The second stage how to dilute. Re-distillation of moonshine

After the end of the second distillation, you need to measure the strength of the moonshine. As a rule, it is 80 ... 90 degrees. You can drink this, but only for extreme people.
As a rule, moonshine is bred to the usual fortress of 40 degrees, that is, moonshine is converted into vodka. Let's consider this procedure in more detail.

First - water for breeding. I use regular tap water. I experimented with bottled different types, with spring - I did not feel any difference. Maybe my water is of very high quality, maybe the taste is not very good. In any case, it will not be bad from tap water, and what kind of water to use is up to your taste.

Secondly, when breeding, you need to pour water into the moonshine, not vice versa. This is a classic, there is a rationale for this, but take my word for it - this is how it should be done.

Measure with an alcoholometer (see Equipment for moonshine) the strength of the resulting moonshine.
Then you need to determine the required amount of water. You can use the table (there are a huge number of them on the Internet), but I use the formula - just remember, you don't need the Internet and paper. There is a calculator on the smartphone, that's enough. The moonshine breeding formula looks like this:

SECOND DISTILLATION TECHNOLOGY

To carry out the correct second distillation, we first assemble the moonshine still, similarly to the first distillation of the mash.
We put a small jar for moonshine, with divisions through 100 milliliters, since we will initially select the heads.
Be sure to use a thermometer to control the temperature in the cube.

At the initial stage, according to the technology of the second distillation, we select heads, that is, fractions with a boiling point lower than that of alcohol. Therefore, the heating power should be minimal. In order to speed up the process, immediately after turning on the heating, you can set the power to 800 ... 1000 watts, but after the temperature has reached 50 degrees, we switch to a power of 200 ... 400 watts. We achieve that the heads drip about 1 time per second. Such a low selection rate is needed in order to isolate low-boiling fractions without affecting ethyl alcohol.

SECOND DISTILLATION OF MOONSHINE

The end of the second distillation of moonshine is determined by a thermometer. The process must be stopped at a temperature of 98 degrees, thus we cut off the tails. Moreover, in a similar way, we cut off the tails during the first distillation. Thus, during the second distillation of moonshine, we separate the heads and tails.

BRIEF THEORY

The correct second distillation of moonshine allows you to finally select the heads and tails. Hence the more complex technology, compared to first distillation. Heads are light-boiling fractions contained in moonshine after the first distillation and purification. Tailings are high-boiling fractions.
Heads, that is, light-boiling fractions, will be separated at a minimum heating power, that is, at low temperatures. Then we make the selection of the actual moonshine. We simply cut off the tails, focusing on the temperature in the cube.

HEADS AND TAILS IN DISTILLATION

For a complete understanding, let us consider in detail the process of separating heads and tails in the second distillation.
Below is a graph of the dependence of the temperature in the cube on time when the cube is heated. Two control points are highlighted on the graph - CHECKPOINT 1 and CHECKPOINT 2.

CHECKPOINT 1 is the transition point from head selection to body selection.
CHECKPOINT 2 is the cutoff point for the tails.

The initial stage to CHECKPOINT 1 is the selection of heads. Our task is to isolate light-boiling fractions (heads) from a mixture of water, alcohol, low-boiling fractions (heads) and fusel oils. In order to highlight only the heads, it is necessary to achieve a very slight boiling of the liquid in the cube. This means that the heating power should be minimal. In practice, it is necessary to experimentally select such a power that one drop per second drips. To speed up the process, during the initial heating, it is possible to use increased power up to a temperature of 50 ... 70 degrees.
On the graph, in the section of separation of heads, steps are visible. They are not really visible, they are depicted in order to make it clear that several light fractions are removed at this stage.

Precise determination of CONTROL POINT 1 by temperature is difficult, since the mixture of water and alcohol in the cube boils at a temperature of 78 to 100 degrees. The exact temperature value depends on the alcohol/water ratio and other factors. Therefore, CONTROL POINT 1 is determined by the number of selected heads - 50 milliliters of heads per kilogram of sugar (with a temperature of about 90 degrees). This is a very simple method that guarantees stable results. In practice, I take an additional 50 milliliters.

