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WhiskyScience:Scottishpotstillvariations
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WhiskyScience
BitsofinformationaboutScotchsinglemaltwhisky,itsproduction,historyandchemistry.

Thursday,September24,2015

Scottishpotstillvariations
Scottishwhiskydistilleriesaccommodateavarietyofdifferentpotstills.Volumesvaryfromthe
30963litrewashstillofGlenkinchietothe2179litrespiritstillofEdradour(artisanalsma'stills
excluded)andheightfromacoupleofmetrestothe8mtallGlenmorangiestills.Mostare
roughlyonionshaped,buttherearesignificantdifferencesfromthetearshapedBunnahabhain
andLagavulintotheslenderGlenmorangieandBruichladdichstills.Manystillshaveawide
bottomandaconstrictedneck,whileseveralhaveabulbousboilball(akarefluxball,
Milton/Balvenieballorbulge)inthemiddlesection.Overall,theScotsarequitetraditionalwith
theirstills,butoccasionalpurifiers,stillneckcoolersandavarietyofcondensersarestillused.
Mosthaveconvertedtosteamcoilheating,whilesomestillapplydirectfiretothestills.Inthe
historytherehasbeenagreatervarietyofstills,sadlymoreoftentoavoidtaxationorspeedup
thedistillationthantoimprovethedistillate.Inthe20thcenturytheinfluenceofNorthAmerican
distillingcompaniesbroughtsomeinterestingexperimentswiththerefluxorLomondstills,but
thetraditionalpotstillprevailsinScotland.

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TallGlenmorangiestills(photo:BBC)

Earlydistillingstillswereusuallyquitesmallanddirectfired.Therewasnotmuchofa
commercialdistillinguntilthe17thcentury.From1644thespiritsintheUnitedKingdomwere
taxedbythegallonofproofspiritandthetaxationdidnotreallyaffectthedistillationmethods.
Anyway,mostdistillersdidnotpaythetaxes,asmanydistillerswerejustfarmerssavingthe
surplusgrainforthewinterasaspirit.In1725themalttaxwasraisedinScotlandtotheEnglish
level.Thiscausedriotsanddecreasesinaledrinking,leadingpeopletoconsumeillegalspirits
instead.In1780winewastaxedheavilyandagaintheillegaldistillersgainedcustomers.Ayear
laterallprivatedistillingwasmadeillegal,thoughnottomucheffectintheHighlands.Theuse
ofmostlyillicitstillsaffectedthesizeofthestillsusedfromthe18thcenturyintheHighlands.
Theyshouldbeeasytotransportorhide,soincreasinglysmallerstillswereusedastheExcise
controlbecamestricterinthelate18thcentury.

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Sma'still(decorationatGlenlivet,photobymrtattiehead)

Duetorapidincreaseinillicitdistilling,thecrownallowedtolicenceover20gallon(91litres)
stillsintheHighlandareain1784.Asthisdidnothavemucheffect,thelimitwasraisedto40
gallons(182l)andallspiritexportsfromtheHighlandswereprohibitedtoEnglandin1785.At
thesametimethespiritdutywascalculatedaccordingtothesizeofthestillandthestillswere
assumedtobeusedseventimesaweek.Thisledtotheuseofveryshallow'Millar'panstills
fromthe1790's,especiallyintheLowlands,wheretheExcisesurveillancewaseffectiveat
leasttosomeextent.TheLowlandstillwasclaimedtooperatein3minutes,providing
significanttaxbenefits,butextremelycoarsespirits.Thepanstillwaswideandshallow,usually
justafewinchesinchesdeepandusuallyjustaboutovertheminimumlegalcapacity.
Additionalupwardsexpandingcoilsorpipeswereintroducedintothestilltomaximizethe
evaporationatthebottomandcondensationatthetop.

