Spirits ยท Production
Spirits production: pot still vs column still
Almost every spirit follows the same path. The still you choose changes the flavour.
The basic path
- Raw material: grain, grapes, sugarcane, agave, potato or fruit supplies the sugar or starch.
- Fermentation: yeast turns sugar into alcohol, giving a low-strength liquid.
- Distillation: heating the liquid and collecting the vapour concentrates alcohol and flavour.
- Maturation (some spirits): ageing in wood adds colour and flavour and softens the spirit.
- Blending and bottling: producers combine batches and reduce the strength with water.
Pot stills
- Work in batches: fill, heat, collect, empty, repeat.
- Produce a lower-strength spirit that keeps more flavour compounds, so the result is fuller and more characterful.
- Often distilled twice or more.
- Typical uses: malt whisky, Cognac, many rums and tequilas, and craft spirits.
Column stills
- Work continuously: wash goes in at the top and spirit is drawn off along the column.
- Reach a higher alcohol strength and a lighter, cleaner spirit.
- Typical uses: vodka, grain whisky, and the base spirit for many gins and light rums.
Why it matters
If you remember one idea: the more efficiently a still separates alcohol from everything else, the lighter the spirit. Pot stills leave more flavour in; column stills take more out. Exam questions often ask you to match a still to a style.
Categories to link to production
- Whisky: grain-based, distilled and aged in oak.
- Brandy and Cognac: distilled from wine or fruit; Cognac is distilled twice in pot stills and aged in oak.
- Vodka: distilled to a high strength to be neutral.
- Gin: a neutral spirit flavoured with botanicals, with juniper required to dominate.
- Rum: from sugarcane juice or molasses, with styles from light to rich.
- Tequila: distilled from blue Weber agave, with 100% agave versions the premium tier.
Note: this is a general study guide written in our own words, not WSET's syllabus. For what is examined, always check WSET's published specification and your course provider.
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