Moonshine is a favorite drink, which in our time, when there are practically no special prohibitions on making it for personal purposes, is consumed by everyone (for some reason I remembered Gaidai’s well-known film “Moonshiners”). But not everyone knows how to distill moonshine a second time to make it truly magic drink, pure as a tear! And who needs it anyway, since the first drink is also good to drink?

A few questions

Why distill moonshine a second time? Repeated, more thorough distillation removes many foreign impurities from the homemade 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: a moonshine still, raw materials. And almost all types of intermediate product (pervacha), regardless of the raw material from which it was created, can be subjected to this execution. Re-distilling moonshine is a fairly simple thing, and if you have already learned how to distill the primary product, then it will be easy for you to learn how to make a double-distilled drink. You can also refine moonshine in this way, which you distilled earlier without knowing further technology.

A little history and theory

Of course, you can make a brew and drink it with great pleasure and success. This is, in fact, what they did before in Rus' - they drank. The distillation method had not yet been widely adopted by the people, so they prepared the mash from everything they could get their hands on, and then drank it. But, according to doctors, drinking mash is often very harmful. It contains acetone, aldehyde, and other various substances, the use of which can cause problems even (if a lot). And if you don’t overuse it too much, it’s still quite harmful.

Cutting off the "heads" and "tails"

With the invention and implementation of the mash distillation method, the first moonshine appeared. The mash 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 is also a “head” and a “tail”. The first is what comes out of the device from the very beginning. Previously, this faction was considered the most brain-damaging and was very popular among the people. However, if you look at it, what is this part? The head consists of acetone for the most part. The fact is that acetone has a much lower temperature - 56.2 degrees Celsius. So he comes out of the device first. Of course, such a first aid hits you hard on the head, but normal people still don’t drink acetone! The tail, on the contrary, consists mainly of fusel oils. They have a higher boiling point than drinking alcohol- more than 80 degrees. That's why these snakes come out moonshine still V last resort. It is also not recommended to drink this drink, even in the most extreme cases.

Why is it advisable 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 should be equipped with the device, helps very well. Then you will probably already know what temperature the liquid comes out of, and cut off the “tails” and “heads” in time. But it is still impossible to delicately cut off, for example, the entire head, down to the last. Some particle of acetone will break into the body of the drink, and this is not good. So, this is why you need to distill the moonshine a second time. To be safe from the presence of acetone and fusel oils(appeared as a result of incomplete clipping). So the product itself becomes much purer the second time.

Stage-by-stage distillation of moonshine

So, you have a body already kicked out. There is also a moonshine still of the design you choose. In principle, nothing else is technically needed, just water. The right technology 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 for the second time, you first need to dilute it with clean (or spring) water room temperature. The water is cool. It must be added, stirring, up to 40%. This is done mainly for security reasons. Too strong a liquid undergoing distillation can lead to a fire in the moonshine still itself. And the strong pasture (the first) has a very strong connection with fusel oils. By diluting moonshine with water, we partially destroy these connections. If this is not done, then distilling moonshine a second time will not lead to the desired success. So, dilute with water and stir until visible homogeneity. To prevent the mixture from becoming cloudy, it is recommended by moonshiners to pour moonshine into water. If you do the opposite, as a rule, the result is muddy.

Additional cleaning

Perhaps you have already purified the distilled primary moonshine in some way known to you. But don’t be lazy to do it again, for example with manganese. To do this, take three grams of powder and dilute it in a glass. hot water until completely dissolved. The resulting liquid must be poured into diluted moonshine, stir and leave for 15 minutes. After that, add a large spoonful of baking soda and salt and stir again. Let it brew again for a couple of hours. When finished, filter the mixture through a filter (can be made from cotton wool and gauze folded in several layers). And with this liquid we continue further fruitful work.

Distillation

How to distill moonshine a second time? The process itself is not that difficult for someone who has already used a moonshine still at least once. There is practically no difference from primary distillation. So, we reduce the strength to about 20 degrees so that the vapors do not ignite, and we begin distillation. Using a thermometer adapted to the device, we monitor the outlet temperature (see above how to identify harmful parts by their temperature). It is important to separate into fractions what flows into containers. It is recommended to cut off the first 10 percent at the output. The next approximately 80% is what we need. We collect alcohol until the degree drops to 45 (measured with an alcohol meter). We also collect the remaining part and use it for future mash. Thus, the question of how to distill moonshine for the second time will be resolved, and the answer to it will be received. With the help of dual control (with an alcohol meter and a thermometer), it is possible to accurately cut off what is unnecessary, resulting in a truly clean drink. 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 risk to health, then you just need to know how to double distill the moonshine. And finally, a few subtleties and tricks from experienced moonshine masters.