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Millarshallowstills(Forbes,1948)

Lowlandstillsurewasfast,butofferedminimalreflux,coppercontactandvirtuallynochanceto
cutthespiritcorrectly.SothecoarseLowlandspiritoftenhadtoberectified,ieredistilledor
spicedheavily.Sincethecrowncouldnotcatchmostoftheillegaldistillersandlosthuge
revenuesbecauseofthelegalMillarstills,theydecidedtoprohibitallstillsunder2000gallons
(9092l)in1814.ThiseffectivelystoppedpandistillingintheLowlands,improvingthequality,
butputlegalqualityHighlanddistillingundergrounduntil1823,whentaxationwaseased
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considerably.Infacttheover40gallonsstillswerelegalizedin1816,butthishadnotmuch
effectontheHighlandstillsortheirdesiretogolegal.
Anothermajorimprovementinefficiencywastheuseof
steam,firstdirectlyonthepotorviaasteamjacket,butlater
byindirectheatingbysteamcoils.Directsteamheatingfor
distillationwasfirstimplementedbydyemanufacturersinthe
late18thcenturywithgoodheateconomy.Thefirstdistillery
tousedirectsteamheatingofwashwasEnglishMesly
distilleryin1801.Indirectheatingbysteamjacketwasused
inIrishRosceadistilleryin1818,buttheExciseBoard
rejecteditbecauseofdifficultiesinestimatingthestill
capacity.TheCoffeystillswereheatedbysteam,butthepot
stillsweremostlydirectfireduptothemid20thcentury.It
wasuntil1887GlenmorangiewasthefirstScottishdistillery
tousesteamheating.Auchentoshanhadsteamjacketed
heatersfromearly1900s,butthemajorityofdistilleries
convertedtoindirectsteamaslateasthe195060s.In
continentalEuropeandScandinaviathesteamheating
becamemorewidelyused,especiallyafterSavalle's
inventionofsteamregulatorin1857.

Steamcoilsinsideaspiritstill

Conversiontosteamheating
*previouslyusedsteamjackets
**spiritstillconverted2001

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TherearestillScottishdistilleriesusingdirectfiredstills
Glenfiddich,GlenfarclasandMacallanusedirectfiringfor
bothwashandspiritstills,whileSpringbank,GlenGarioch
andTobermoryusedirectfiredwashstills.Directfiring
providesmoretemperaturefluctuationbothinthestillandthe
contents.Hightemperaturescanleadtoburningandexcess
formationoffurfural(nutty,burnt)orsulphurousandvegetal
notes,especiallyifthereislotsofsediment(deadyeast,
grains)inthewash.Topreventthisburning,directheated
washstillshavebeeninstalledwithrummagers,ierotating
chainstokeepthesolidsmovingatthebottomofthestills.

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Early19thcenturywasthegoldeneraforstillexperiments.Thestillheadswereadjustedin
manywaysthereweresoaptraysandstirrerstominimizefrothing,steamcoatstoenablemore
evendistillationandmostimportantlyseveralmeanstoenhancetherefluxwithboilballs,
coolingcondensers,refridgerators,traysandseriesofboilingchambers,whichprobably
eventuallyledtothebirthofthecontinuousstillsbyAdam,Fournier,Blumenthal,Steinand
Coffey.
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Balveniespiritstillwithaboilball

Acommonwaytoincreaserefluxwastoshapethestillssothattherisingvapourswerecooled
orexposedtolowerpressureandcopper.Thiswaseasilydonebyaddingbulbsorballsinthe
stillhead.TheywereandarestillcommonintheSpeyside.Boilballscouldbeonereasonfor
theperceivedfruityandlight"Speyside"styleofspirit,sincetheyprobablyincreasecopper
contact,refluxandesterformation,whiledecreasingtheheavyoilyandsulphurynotes.

