I stumbled upon the vault channel about 4 years ago. In those 4 years Daniel you have slowly changed me from someone who did shots, to a guys who sips his whiskey out a tulip shaped glass.
I’m thrilled that the Bimini’s are gone but hey we all have preferences! You can still watch them with Rex. For me. Love it that they are gone! The higher intellectual content and amazing stories to learn from are amazing!!
Alright. This will be a long one. I waited for this video about 2 and a half years. I joined WT patreon of hopes of educational stuff about whiskey and the stories about it and I left it because I thinked it couldn’t deliver. It took me all this time just to realize I was just searching in wrong place, because it wasn’t WT topic. It’s like searching for advice for sewing in fashion shop, it just isn’t the right place and don’t blame the place for that. Am in the right place know though.
These videos you are doing now, with the change in format, are very though provoking. Especially since your recent vid on basically finding y our niche and focus on in. I've been floundering for a very long time. I thought I knew what I wanted to pursue (beyond music, as that is another story), but as a 50 yr old dude, floundering with no direction is not good, at least in my eyes. I find myself watching your vids specifically as they keep sparking inspiration. I hope you keep doing what you do. It is definitely a pleasure and learning experience to listen to you speak on these subjects you are inspired to speak on. ROCK ON!!
Love, Love, LOVE Whiskey Nerd talk with Daniel and all my whiskey family. Sure I miss Rex and the loving friendship you have but this hits differently in a most welcome way. Cheers everyone!
Evolution is just a force, sometimes good, sometimes, well. But I'm glad you have taken it on to guide us on a new path. The philosopher John Hodgman has often said that nostalgia is a poison, an addiction we cling too even when it makes everything around us feel less vibrant and steals our joy. Thanks for putting the effort in to lead us down a new road.
I never tried this because I assumed it was like every other rye. However, after watching this video, I have a greater understanding of the difference. I grabbed a bottle of Johnnie Walker rye and actually like it a lot. Thanks for the great information.
You have a way of explaining things that is the easiest to understand. Kudos! Some people just like to shut up and drink their favorite libation. Others like to study it, examine it, and then nose it and taste it. There is no right or wrong between the two. You (and I) certainly enjoy the latter.
I thought that humming sound was your heart beating in full nerd mode. :-) Thanks Daniel for another educational and fun video on the world of whisky. PS. Bought the book Proof and really enjoyed it. Cheers.
Love all the information about the stills and the distinctions between the different types of whiskey Grain vs Malt etc. I have not ventured into any Scotch or Irish yet. Bourbon, Rye, American Single Malt, Wheat Whiskey, Corn Whiskey all those I haven’t found one I didn’t like yet.
Mother Earth Carolina Rye from Kinston, NC. will be my mantra until we all experience it. I have twice toured Catocktin Creek (famous maker's of award winning rye) here in Virginia. I like the 92 proof a lot. But,...Mother Earth's has SO much more BIGness to the nose & palate notes with a unique and distinct flavor that keeps me coming back (and buying more bottles from NC!).
7:06 totally agree. “I like it but I don’t understand it.” I’ve seen it marked down to 20 doll hairs and it has a place there at the low price point. Just like having different whiskeys on my bar.
Amazing! Thank you so much Daniel! I've been enjoying the opportunity to learn so much from these videos! I wish you health and continued success. Cheers from Wesley of Canada.....and yes Canadian Whiskey isn't great.....except for 'Lot40' and 'Bearface.'
I picked up a bottle of this a few weeks ago. I saw it on the shelf from a distance and thought "sweet! Johnnie Walker Green!" for I live in the sticks of NW Wisconsin and I'm lucky if I see Johnnie Walker Black. I picked it up anyway because I never heard of High Rye (again, live in the sticks). I have to say I really like this stuff. The finish is very much a black pepper to me. I think this would be a good one to keep on hand for when you introduce friends to Scotch for a "now try this" moment and throw them a curveball.
I bought a bottle of this a year ago because I am a JW Black fan as well as like rye whiskey. I drink JW Black regularly, so my expectations were that it would be familiar. Whoa, what a surprise! Your reaction and tasting notes were right on with my reaction. The Michael Jordan analogy made sense to my memory of tasting it. I am going to pull the bottle out and give it another try. Cheers Daniel! Love the new videos!
I’m not a JW fan but I do love delicious single malts and good Rye! For me this works well! I tend to use JW Black as a mixer spirit. I buy scotch to sip. Still I liked this expression. I didn’t think I would! Cheers!