It seems to be a completely simple process that does not require special technical training. And we noticed that some double moonshine It turns out delicious, but for others it’s not quite right (or rather, not quite right). Probably, you will say, it's all about secrets. family recipes passed down from generation to generation. I’m sure I won’t be able to distill this kind of moonshine, no matter how you look at it. All this is correct, but not 100%. Of course, there are also certain family production recipes. original drink, but there are also small nuances that everyone needs to know to improve the quality of their products. Let's try to declassify them a little.

It has been noted by all specialists that the quality of water is very important for secondary distillation. The higher it is, the tastier the moonshine. Some even use structured, melted water saturated with oxygen or electrons to achieve the desired result. We have nothing against these ideas. It has been noticed that water from a regular tap, for example, and water from a mountain river or spring are two big differences. In addition, structured water (for example, melt water) very well breaks down impurities that have managed to contact alcohol. Therefore, use spring or purified (tasty) water, never boiled.
Dilute the primary product with water before distilling the moonshine a second time, to a strength below 20%. Ideally, 15 would be ideal, plus natural water of the highest quality. Then 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 be crystalline and pleasant to taste and smell.
Use everything available methods additional cleaning before distilling the moonshine a second time. Activated carbon is also very good. 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 craftsmen still advise diluting it first, and then further purifying it. And this is at least logical: water dissolves impurities, breaking 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 delight the guests who come to the party!

In building homemade alcohol all stages are very important. But it is the distillation of moonshine at home that requires the maximum attention of the creator, almost continuous observation. It’s not easy to get a really high-quality product at home, and this requires first paying attention to what is required to create moonshine, how to get the first brew, and on its basis a high-quality distillate.

What is the transfer procedure and how to prepare for it?

Before proceeding to the practical side of the procedure, you should master a little theory. So, distilling moonshine involves the process of heating the mash, during which the evaporation of various substances contained in it, including alcohol, occurs. All these substances have different temperature boiling, causing each of them to be “activated” for the evaporation process at different times. It is on this principle that distillation is based, which explains the strict requirement to control the temperature of moonshine distillation.

Water will begin to evaporate when the temperature reaches 100°C, and alcohol at +78.4°C. A considerable number of harmful components of the mash begin to boil when the temperature exceeds 100°C. Thus, when the cube is overheated, you can get moonshine enriched with fusel and other impurities, and if the amount of water is reduced, the strength of the resulting product also drops sharply. Therefore in mandatory Distillation of moonshine should be carried out under certain temperature conditions- within 78.4–98.5°C.

Before proceeding directly to the process of distilling the mash, you need to make sure whether it has had time to ferment.

At this stage, a hydrometer will help, which should be immersed in the mash. The sugar content should not exceed 1.002, and better - 0.99. If sugar is more than 1%, better mass leave to ferment, adding more yeast. Otherwise, less moonshine will come out, the distillation of which will not give the maximum result. If the indicators are all normal, then the product should be clarified, wait until the sediment settles, drain, then strain.

Now you need to pour the mash into the distillation cube. What pressure should be maintained at this stage? It is necessary to fill up to 2/3 of the available volume so that during distillation there is no excess pressure in the moonshine still and the release of the mash mixture into the tube through which the alcohol vapor will be discharged.

At the same time, it is important to gain access to regulating the temperature of the refrigerator in order to fully obtain moonshine after the first distillation with the least amount of harmful impurities.

Instructions for distilling the first

To carry out the process of primary distillation of moonshine, you will need a distillation cube, which has a steam chamber, a coil for concentrating alcohol vapor, and a thermometer. All these elements must be involved in the process, otherwise esters and aldehydes will get into the distilled product.

When the mash is infused, it should be poured into a distillation cube so that the sediment from the bottom of the container does not rise to the surface. To do this, you will need to apply the law of communicating vessels and a nylon tube. With their help, it will be possible to drain the mash without raising the sediment due to the remaining liquid of about 1 cm.

