The art and science of distillation is steeped in an often arcane, byzantine history filled with alchemists, doctors, and more than a few quacks. Secrets were common—and they often still are, as distillers tend to hold successful, carefully developed techniques close to the vest.
So, it’s no surprise that I often run into new distillers who seem utterly stressed about learning the whole enterprise. Compared to our brewing and winemaking counterparts, distillers have relatively little access to educational resources to help them actually learn and hone their chosen craft. The past decade has seen plenty of industry folks step up to the teacher’s blackboard to help, but I’d argue that we’re still behind our sister industries.
One topic that new distillers repeatedly bring up in my lectures and workshops is the method for making “cuts.” These days, it’s common for even casual consumers to hear about a distiller working with the “heads, hearts, and tails.” While they may not wholly understand those terms, many consumers at least have an idea—thanks to the rapid rise of distillery tourism—of what those various liquid fractions are. “Heads are bad.” “Hearts are the good stuff.” “Tails get redistilled.” … You know the drill.
However, for the new distiller who actually needs make the call on these things, it gets trickier—and that’s when the heart palpitations set in. How do you decide when to make a cut from heads to hearts? Aren’t the heads dangerous? What about the tails? Distiller’s use their noses to do all this stuff, right? How can I possibly learn to smell what someone else smells? Am I going to risk killing my customers and making spirit so bad that my whole company and its employees are driven to bankruptcy?!
Take a deep breath. Calm down. Go to your happy place and have a cookie while you’re at it. I can assure you that none of this is really all that difficult.