1:28 We're Americans in the United States, so let's use American language - it's (distillers) beer. 🙂 I had thought that under Scottish law grain whisky was whisky from any grain except barley. I take it that's a misapprehension? Thanks for explaining how column stills work. I finally got the basic principle through my head a while back, but this is by far the simplest, clearest description I've come across.
the conversion rate goes down on getting the fermentations running. Meaning it's possible if you add enzymes to jumpstart fermentation, but definitely changes the flavor.
I wish I could find more single grain near me. I recently bought a bottle of Teeling single grain and am really enjoying it but there aren’t many other brands around at that price point
I am going to get this high rye not a blended drinker unless on vacation it’s cheaper at the bars in Mexico. But I have friends that only drink blended scotch so I think this will be a new taste for them.
Kudos Daniel, another fine episode! I think I've finally moved on from the old format to this one. I'm finding the deep dives really interesting and I am looking forward to the guest sommelier's stories that you eluded to a while back. One question if you have time: is distiller's beer the liquid that is produced from the mixture of grain, water, and yeast?
I tried this at a tasting at my local whiskey bar, and I liked it the most of all the Johnnie Walker's we had, and not because of price. But, I'm a bit more of a rye guy.
Something I've wondered about continuous stills: You feed the wash in, but what happens with the build up 'residue' of whatever stays behind? Where does that go and how does that work? It's something that often gets left out imo.
Rye is getting more popular. Would love to try this or Powers rye. I liked wild turkey rye. My colleague had he's house renovation. Builders drank all he's alcohol even pure spirit. Does that happen in your construction too? 😅
Have to watch fast in case the video disappears... cough glenlivet cough cough.. As always great job Daniel you nail it everytime. I know this is the whiskey vault but i would love to hear about iron roots brandy. Also do you know why balcones disappeared? I cant find it anywhere in florida. There basic red label bourbon is so nice and for the price its lip smacking good. And there rye is awesome i love what texas climate does to whiskey but garrison is a bit pricey for me. Ill have to do the texas whiskey trail one day. Cheers.
Johnny Walker says that officially 60% of the whisky is rye which is then blended with the rest which they call Barley and grain. It's a little irritating when Scottish Distilleries use grain to mean something when in fact it's all grain. Usually grain to them is wheat or corn. Still, if they know which grains go into it specify them.
First of all a column still strips the flavor element out of liquor. It is used to make neutral grain alcohol. When you buy premium liquor you want flavor not neutral grain spirit. To get the flavor you distilled in a pot still. Point is a premium label is selling cheap whisky.
Do distilleries pull from different parts of the column and then blend that back together? Or is it always pulled from just one plate section at a time?
Typically they choose the point which they're going to pull for the product and that's what goes to the next stage of the process. Things of a higher proof go out the top and get recycled and things that drop down eventually get so low they are removed as waste.
Confused. If the only way to remove the methanol is to run the column whiskey through a pot still to make the cuts, how do you retain the benefits of continuous distillation? If you have to run the column whiskey through pot stills, why not just dump the column and produce exclusively through pot stills? I recognize there must still be an advantage to the column still, I just don't see where it is. Also, at some point there must be wash at the bottom of the column that simply won't produce additional alcohol and has to be removed from the column. For continuous operation, it must be possible to remove that unproductive wash without interrupting the distillation process. How is that done? Can you have confidence that the wash at the very bottom of the column is the waste? Or is there more to it? Thanks.