Afterwards, the distillation process requires heating the cube, and the temperature should be kept at 65–70°C. You will still need to wait until approximately 5% of the total mass of the future product separates. The specific smell of the escaping liquid will help you understand when this happens. In this way, we get rid of aldehydes, ether and methanol, which, in comparison with ethylene, boil under such temperature conditions. The rectification performed will make it possible to obtain 5% of the product, which can only be used for technical purposes.

Now the temperature can be increased to 85°C, which will facilitate the distillation of moonshine itself due to the active evaporation of ethanol. It is worth emphasizing that at this temperature, water and fusel oils, which have a higher boiling point, will not actively evaporate.

If the distillation of moonshine will be repeated or the apparatus has a steam chamber, it is recommended to increase the temperature to 95°C, which will significantly increase the distillation speed. The remaining product is often used for repeated runs by adding them to the mash.

To check what strength moonshine has after distillation, you should use a regular household alcohol meter. Also suitable for these purposes folk method, which consists of setting the resulting product on fire. The appearance of an even blue flame will indicate a moonshine strength of more than 40°C.

If the process shows only flashes without combustion, the selection process can be completed by starting to separate the remaining product (the so-called tails). As a result of the first distillation, the product should have a strength of 50–55°C. Is it possible to drink moonshine after the first distillation? It’s not that it’s forbidden to consume it, it’s just that the first one is too strong and not particularly pleasant to the taste, which is why it is recommended to distill the moonshine again at least in order to reach a strength of 40°C.

What does re-distilling a product do?

Double distillation of the product with proper organization allows you to get moonshine with excellent taste qualities, and you can use it without the risk of getting it in the morning hangover syndrome. Thanks to purification, the fractional method and the dry steamer, it is possible to eliminate fusel oils and aldehydes remaining after the first distillation. Thus, the question why moonshine is distilled twice can be answered as follows:

allows you to improve the taste of the product;
improves smell;
reduces harm to health;
The secondary distillation product can be used to create various drinks.

In addition, there are situations that require moonshine to be distilled a second time. These include:

use of mash based on fruits and berries;
cleaning process using sodium hydroxide, soda and other chemical compounds;
so as not to get rid of the first product, as it may become cloudy, acquire a pungent odor or not have a pleasant taste at all.

Thus, if you spend a little time and repeat the process of distilling moonshine a second time, you can get a high-quality distillate that you will enjoy drinking yourself and will not be ashamed to treat to guests.

Since secondary distillation is an almost necessary process, you need to know how to do it correctly at home. The technology for cooking the product of both the first and second cycles is based on different boiling point parameters for the chemicals that are included in the composition, and dividing them into fractions to separate them from each other. To distill pervak, you need to use only its central fraction. The so-called body contains significantly fewer impurities that are difficult to remove. It happens that for secondary distillation a third fraction is used - “tails”, but in order to obtain a product that is good in all respects, the “body” is still recommended for these purposes.

Secondary distillation technology

Before you begin re-distilling moonshine, it must first be prepared. Initially, you need to dilute the fractions with water to a suitable strength:

“body” - up to 20°C;
“tails” - up to 10°C.

Achieving the required strength will make the process of pre-purification and distillation more efficient. After all, a high degree complicates the process of separating harmful impurities. In this case, heating a strong mixture can lead to its ignition.

Regardless of how many times the product is distilled, you should always use high-quality water for such procedures:

the best option is spring or melt water;
from the tap, but if it has settled;
temperatures within 10–20°C;

Very often, moonshine becomes cloudy if unboiled and unpurified water is used for distillation. You can also avoid cloudiness if you pour moonshine into a container of water, no matter how you dilute the drink.

Before re-distillation moonshine requires thorough cleaning, using nutritional supplements and chemical compounds. The best and in a simple way removing impurities is charcoal, and the charcoal that is suitable is not for barbecuing, but made with your own hands.

How to distill moonshine again and what rules should be followed is described below in the form of heating stages. In general, the procedure resembles the primary distillation. So, the procedure involves actions in the following sequence:

Initially, the cube with raw materials should be heated to 60°C.
After reaching the desired temperature, the heat must be reduced and the cube brought to 85°C.
Now you need to drain the “head” - the primary fraction. This is approximately 45–50 ml for every liter of pure alcohol or 5% of a diluted drink.
Then it is necessary to reach a temperature of 96°C.
We select the middle fraction - the “body”. This fraction ends when the strength of moonshine begins to exceed 40°C.
The process should be completed at high temperature, reaching almost 100°C. At the end, “tails” will come out, which can later be purified and re-distilled required amount times to achieve the desired taste.