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StillheadcooleratDalmore

Watercoolingofthestillheadwasprobablyfirsttestedinlate18thcentury,thefirstpatentisby
Pontiflexfrom1798,butthefirstScottishdistilleriestocommerciallycooltheirstillheadswere
Hazelburn(1837),Dalmore(1839),(Ben)Nevis(1878),Fettercairn(1890)andLittlemill(1931).
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Theyuseddifferentmethodsforthis,asHazelburnhadbasicallyatubecondenserinstalledat
thetopofthestill,wherethespiritpassedthroughpipes,whichwerecooledbywatercirculating
inthecondenserunit.Dalmoresimplyhadawaterjacketaroundthestillhead.Nevis,an
extensionoftheBenNevisdistillery,probablyusedawaterjacketsimilartotheoneinDalmore,
althoughtherehavebeen(unconfirmed)claimsofaLomondstylecooledplatesystemsinsideof
thestill.LittlemillhadanearlyversionoftheLomondstillcombinedwithwaterjacketcoolers
outsidethestill.

Nevis(Barnard,1887)
Purifiersinthefrontleftrow,stillheadcoolerintheback

Intermediatecondensingvesselsbetweenthestillheadandthewormwereproposedalreadyin
1736byJohnPayne.Thedistilledwashorspiritiscondensedinsideawaterjacketedpurifier
situatedintheswanneckofthestillandtheheavierstuffisreturnedintothepotmakingthe
spiritlighterandhigherinalcohol.Cooledintermediatecondensers(watercooledpurifiers)are
stillusedatGlenGrant,GlenSpeyandStrathmilldistilleries.

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GlenGrantusespurifiersonallstills

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Glenugiepurifier

Uncooledpurifiers(basicallyapipedescendingfromthelynearmbacktothestill)areusedin
Ardbeg,GlenlossieandTalisker.

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Ardbegpurifier(photobywww.coolhunting.com)

Afterthedistillateleavesthestillandthereisnoturningbackviarefluxorpurifier,thespirit
mustbecooled.Thetraditionalcoolingmethodisawormtub,consistingofapipewoundintoa
spiralandimmersedintoacoldwatertub.GermanchemistChristianEhrenfriedWeigelinvented
awormtubinwhichthethecoolingwaterwascirculatedtokeepitcold(theLiebig
condenser).Thetubecondenserwithmultiplestraightcopperpipesinsideacooledshellinstead
ofasinglecoiledoneinatubwasinventedin1825byWilliamGrimble.Theshellandtube
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condenserprovidesmorecoppercontactandismuchmoredurable.AdozenScottishdistilleries
stillusewormtubs.

DisusedwormatAuchentoshan

TheLomondstillisapotstillwithseveralhorizontal(oftenperforated)platesinsidethestill
neck.TheybecamemorepopularintheNorthernAmericaandseveralbourbonandCanadian
whiskydistillerscontinuetouserefluxstills,astheyareoftencalledoverthere.

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LomondstillsatGlenburgie

ThefirstcommercialrefluxstillinScotlandwasinstalledinLittlemilldistilleryintheearly1930s.
AmericanDuncanThomasboughtthedistilleryandapparentlytriedtoproducelightbodied
Lowlandwhiskybytwodistillationswiththerefluxcolumnandwaterjacketedcooleronthe
spiritstill,insteadofthetraditionaltripledistillationpreviouslyusedatthedistillery.Thedouble
distillationwithrefluxcolumnpotstillwasusedatLittlemilluntilitsclosurein1994.Asimilar
experimentationwasconductedinthe1950sbytheCanadiancompanyHiramWalker&Sons.
Theiragendawastoproduceavarietyofdifferentmaltwhiskiesforblendingpurposes.To
increasethecontrolofthedistillationrefluxtheyusedrotatingrectifierplates,whichcouldbe
turnedtoverticalorhorizontalpositionforlessormorereflux.Thefirstsuchstillwasinstalledat
InverlevenmaltdistillerysituatedinsidethegraindistilleryDumbartonin1956.Theresulting
spiritwascalledLomondwhisky,hencethenameLomondstillusedlatertodescribeallthe
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Scottishrefluxstillwhiskies.Theexperimentwassuccessful,andtheCanadianswentonto
installLomondstillsatGlenburgie(toproduceGlencraig),Miltonduff(toproduceMosstowie)and
Scapa.Scapawasdifferentfromtheothers,asitusedaLomondstillinthewashdistillationto
renderthespirit"sweeterandcleaner".