After the heads have been taken away, you can increase the power to 800 ... 1200 watts and take away the body, that is, the actual moonshine. The power is adjustable by visually evaluating the distillation speed - there should be frequent drops.

As the body is distilled, the temperature rises, and when it reaches 98 degrees, that is, CONTROL POINT 2, it is recommended to stop the distillation, that is, cut off the tails. You can drive further, but it makes no sense - the alcohol content in a cube at this temperature is about 3%, that is, almost everything is selected. In addition, at high temperatures, we capture fusel oils.

It must be clearly understood that the second distillation is fractional distillation. The detail is that forcing is carried out in three stages:
The first stage - the selection of goals. The power is minimal (one drop per second), we select until the estimated volume of heads is obtained - 50 milliliters of heads per kilogram of sugar.
The second stage - the selection of the body(actually moonshine). Rated power (frequent drops), selection is carried out up to a temperature of 98 degrees.
The third stage - cutting off the tails. In fact, there is no this stage - we actually turn off the device. But functionally, we cut off the tails.
This is the essence of the second fractional distillation.

Be patient as the process is lengthy. The end of the selection of heads is determined by the calculation - for 1 kilogram of sugar - 50 milliliters of heads. That is, for my case - 4 kilograms of sugar, you need to select 200 milliliters of heads. In practice, I select 250 milliliters.

After the end of the selection of heads, you can add power (for me - 800 watts). It is undesirable to increase the power too much. This can lead to moonshine splashing out of the cube, in addition, it has a bad effect on the taste of the final product. Accordingly, we replace the bank with a large one.

Purification of moonshine after the second distillation is a process that differs in a number of nuances. Not everyone spends after refining, some moonshiners consider multiple distillation to be the best way to filter distillate.

To save time and improve the quality of alcohol, you can clean before re-distilling. It all depends on the desire of the distiller, as well as on the goal that he pursues.

The question of how to clean moonshine arises even before it is sent for recycling. This is necessary in order to improve the quality of the drink, make it taste softer and at the same time rid alcohol of harmful fusel oils.

The second distillation of mash

The second distillation takes place in several stages, this helps to synchronize the actions and at the same time improve the quality of the distillate.

So, the principle of operation:

Before the second distillation, moonshine must be diluted. They do this in order to reduce the strength of the drink, as well as to destroy the molecular bond between fusel oils and alcohol. And also dilution will help to avoid problems with the apparatus: if undiluted alcohol is distilled, it can explode during the distillation process. Moonshine is diluted to 20 degrees, and then proceed to the next stage.
Purification is another step in the processing of alcohol-containing liquids. At home, you can clean the moonshine with potassium permanganate crystals, activated charcoal tablets, or charcoal for lighting barbecues. But the easiest way is to pass a ready-made drink through a carbon water filter. It is enough to pour the distillate into the filter jug 1-3 times to clear it of impurities.

However, you can rid alcohol of impurities using even bread. It has a porous structure, for this reason it absorbs all harmful substances like a sponge.

Cleaning the drink takes place according to various schemes. If potassium permanganate crystals are used to remove impurities, then a solution will have to be prepared. 2 grams of crystals are diluted in warm water (no more than 300 milliliters). Potassium permanganate must be dissolved so that no lumps remain. Then the product is diluted with the prepared solution.

The drink undergoing purification is defended in a dark place, the whole process will take at least 10 hours. Then, when potassium permanganate precipitates, you will have to filter the alcohol using a self-made filter.

You can pass the purified moonshine through a cotton-gauze filter or use flannel. This will help rid the liquid of magnesium permanganate residue.

When the purification is completed, you can proceed to distillation.

Recycling alcohol will help:

Improve the quality of the drink.
Remove all fusel oils, aldehydes and esters from it.
Increase the strength of moonshine to 60-70 degrees.