The speed of distillation the second time is no different, only in in this case Fewer raw materials are used.

Even before the first distillation, the mash needs to be properly prepare. The processes described below have a positive effect on the quality of the final product, so they should not be neglected.

Degassing

When the fermentation process is completed, there remains in the mash some carbon dioxide. During distillation, additional pressure may arise, which will lead to spitting out of the mash along with the distillate. This may cause the drink to become cloudy.

In addition, many harmful compounds from the initial fraction will enter the distillate. Therefore, before distillation you should get rid of carbon dioxide.

If you simply leave the fermentation tank open, the mash may turn sour, because oxygen will get in. This will lead to a deterioration in quality and a decrease in the yield of moonshine.

There are several proven methods of degassing:

Mechanical. This method involves intensive stirring of the mash for several minutes. The easiest way to do this is with a drill with a special attachment for building mixtures.
Temperature. You need to pour the mash into a metal container and quickly heat it to a temperature of 50º. When heated, gas bubbles will rise to form foam. When the foam disappears, the process must be completed.

Important! Before degassing, be sure to drain the mash from the sediment. Using a tube, you need to pour it into another container. This must be done regardless of the degassing method.

Lightening

This is one of the most effective methods for cleaning wort. After degassing it is added bentonite, which, as it settles, makes the mash more transparent.

Along with bentonite, many harmful compounds settle at the bottom, which adversely affect the smell and taste of moonshine.

Bentonite is powdered white clay. Sold in pharmacies as cosmetic product skin care. The powder is used to make face masks.

You can use bentonite-based cat litter.

It is worth choosing a filler without adding any kind of dyes or flavors. First you need to grind the filler granules to a powder state.

White clay powder is added at the rate 1 tablespoon per 10 liters of mash. Before adding bentonite, it must be thoroughly mixed in 0.5 liters of water.

After adding, the fermentation container is tightly closed and left to settle for a day. If after 24 hours the mash has not cleared, it is recommended to heat it to a temperature of 50º, then stand it again. When the composition becomes transparent, you need to carefully drain it from the sediment using a hose. Then pass through a paper filter. After this, you can begin distillation.

Mash temperature

Even if all the rules and purification of the wort have been followed, moonshine can be spoiled by violating temperature regime distillation.

Braga consists from water, alcohol and other compounds. The boiling point of water is 100º. Ethyl alcohol boils at 78.3º. It turns out that the mash will boil in the temperature range from 73º to 100ºС. The useful part is selected at 78-83º.

In addition to alcohol and water, the composition contains various impurities, etc. They begin to evaporate at 65º. At this temperature, the selection of the first fraction begins. It consists of compounds not intended for internal consumption. This faction is worth select until the temperature reaches 78º. After which the selection of raw alcohol begins.

When the temperature rises above 83º, we need to stop selecting the main part. Next comes the final fraction, which, like the first, contains many harmful compounds. It is collected in a separate container and can be used in subsequent distillations of the mash.

Temperature conditions in moonshine brewing are very important. But what if, including with, is not equipped with a thermometer? There are methods in which the need to use this measuring device practically disappears. However, it should maintain the required mash distillation temperature.

How to properly remove moonshine from mash: first distillation

On the issue of the first distillation, moonshiners are divided into two camps. Some believe that during the first distillation the resulting alcohol it makes no sense to split into factions. Others, on the contrary, advise separate the beginning and end parts from the main part. Let's look at both methods:

Fast distillation

The mash is quickly brought to a boil. Selection begins immediately, without separating the initial fraction, and continues up to 5º in the stream. In this case, the process proceeds at maximum power.

note. The strength should be measured in a small container (preferably in a glass test tube) with a special device - alcohol meter.

When measuring the strength of a distillate, its temperature should not exceed 30ºC, otherwise the readings will be inaccurate.

By faction

With this method, the mash is brought to a temperature of 65º over high heat.

The initial fraction is approximately 10% of the total distillate obtained. She has cutting bad smell and low strength.

It must be removed until the smell disappears completely. The following is the useful part ( body). You can check the strength using the old reliable method.