LomondwashstillatScapa

LittlemilldistilleryownerDuncanThomasfoundedtheLochLomonddistilleryin1966withthe
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AmericancompanyBartondistillerstoproduceayetwidervarietyofspirits(7)byalteringthe
settingsoftherectifierplates,butalsothelengthandangleofthelynearmbyapeculiarturning
telescopelynearm.TheseadjustablelynearmswerealsoinstalledinMosstowieandGlencraig
lateron.
TheScaparefluxwashstillexperimentwasdiscontinuedin1971.Theofficialreasonfor
removingtherectifierplateswasthatthetubeandshellcondensersmadethewashstillplates
futile.Thatsoundsoddsincethetubeandshellcondensershadbeenusedforacenturyby
then.TheLomondstillsinMiltonduffandGlenburgieweremothballedin1981,asthesurplusof
whiskyresultedinrationalisationofthebusinessandeventuallyforcedHiramWalkertosellout
alltheirScottishdistilleriesinthemid1980s.Littlemillwasmothballedin1994anddestroyedin
afirein2004.DuncanThomasandBartonssoldLochLomondin1971toaprivatecompany,
whichkeepstherefluxstilldistillingaliveinScotland.

AhybridHolsteinstillfromGermany
Copperpotstillwitharectificationcolumnandadephlegmator(coolinghead)andasteelcondenser
REFERENCESANDFURTHERREADING:
BarnardA.ThewhiskydistilleriesoftheUnitedKingdom.Birlinltd1887
Forbes,RJ.Shorthistoryoftheartofdistillation.Brill1948
HumeJR,MossMS.TheMakingofScotchWhisky

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WhiskyScience:Scottishpotstillvariations
MorewoodS.Aphilosophicalandstatisticalhistoryoftheinventionsandcustomsofancientandmodernnationsinthemanufacture
anduseofinebriatingliquors.Longman1838.
Nettleton,W.Themanufactureofspirits.London1893
Reaich,D.Influenceofcopperonmaltwhiskycharacter.InProceedingsof5thAviemoreConferenceonmalting,brewing&distilling.
1998
RondeI.Maltwhiskyyearbook2015.MagDig2014.
RussellI.Whisky.Elsevier2003.
TownsendB.Scotchmissed.Angel'sshare2000.
TownsendB.ThelostdistilleriesofIreland,NeilWilson1997
UdoM.TheScottishwhiskydistilleries.Black&WhitePublishing2006.
Weir,RB.ThehistoryoftheDistillersCompany18771939,OxfordUnivPress1995

LhettnytTeemuStrengellklo24.9.15

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Tunnisteet:distillation,history,sulphur

5comments:
Andrew December8,2015at11:41PM
Thankyouforallofyourhardworkputtingthisblogtogether.I'vereaditforyearsandtreasure
it.Manypeoplewriteaboutwhiskybutyouareoneofthefewactuallysheddinglightonwhata
wondrouslycomplexsubstanceitisandwhy.Forthoseofuswhowisheverybottlecamewith
aGCreadout,thisisthrillingstuff.Pleaseneverstop.I'velearnedmoreherethananywhere
else.
Reply

Archie February2,2016at11:13PM
Greatarticle.DoyouknowwhatdistilleryinScotlandfirstintroducedwatercoolingpurifiers?
Reply

NumeroTelephone March7,2016at3:04PM
Thiscommenthasbeenremovedbyablogadministrator.
Reply

MilesDeighton April9,2016at1:57AM
http://whiskyscience.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/scottishpotstillvariations.html

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WhiskyScience:Scottishpotstillvariations

It'sbeensoquiethere!Areyougoingtopostagain?
I'dreallylovetoseeablogoncuts.IknowMacallankeepsonly1618%ofthefinalheartcut.
Arethereanynumbersforotherdistillers?
Reply

TeemuStrengell

April9,2016at4:09PM

Iamalazydrunkwithadayjob)Workingonapostaboutsherrycasks,though.Ihavesome
infoandspeculationsaboutthecuts,butnothingcomprehensiveworthablogpost,sorry.
Reply

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