The first distillation leaves some fusel oils in the alcohol, for this reason it may have an unpleasant odor and taste. Re-processing will improve the quality of the drink, it will help eliminate the fuselage and, despite the fact that the moonshine was diluted before processing, the second distillation will significantly increase the strength of the drink.

During recycling, you will have to carry out a number of manipulations that will help improve the quality of the drink.

The second time we distill moonshine

Before distillation, it is worth preparing alcohol for the procedure, after cleaning it, it is necessary to pour the moonshine into the distillation cube and proceed directly to the process.

When processing alcohol, you will have to separate the “heads” from the “tails” again. Fractionation is necessary as this will greatly improve the quality of the distillate. The "body" will be about 85% of the total distilled product.

The first 8-10% of the total volume of processed alcohol is the so-called pervach. You should not drink it, even despite the fact that pervach was already taken away at the first. This fraction contains a large amount of fusel oils. "Heads" have an unpleasant smell, for this reason, distillers with experience begin to select the "body" when moonshine loses that very sharp aroma.

When the selection of the "body" is completed, it is worth starting to cut off the "tails". This happens when the strength of the drink falls below 40 degrees.

"Heads" can be used exclusively for technical needs. Such a product is hazardous to health, it can be used to clean surfaces. But the "tails" can be poured into the mash - this will help improve its quality, and most importantly, increase the strength of the mash, and hence the distillate several times.

The "tails", as well as the "heads", contain a large amount of fuselage, for this reason you should not drink them. The selection of this fraction continues until the strength of the drink drops to 19-20 degrees.

The re-distillation of the distillate ends with the selection of "tails". After that, moonshine is sent to a dark place, it needs to brew a little.

Why is filtering necessary?

Moonshine is not always purified, some experts believe that reprocessing makes alcohol so pure that it does not need additional filtration procedures. In part, the experts are right, but there is one thing.

One way or another, a certain amount of sivukha remains in the moonshine. Although its strength is great, this figure may not reach for the manufacture of noble drinks.

An example is a rectifier - this device is used to produce raw alcohol at home, the strength of which can reach 96 degrees. Such a product is used for the manufacture of liqueurs and tinctures.

In what cases is it worth cleaning moonshine after re-distillation:

If it is planned in the future to make cognac, brandy, calvados, rum, etc. from the resulting distillate.
If the product will be used for the manufacture of liqueurs and tinctures.

Is it necessary to clean moonshine, which is simply planned to be drunk ready-made? The answer to this question is no, since the quality of the drink is already very high. Additional filtration will improve the characteristics of alcohol, but it will be difficult to notice such minor changes.

What will give one more treatment or the benefits of a haul:

It will help improve the taste of the drink and eliminate the remnants of fuselage.
Ennobles the distillate and allows it to be used for the manufacture of cognac and whiskey.

In order for alcohol to acquire that very pleasant smell, it must be supplemented with aromatic substances. Flavorings will give moonshine a taste and smell; berries and fruits, spices and herbs can be used as such substances. Additives will prepare alcohol for further processing and help turn ordinary moonshine into an elite product.

The easiest way to clean moonshine is to steep it in milk. Pour a glass of milk into a 1.5-liter container with moonshine. It is desirable that the product be unpasteurized.

The container is placed in a dark and cool place and the drink is infused for 7 days. Then the alcohol will have to be filtered. But before cleaning it from lactose residues, you will have to make a filter.

This device does not differ in the complexity of the design; to assemble it, you will need:

plastic bottle with a volume of 1.5 liters with a tight cap that fits the size;
activated charcoal tablets or charcoal for lighting barbecues;
cotton wool and gauze, as well as scissors and an awl.

You will have to make a funnel from the bottle, cutting off the bottom evenly so that there are no notches left. After that, a hole is made in the lid with an awl.

Tablets or coal are crushed, placed in cotton wool and fixed with gauze. Then proceed to filtering. Coal, gauze and cotton should be changed regularly, moonshine will have to be passed through the filter 3 to 5 times.

After the alcohol has been infused with milk, it can be used to make noble drinks such as rum, brandy, cognac and whiskey.