Take a few drops of distillate into a spoon and set fire to.

If the liquid lights up with a blue flame, this means that the selection of the useful part can begin. When the strength drops below 30º, body selection should be stopped.

Carefully! It must be remembered that alcohol is a flammable liquid. Careless handling can lead to a fire and sometimes an explosion.

Be careful! Do not leave containers with alcohol near fire or hot objects.

How to properly distill mash into moonshine: second distillation

Regardless of the distillation method, after the first distillation it is necessary dilute the resulting alcohol is up to 20-30º and thoroughly filter.

Filtration

Best used for cleansing coal. Activated carbon tablets are usually used, but charcoal is also suitable if it does not contain additional impurities.

To make a filter, just cut off top part bottles with a neck, place a cotton pad in the neck and pour in charcoal.

Household filters are ideal for distillate filtration. carbon filter for water purification. It does not require additional manipulations and is easy to use.

Another effective assistant when cleaning moonshine is baking soda. For 3 liters of diluted distillate with a strength of 25º, one teaspoon of soda is enough. The solution is thoroughly mixed and then left for a day.

The mixture is then carefully drained. The bulk of the soda should remain at the bottom. The distillate is then passed through a paper filter and sent for a second distillation.

Second distillation

During secondary distillation, crushing into fractions is mandatory procedure. The process is almost no different from the above. The only thing that distinguishes the second distillation from the first is strength in the stream, at which it is necessary to stop selecting the useful part. The selection of the main fraction during the second distillation should be stopped when the strength drops below 40º.

Purification after distillation

Here the opinions of manufacturers also differ. Many moonshiners believe that it is not advisable to clean the moonshine after the second distillation. It is enough to carefully separate harmful fractions from useful ones.

The fact is that at a high strength, fusel oils and other harmful impurities are separated quite problematically, and the distillate can be diluted at the final stage no lower than 40º.

But there are also supporters of repeated cleaning. In this case, it is recommended to use cleaning methods that do not affect the color and transparency of the drink.

Instead of cleaning at this stage, it is more advisable to use endurance. But before this, it is necessary to properly dilute the distillate with water.

Dilution with water

The optimal strength of moonshine is 40-45º. After distillation, its strength is more than 70º. Drinking such a drink is not very pleasant; it needs to be diluted. For this they usually use household alcohol meter.

When diluting alcohol, it is better to follow a special Fertman table. It helps determine required quantity water for precise dilution of alcohol.

In addition, it is worth mentioning water quality. It is best to dilute alcohol with distilled water. It is neutral and does not have any effect on the taste. You can also use spring or well water. If it is not possible to obtain such water, then it is permissible to use settled and boiled tap water.

Application of heads and tails

As already mentioned, tails and heads contain many compounds harmful to human health. Ingesting them is very dangerous. However, they can be used on the farm.

Tails are often used for preparing various types of infusions for rubbing. They can also be added to the mash during the next distillation. This slightly increases the volume of alcohol produced.

However, there are moonshiners who advise not to use tails when distilling. They believe that with the constant use of final fractions, moonshine gets a large number of fusel oils.

Heads apply for technical purposes only, for example for removing stains or as a solvent. The initial fractions are also good for lighting fires.

Useful videos

Proper distillation of mash into moonshine, video in two parts:

The process of distilling mash, selecting fractions, look:

First distillation, answers to questions:

Technology of the second distillation into moonshine, answers to questions about moonshine:

This article examined the main features of the production of homemade alcohol. If you apply all the above rules and tips, the quality of moonshine will always be at its best.

But it is important to remember that excessive drinking, even if it is the most best quality, negatively affects health. Therefore, you should drink in moderation.

Repeated distillation of moonshine, subject to the correct technique, removes foreign impurities, improving quality. The final product is popularly called “double moonshine.” You will have to spend 2-3 hours more time, but in the end you will get a crystal clear, soft, odorless distillate.

Any moonshine can be re-distilled, regardless of the raw material. The mash recipe and the selected distillation technology (moonshine still) do not change. You can even refine a drink that was kicked out much earlier.

Technology for producing double moonshine

1. Dilution with water. Before double distillation, the strength is measured, the amount of pure alcohol is determined, for example, 1 liter of 40% contains 400 ml of pure alcohol (this is necessary for selecting fractions at the third stage), then the moonshine is diluted with cool water to 20%. Distilling a stronger liquid is dangerous, since a high concentration of alcohol vapor can lead to a fire in the moonshine still. In addition, strong moonshine has a very strong molecular bond with fusel oils, as a result of which repeated distillation will not give the expected effect.