The advantage is Volume. A column still can make a more consistent alcohol at a greater volume than having a pot still be turned on and off in batches. To your point in the methanol, is grain (and to a greater degree, fruit) based alcohols always have methanol tied to it. It is distilled non linearly, because of varying boiling points, and how it bonds to ethanol. (This is a tangent and a lot of information, I'm sorry) Methanol has a lower boiling point to ethanol at 64.7C (148F) so when you are warming up a pot still, it is the first thing to come off the still as it ended up in the collection first. But then, as ethanol starts boiling off, the methanol bonds to the ethanol as it comes off the still, and is less prevalent. the most methanol is collected (In this fashion) in the tails, once most of the ethanol is boiled off, and the water is almost at boiling (mileage varies once you begin using fruits, more methanol in those kinds of ferments). NOW, how you make your cuts on Column vs Pot is based on Location vs Time. A Column still, you just siphon off the alcohol at the ABV you want, at that plate level. where you are in the column still (or how many plates you have) determines the ABV of the product. This type of still also has a collection vessel at the top of the still for Methanol and other Fusel oils (Which can be redistilled or recycled into the column still again). The reason you would use a Column still in the first run of a distillate is for Volume and Consistency in that first distillation. The Secondary distillation in the pot still is where you are getting that character and those bolder flavors. Here, reflux in the lyne arm will play a massive part, and you have less stillage at the bottom of the pot still so less difficult cleaning overall. By using this conjunction of Column and Pot, you loose more sulfur from the fermentation through the plates (meaning less copper to clean and replace), and you have less wear and tear on your Pot still (Which is more expensive in replacing). Cont'd
PART 2, JOSEPHSIRKINOV BOOGALOO the wash at the bottom of the column is siphoned off continually as the wort is siphoned in from the fermenters. Much like how alcohol is taken out at certain points, the stillage vessel is tapped and drained slowly to collect the stillage and dead yeast at the bottom. it doesn't interrupt it as the ethanol and other vapors will be at the top of the vessel, being vaporized, while the water and other stuff is at the bottom, where it is drained. as for cleaning, there are a few shutdowns a year where everything is turned off, taken apart, and cleaned. this all being said. there will always be a stubborn >1% ABV in the stillage coming off the column still, that can't be avoided. the water is seperated and treated, then drained off. I hope this info helps. I can try answering other questions you have. I am in school for distilling right now, and this is as best an explanation I can give with my Rookie knowledge. If you ask something I dont know, I can certainly find more information somewhere else, and I'm happy to admit if I dont know something
I stumbled upon the vault channel about 4 years ago. In those 4 years Daniel you have slowly changed me from someone who did shots, to a guys who sips his whiskey out a tulip shaped glass.
Nice!
I miss the high jinks, a bit, but really enjoy this calmer presentation. And I really, really like learning how things work.
I miss Rex too but with his absence Daniel can really need out and not risk having his ball busted.
Nerd out, he ment to say.
I’m thrilled that the Bimini’s are gone but hey we all have preferences! You can still watch them with Rex. For me. Love it that they are gone! The higher intellectual content and amazing stories to learn from are amazing!!
Whoa!! lol! My spell check on my cell went rogue! Sorry! Was just trying to say I’m thrilled for this new format!
Alright. This will be a long one. I waited for this video about 2 and a half years. I joined WT patreon of hopes of educational stuff about whiskey and the stories about it and I left it because I thinked it couldn’t deliver. It took me all this time just to realize I was just searching in wrong place, because it wasn’t WT topic. It’s like searching for advice for sewing in fashion shop, it just isn’t the right place and don’t blame the place for that. Am in the right place know though.
Long one.
Daniel, this is the best understandable explanation of a continuous column still, well done!
"How It Works (Whisk[e]y Edition)" should be a regulart part of this channel. IHS ...
These videos you are doing now, with the change in format, are very though provoking. Especially since your recent vid on basically finding y our niche and focus on in. I've been floundering for a very long time. I thought I knew what I wanted to pursue (beyond music, as that is another story), but as a 50 yr old dude, floundering with no direction is not good, at least in my eyes.
I find myself watching your vids specifically as they keep sparking inspiration.
I hope you keep doing what you do. It is definitely a pleasure and learning experience to listen to you speak on these subjects you are inspired to speak on. ROCK ON!!
Welcome all Whiskey Vaulters to Story Time with Daniel!
I love the nerdy talk on the column stills or really any production method 😀
Great job as always, Daniel. Looking forward to seeing you up at Matt’s grand opening this Saturday!
That sir, was an excellent education!!! Much thanks to you from Canada.
I started work in 1966 at Yorkshire Tar Distillers. Those fractionating columns were big...... very big.
You are indeed a man of words and ideas!!
I can't believe you aren't getting more likes, Daniel. Loving the content!
Me too! Grateful that the silliness with Rex is gone. I realize some people miss that.
Love, Love, LOVE Whiskey Nerd talk with Daniel and all my whiskey family. Sure I miss Rex and the loving friendship you have but this hits differently in a most welcome way. Cheers everyone!
Enjoyed this. Definitely wouldn't mind more of these educational type videos
I stumbled upon JW High Rye a few years ago. I absolutely love it. One of my favorite JW blends.
Excellent story...again
I appreciated getting to learn more about the stills used to make the spirits and the Michael Jordan example definitely made sense to me
I was shocked that Daniel used an example from sports. I thought he would have dipped into hobbit lore.
Love this format. Thank you and keep going.
Well, the algorithm it working 100%, just saw the video about how a pot still works then this pops up. Thanks for all the into.
Last thing I thought we would get from Daniel today was a sports Metaphor😅
Evolution is just a force, sometimes good, sometimes, well. But I'm glad you have taken it on to guide us on a new path. The philosopher John Hodgman has often said that nostalgia is a poison, an addiction we cling too even when it makes everything around us feel less vibrant and steals our joy. Thanks for putting the effort in to lead us down a new road.