Little tricks

There are several nuances that you should know before you start distilling moonshine. This will dispel doubts, and at the same time understand whether it is necessary to drive the drink through the distiller again.

So, what you need to know moonshiner:

Recycling will take a certain amount of time. To clean alcohol from impurities, you will have to spend from 2 to 3 hours.
Even multiple distillation will not help to get raw alcohol at home. This can be done with a rectifier.
Braga made from dense wort (berries, fruits, etc.) will not be distilled again. Processing will remove the pleasant smell and affect the aroma of the drink.
You can distill 2 times even the alcohol that was expelled a long time ago and has been stored in the cellar or refrigerator for several months.
Due to the fact that you have to select "heads" and "tails" 2 times, the amount of distillate will change. Volumes will decrease by 20%.

Many lovers of homemade mash drinks are experimenting with cleaning, wanting to improve the quality of the product in one way or another. The second distillation is the main way to increase the strength of moonshine, increase its strength.

But cleaning after repeated processing is carried out at the request of the manufacturer or consumer. It cannot be called a mandatory procedure, but re-filtration can be resorted to if it is planned to turn moonshine into cognac or whiskey, and also if the quality of the drink is in doubt.

CLEANING MOONSHINE FROM FUEL OILS

Moonshine after the first distillation, in addition to ethyl alcohol, contains harmful impurities - light fractions (such as acetone) and fusel oils. In addition to harm to the body, they have a very unpleasant odor.
These impurities must be removed, which is the task of subsequent operations.
At this stage, the main purification of moonshine from fusel oils is carried out.

The above method - how to clean moonshine from fusel oils has been repeatedly tested and proved its advantages.

CLEANING MOONSHINE FROM FUEL OILS WITH ACTIVATED CHARCOAL

In the photo - a bottle with stirred oil. You can see how cloudy the liquid is.

Unfortunately, the photo does not show that the result is an almost transparent liquid. Cleaning was done before the second distillation of moonshine.

After that, by the usual "chauffeur" method, we begin to pump the liquid into the lower bottle. Using a clamp, we adjust the flow of liquid so that the funnel is always about half full. Flowing through charcoal, moonshine is cleared of fusel oils and vegetable oil residues.
The end of the process is determined visually when the oil layer approaches the intake end of the hose.

We first pour activated charcoal (crushed or granulated) into the funnel so that it comes out a little from the syringe body.

For complete clarity, below is a sketch of the layout of the purification equipment before the second distillation. With the help of the rigid part of Hose 1 we take the liquid below the oil layer, with the help of the Clamp we regulate the flow of the liquid. The actual cleaning takes place in Funnel 2 using activated carbon. Activated carbon not only absorbs fusel oil from moonshine, it very well collects a suspension of oil that has not risen to the top.

We assemble equipment for the removal of vegetable oil and fusel oils. We use "hose 1", "clamp", "funnel 2" (see the moonshine equipment page).

After stirring, the bottle is left alone for 12 hours. During this time, the solution settles, and the vegetable oil with the captured fusel oils rises to the top. The photo shows a layer of oil at the top of the bottle.

Pay attention to a very important detail - we use only refined corn oil, otherwise the smell of oil in the final product is possible.

STIRING THE OIL

A rather difficult moment is stirring vegetable oil in moonshine. These liquids have different specific gravity, and just do not mix. It is necessary to break the vegetable oil into drops, these drops will capture the fusel oils and then float to the top. If you stir too intensively (for example, with a construction mixer), then too small drops are formed, they do not float. If the agitation is too weak, then few oil droplets are formed, and accordingly they capture little fusel oils.
In order to avoid mistakes, below is a video of this operation. It contains several episodes:
First- pour vegetable oil at the rate of 250 milliliters of oil per 10 liters of diluted moonshine.
Second- be sure to cover the bottle with a plastic bag to prevent splashing.
Third- stir the oil for 60 seconds, then 60 seconds of rest. We do three such approaches - stirring / rest.