2. Cleaning. Sugar and cereal moonshine (in some cases) are additionally purified with coal, potassium permanganate or another method. Fruit distillates are usually not purified so that the light aroma of the raw materials remains.

If potassium permanganate is selected, then three liter jar moonshine 40%, dilute 3 grams of powder in 300 ml of hot water, pour the resulting solution into the moonshine, mix well and let it brew for 15-20 minutes. Then add a tablespoon of salt and baking soda. After 2 hours, strain the mixture through a cotton-gauze filter.

3. Distillation. It is practically no different from the first distillation, but it is very important to divide the output into fractions: “heads”, “tails” and “body”. The first 8-12% of the yield from the amount of pure alcohol (determined at the first stage) cannot be drunk, this is a harmful fraction called “heads”, it has an unpleasant odor.

The next 80% is double moonshine, which is what we need. It is collected until the strength in the stream drops to 45-40%. The last fraction - “tails”, can be used to increase the strength of the next mash, drive to distillation column(there will be pure alcohol) or just pour it out.

Fractions after distillation

After the second distillation, 60-70% moonshine is obtained, which does not require additional purification. All that remains is to dilute it to a strength convenient for drinking (40-45%).

CLEANING MOONHOON FROM FUSHEL 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 being harmful 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 tested many times and has proven its advantages.

CLEANING MOONHOON FROM FUSHEL OILS USING ACTIVATED CHARCOAL

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

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

After this, using the usual “driver’s” 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 approximately half filled. Flowing through charcoal, moonshine is cleared of fusel oils and residues. vegetable oil.
The end of the process is determined visually when the oil layer approaches the intake end of the hose.

First add activated charcoal (crushed or granulated) into the funnel so that it comes out slightly from the syringe body.

For complete clarity, below is a sketch of the placement of the cleaning equipment before the second distillation. Using the rigid part of Hose 1, we take the liquid below the oil layer; using the Clamp, we regulate the flow of liquid. The actual cleaning takes place in Funnel 2 using activated carbon. Activated carbon not only absorbs fusel oil from moonshine, it is very good at collecting suspended oil that has not risen to the top.

We assemble equipment for removing vegetable oil and fusel oils. We use “hose 1”, “clamp”, “funnel 2” (see page equipment for moonshine).

After stirring, leave the bottle 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.

Please pay attention to a very important detail - we use only refined corn oil, otherwise there may be an oily smell in the final product.

STIRING THE OIL

A rather difficult moment is stirring vegetable oil in moonshine. These liquids have different specific gravities and simply do not mix. You need 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), the droplets that form are too small and do not float up. If the stirring is too weak, then few oil droplets are formed, and accordingly they capture little fusel oils.
To avoid errors, below is a video of this operation. It contains several episodes:
First- pour in vegetable oil at the rate of 250 milliliters of oil per 10 liters of diluted moonshine.
Second- be sure to cover the bottle plastic bag to avoid splashing.
Third- stir the oil for 60 seconds, then rest for 60 seconds. We do three such approaches - stirring / rest.

CLEANING MOONHOON WITH OIL

Additionally, fusel oils will be removed during the second distillation by cutting off the tails, but this is only additional purification. The main purification of moonshine from fusel oils is carried out at this stage.
At the end we should get a product completely without fusel odor. There will be odors from the light fractions (such as acetone), but they will be removed during the second distillation and purification after the second distillation.

There are many ways to clean moonshine from fusel oils.

Tea
- soda
- milk
- egg white
Very interesting way- freezing.

Probably the most famous way is cleaning moonshine with potassium permanganate.
What is attractive first of all is the simplicity of the method - a certain amount of potassium permanganate is dissolved in moonshine, then, after aging, 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 that must be disposed of.
You can read more in detail on other sites, but you need serious, not superficial information.

The next most popular method is purification of moonshine with activated carbon.
Exists great amount variants of this method - you can crush the coal and add it to moonshine with subsequent aging, you can filter through coal column or a cartridge for water purification and much more. You can read about this on other sites.

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

In my opinion, this two-stage purification of moonshine with oil and activated carbon is optimal.

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

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