jars for tasting before mixing
- At the end of the run the column basically hits a cliff and tails starts coming out, I continue until maybe 80% output, but the taste/smell at this point is usually quite bad, so I stop here.
Generally, everything except for the first 2 jars and the last jar smell/taste pretty similar. There is a noticeable heads, hearts and tails part, but I feel the hearts doesn't clean up as much as I would expect.
I am happy for any and all suggestions/pointers for what to do! I would love to be able to produce a true neutral base I can use to make non-strongly spiced things with.