CLEANING MOONSHINE WITH OIL

Additionally, fusel oils will be removed during the second distillation by cutting off the tailings, but this is only an additional purification. The main purification of moonshine from fusel oils is carried out at this stage.
At the exit, we should get a product completely odorless. There will be light ends odors (such as acetone), but these will be removed by the second distillation and cleaning after the second distillation.

There are many ways to clean moonshine from fusel oils.

tea
- soda
- milk
- egg white
A very interesting way - freezing.

Probably the most famous way cleaning moonshine with potassium permanganate.
First of all, the simplicity of the method attracts - a certain amount of potassium permanganate is dissolved in moonshine, then, after aging, it is filtered through activated carbon or a water purification cartridge.
Everything is very simple. But the bad thing is that potassium permanganate is an active oxidizing agent, and it interacts not only with fusel oils, but also with ethyl alcohol. As a result, potassium hydroxide, acetaldehyde and other impurities are formed, which must be disposed of.
More details can be found on other sites, but serious, not superficial information is needed.

The next most popular method is purification of moonshine with activated charcoal.
There are a huge number of options for this method - you can crush coal and pour it into moonshine with subsequent exposure, you can filter it through a coal column or a water purification cartridge, and much more. You can read about it on other sites.

The difference of my method is that it is initially carried out cleaning moonshine with vegetable oil, and only then activated carbon.
That is, in fact, there is a double cleaning.
The makeshift funnel used in the method is actually a charcoal column. And activated carbon removes not only fusel oils, but also vegetable oil residues.

In my opinion, such a two-stage cleaning of moonshine with oil and activated carbon is optimal.

First stage- cleaning moonshine with oil.
The use of vegetable oil for cleaning moonshine is based on the fact that the oil that gets into the moonshine captures the fusel oils dissolved in it. In the future, when settling, the oil floats to the top, taking fusel oils with it.
Second phase- purification of moonshine with charcoal.
Oil-purified moonshine is additionally filtered through charcoal. At the same time, charcoal removes fusel oils and vegetable oil residues.

That is, the cleaning is double.
The advantage of this method is that it is not a chemical, but a physical process (unlike potassium permanganate). That is, a minimum amount of side compounds is formed, which have to be dealt with in the future.
And since we want to get a natural product, this is important.
Let's look at how to clean moonshine from fusel oils in more detail.

Moonshine is a favorite drink, which in our time, when there are practically no special prohibitions on making it for personal purposes, is driven by everyone who is not lazy (for some reason, I recalled Gaidai's notorious film "Moonshiners"). But not everyone knows how to overtake moonshine a second time to get a truly magical drink, clean as a tear! And who needs it at all, because pervachok also drinks well?

A few questions

Why distill moonshine a second time? Repeated, more thorough distillation removes many impurities from the home-made drink, and its quality improves significantly. You will spend a couple of hours of extra time on the whole process, and the result will exceed all possible expectations. In addition, you already have everything you need: moonshine, raw materials. And almost all types of intermediate product (pervacha) can be subjected to this execution, regardless of the raw material from which it was created. Re-distillation of moonshine is a rather simple thing, and if you have already learned how to drive the primary product, then it will be easy for you to learn how to make a double distillation drink. You can also ennoble the moonshine that you kicked out earlier without knowing further technology in this way.

A bit of history and theory

Of course, you can make a brew and drink it with great pleasure and success. So, in fact, they did it earlier in Russia - they frolicked. The method of distillation has not yet been massively mastered by the people, so they prepared the mash from everything that came to hand, and then drank it. But after all, according to doctors, drinking mash is often very harmful. It contains acetone, aldehyde, and various other substances, from the use of which even (if a lot) arises. And if you do not abuse it very much, it still turns out to be quite harmful.

We chop the "heads" and "tails"

With the invention and implementation of the mash distillation method, the first moonshine already appears. Braga is transferred to steam and the part that can boil at 78.4 degrees is cooled (this, in fact, is drinking ethyl alcohol). Such a product is called the "body" of moonshine, and there are also "head" and "tail". The first is what comes out of the apparatus from the very beginning. Previously, this faction was considered the most striking on the brain and was very loved by the people. However, if you figure out what this part is? The head is mostly acetone. The fact is that acetone is much lower - 56.2 degrees Celsius. So he comes out of the apparatus first. Of course, such a pervach hits hard on the head, but normal people still don’t drink acetone! The tail, on the contrary, is made up mainly of fusel oils. They have a boiling point higher than that of drinking alcohol - more than 80 degrees. Therefore, these snakes crawl out of the moonshine still last. It is also not recommended to drink this burda, even in the most extreme cases.

Why is it desirable to re-distill?

The one we need is in the middle, and we need to extract it. How to do it? An ordinary thermometer, which the apparatus should be equipped with, helps very well. Then you will probably already know what temperature the liquid comes out, and cut off the “tails” and “heads” in time. But all the same, it is impossible to filigree cut off, for example, the head, all the way to the last. Some particle of acetone will break into the body of the drink, and this is not good. So, for this, distillation of moonshine is needed a second time. To be safe from the presence of acetone and fusel oils in the noble home-made drink (which appeared as a result of incomplete cut-off). So the product itself obtained a second time becomes much cleaner.

Phased distillation of moonshine

So, you have an already expelled body. There is also a moonshine of your choice of design. In principle, nothing else is technically needed, only water. The correct technology for double distillation of moonshine includes several stages. Each of them is undoubtedly important for the production of a good, quality product.

Dilution with water

Before distilling moonshine a second time, you must first dilute it with clean (possibly spring) water at room temperature. The water is cold. It must be added, stirring, up to 40%. This is done mainly for security reasons. Too strong liquid, subjected to distillation, can ignite the moonshine itself. And the strong pasture (first) has a very strong connection with fusel oils. By diluting moonshine with water, we partially destroy these ties. If this is not done, then the distillation of moonshine a second time will not lead to the desired success. So, dilute with water and stir until visible uniformity. And so that the mixture does not become cloudy, it is recommended by moonshiners to pour moonshine into water. If you do the opposite, as a rule, you get a haze.

Additional cleaning

Perhaps you have already cleaned the moonshine that was initially expelled in some way known to you. But do not be too lazy to do it again, for example with manganese. To do this, take three grams of the powder and dilute in a glass of hot water until completely dissolved. The resulting liquid should be poured into diluted moonshine, stir and leave for 15 minutes. After - pour in a large spoonful of soda and salt and stir again. Let's brew again for a couple of hours. At the end, filter the mixture through a filter (can be made from cotton wool and gauze folded in several layers). And already with this liquid we continue further fruitful work.

Distillation

How to overtake moonshine a second time? The process itself is not so complicated for someone who has already used moonshine at least once. There is practically no difference from primary distillation. So, we reduce the fortress to about 20 degrees so that the vapors do not ignite, and we begin the distillation. With the help of a thermometer adapted to the apparatus, we monitor the outlet temperature (see above how to determine harmful parts by their temperature). It is important to separate into fractions what flows into the containers. The first 10 percent is recommended to be cut off at the exit. The next approximately 80% is the very thing, what we need. We collect alcohol until the degree drops to 45 (we measure it with an alcohol meter). The rest is also collected and used for future mash. Thus, the question of how to overtake moonshine a second time will be resolved, and the answer to it will be received. With the help of dual control (alcohol meter and thermometer), it is quite accurate to cut off the unnecessary, getting a really clean drink. A chemical analysis of such moonshine shows that the content of acetone and fusel oils in it is practically reduced to zero. And if you want to drink this homemade vodka with minimal health risk, then you just need to know how to make a double distillation of moonshine. And finally, a few subtleties and tricks from experienced home brewers.

It seems to be a very simple process that does not require special technical training. And they noticed that for some, double moonshine turns out to be tasty, while for others it’s not quite right (or rather, not at all). Probably, you say, it's all about the secret family recipes passed down from generation to generation. Already, they say, I can’t drive out such moonshine, whatever one may say. All this is correct, but not 100%. Of course, there are certain family recipes for the production of the original drink, but there are also small nuances that everyone needs to know in order to improve the quality of their products. Let's try to declassify them a little.

It is noted by all specialists that the quality of water is very important for secondary distillation. The higher it is, the tastier moonshine. Some even use structured, melted, oxygenated or electron-rich water to get the desired result. We have nothing against these ideas. It has been noticed that water from an ordinary tap, for example, and water from a mountain river or spring are two big differences. In addition, structured water (for example, melted water) very well breaks up impurities that have managed to contact alcohol. Therefore, use spring or purified (tasty) water, in no case boiled.
Dilute the primary product with water, before distilling the moonshine a second time, it is necessary to below 20% strength. The ideal would be generally 15, plus the highest quality natural water. Then the double moonshine will turn out very tasty. Water will dissolve impurities that will go into the "head" and "tail", and the "body" of the drink itself will turn out to be crystal and pleasant in taste and smell.
Use all available additional cleaning methods before distilling moonshine a second time. Very good activated charcoal. Everyone knows about its properties in case of poisoning of the human body. It removes harmful substances by binding them. A similar thing happens with moonshine, which contains harmful impurities. But the craftsmen still advise to first dilute, and then clean it further. And this is at least logical: water dissolves impurities, destroying their bonds with alcohol at the molecular level, and coal binds them and removes them from the raw materials prepared for re-distillation.

So use these tips to make a double drink, and your moonshine will certainly please the guests who come to the holiday!

Previously, few people understood why a double distillation of moonshine was needed and why “transfer products”. Moonshine brewing consisted only in the preparation of the mash, which was driven out once and then consumed. The wort was made without the use of special recipes, calculation of proportions, and all products from the garden and vegetable garden were used as ingredients.

Today, everyone knows that it is impossible to use pure mash without primary or secondary distillation of moonshine. The composition of the distillate contains many harmful components, of which the more well-known ones should be distinguished:

aldehyde;
acetone;
methyl and isoamyl alcohol;
acetic and formic acids
fusel oils.

The accumulation of such elements in the human body can lead to fatal consequences.

You can clean the mash by a fairly simple method - double distillation of moonshine at home. This makes it possible to get a strong drink with a clean structure and a high degree at the exit. The main thing here is to figure out how to properly distill the distillate a second time, what water to dilute it with and in what proportions.

Main works in 3 stages

Each experienced distiller has many secrets and tricks that they use when distilling moonshine. Everyone wants to get a quality product. In order for the distillate to please, you need to know the main stages of how to overtake the moonshine a second time.

Dilution of moonshine

Regardless of what technology was used to create a homemade fortified drink, the strength of the moonshine must be brought to 35-40 °. Otherwise, you can get a spoiled moonshine still and "fireworks" in the kitchen. Therefore, before distilling moonshine a second time, it must be diluted with drinking water.

For dilution, use filtered or bottled liquid. But before being diluted, it is cooled by putting it in the refrigerator.

The fractional process of diluting alcohol is carried out by gradually mixing water into the moonshine with a regular check of the strength with an alcohol meter. The most optimal value is 35 °.

Also keep in mind that you need to dilute the distillate with water by adding water to alcohol, but not vice versa. Otherwise, the alcohol may become cloudy due to a chemical reaction.

Cleaning moonshine

Re-distillation of moonshine at home implies a preliminary cleaning of its structure. In this case, several methods are used in which it is applied:

wood charcoal;
Activated carbon;
potassium parchment - potassium permanganate;
filter board, paper.

The last cleaning option before the second distillation of moonshine is considered the simplest. It is enough to place special paper in a funnel, and then pour alcohol through it. The process should be done as slowly as possible, only in this way they achieve the best result.

Also, moonshine before the second distillation can be cleaned with potassium permanganate, but here it is important to take into account the proportions, how much the component is required for a certain volume of drink. Follow the steps in the following sequence:

prepare the right amount of raw materials and potassium permanganate - for 1 liter of alcohol you need 50 ml of drinking water and 2 g. pharmaceutical component;
dilute the potassium permanganate with hot water, wait until the granules are completely dissolved, then dilute the distillate with the contents;
leave the raw material for 10-12 hours, after which a precipitate should form at the bottom;
beforehand, before making the second distillation, strain the raw material through 3-4 layers of gauze or flannel.

This stage allows you to eliminate harmful impurities from alcohol to the maximum, so if you want to get a high-quality and safe product, there should be no doubt whether moonshine needs to be cleaned before the second time.

The second distillation of moonshine

The process of distillation of the distillate for the second time does not differ much from the primary distillation. But in the case of double processing of the raw material, the result will be significantly more than the original product. It should also be noted that the second distillation takes much less time.

The technology does not differ from the first time in any way - the same temperatures, the same order of cutting off heads and tails

Despite the increased purity of moonshine after secondary distillation, experts also recommend dividing the volume into fractions:

heads (10-12% of the total volume);
body;
tails (when the fortress falls below 45 °).

Therefore, in the process of the second stage, you need to take an active part, regularly monitoring the strength of alcohol.

What you need to consider when making moonshine double distillation:

of the total amount of raw 10-12% is given to the heads, which are forbidden to be used as a drink, but they can be used for technical purposes;
be sure to monitor the concentration of alcohol, when the fortress falls below 45 °, you need to change the tank to a container for collecting tailings;
body - 80% of the entire product, the product has a pleasant aroma and is fully usable;

As for the tails, they are used to increase the concentration of alcohol in the finished product, this fraction is returned to the wash after the first distillation and before the second. They can also be used for outdoor use.

Whether to do a second distillation or not is up to the distiller to decide. But experienced moonshiners do not recommend neglecting this method. This is understandable, the output will be a pure product without harmful impurities that adversely affect human health.

VIDEO: How to improve the taste of moonshine

Distillate purification

After the second distillation, an important stage begins - additional purification. The most effective method is filtration through milk. Which one to use - home or store - is not important, and in both cases, milk protein is present in the composition, which reacts with harmful impurities.

For the separation of raw milk, you can even use powdered milk, previously (2-2.5 hours) diluted with water. Next, the mixture is introduced by analogy with ordinary milk.

Prepare the necessary ingredients. In our case, you need 250 ml of milk per 1.5 liters of fortified drink. As soon as you begin to inject, the reaction will be immediately noticeable - albumin and casein, which are part of the protein, begin to bind the molecules of fuselage and acids, forming a flocculent precipitate.
Pour the product into the moonshine and leave to infuse for 7 days in a dark place. The first 5 of them daily shake the jar strongly, in the last day do not touch it at all, so that the sediment thickens.
A week later, the distillate is carefully drained from the sediment, passed through a gauze and cotton-charcoal filter, after which the product is ready for distillation.

Cleaning with milk is considered the most gentle and at the same time effective method in which the "soul" of the drink is preserved and the taste remains mild.

After the moonshiner determines whether a second distillation is needed for his product and carries out all of the above procedures, he can further ennoble his product. For this purpose, recipes for infusing moonshine on herbs, spices, fruits, and berries are used. From such a product you can get cognac, absinthe, rum, medicinal tincture or real homemade whiskey.

If the distillate is prepared on a fruit brew, it is recommended to use only carbon filters (coal column) between distillation and at the end without chemical intervention (milk, soda, potassium permanganate, etc.).

VIDEO: How to work with milk correctly

The third entry - benefit or harm?

Making homemade alcohol should be treated without excessive enthusiasm. The only way the third distillation of moonshine can affect the product is to reduce its volume. At the same time, if wine alcohol is prepared from grape chacha, then, on the contrary, the third distillation is necessary. It is commonly used to make brandy and cognac.

If there is a goal to make even better moonshine, then it is better to purchase a moonshine still with a distillation column. This unit will serve as the best assistant in the task of more accurate separation of the body, heads and tails. And at the output you get pure rectified alcohol with a strength of 85-90 °.