I never tried this because I assumed it was like every other rye. However, after watching this video, I have a greater understanding of the difference. I grabbed a bottle of Johnnie Walker rye and actually like it a lot. Thanks for the great information.
Never would I have thought to hear a Michael Jordan reference on this channel, but it made perfect sense!
I'm studying for my WSET's and this video came at the perfect time!
You have a way of explaining things that is the easiest to understand. Kudos!
Some people just like to shut up and drink their favorite libation. Others like to study it, examine it, and then nose it and taste it. There is no right or wrong between the two. You (and I) certainly enjoy the latter.
Right?! Daniel is a master at this!
What an amazing conversation with us!! Nice dram!!
I thought that humming sound was your heart beating in full nerd mode. :-) Thanks Daniel for another educational and fun video on the world of whisky. PS. Bought the book Proof and really enjoyed it. Cheers.
Great episode mate!
Love all the information about the stills and the distinctions between the different types of whiskey Grain vs Malt etc. I have not ventured into any Scotch or Irish yet. Bourbon, Rye, American Single Malt, Wheat Whiskey, Corn Whiskey all those I haven’t found one I didn’t like yet.
Mother Earth Carolina Rye from Kinston, NC. will be my mantra until we all experience it. I have twice toured Catocktin Creek (famous maker's of award winning rye) here in Virginia. I like the 92 proof a lot. But,...Mother Earth's has SO much more BIGness to the nose & palate notes with a unique and distinct flavor that keeps me coming back (and buying more bottles from NC!).
7:06 totally agree. “I like it but I don’t understand it.” I’ve seen it marked down to 20 doll hairs and it has a place there at the low price point. Just like having different whiskeys on my bar.
Thanks for the video 🥃
Amazing! Thank you so much Daniel! I've been enjoying the opportunity to learn so much from these videos! I wish you health and continued success. Cheers from Wesley of Canada.....and yes Canadian Whiskey isn't great.....except for 'Lot40' and 'Bearface.'
Love the shows keep it up
I picked up a bottle of this a few weeks ago. I saw it on the shelf from a distance and thought "sweet! Johnnie Walker Green!" for I live in the sticks of NW Wisconsin and I'm lucky if I see Johnnie Walker Black. I picked it up anyway because I never heard of High Rye (again, live in the sticks). I have to say I really like this stuff. The finish is very much a black pepper to me.
I think this would be a good one to keep on hand for when you introduce friends to Scotch for a "now try this" moment and throw them a curveball.
Nice video. Appreciate the knowledge and the stories. Really like this format. well done!
Fabulous format!
I love this man, thanks!!!
I'm an American Rye drinker and enjoy this one more than the black label simply because it does have that nod of spice.
Many years ago, i was an engineer at an ethanol plant. The columns were fun to run
I bought a bottle of this a year ago because I am a JW Black fan as well as like rye whiskey.
I drink JW Black regularly, so my expectations were that it would be familiar. Whoa, what a surprise!
Your reaction and tasting notes were right on with my reaction. The Michael Jordan analogy made sense to my memory of tasting it.
I am going to pull the bottle out and give it another try.
Cheers Daniel! Love the new videos!
I’m not a JW fan but I do love delicious single malts and good Rye! For me this works well! I tend to use JW Black as a mixer spirit. I buy scotch to sip. Still I liked this expression. I didn’t think I would! Cheers!
It is very interesting for the high Rye. It's feels like a blend of American Rye(black pepper spice) and Scotch
I love learning about all of this!
Great video! But, the oatmeal raisin cookie slander hurt
Totally not sorry :-)
That is the exact tone everyone should use when including "Canada" in any conversation.
INTERESTINGk
1:28 We're Americans in the United States, so let's use American language - it's (distillers) beer. 🙂
I had thought that under Scottish law grain whisky was whisky from any grain except barley. I take it that's a misapprehension?
Thanks for explaining how column stills work. I finally got the basic principle through my head a while back, but this is by far the simplest, clearest description I've come across.
You definitely can use malted barley it's just not typical, because it tends to be more expensive than the other grains
@@WhiskeyVault How about unsprouted barley? I know everyone sprouts it first, but that adds to the cost. Would barley work unsprouted?
the conversion rate goes down on getting the fermentations running. Meaning it's possible if you add enzymes to jumpstart fermentation, but definitely changes the flavor.
Great information/education. Thanks!
I wish I could find more single grain near me. I recently bought a bottle of Teeling single grain and am really enjoying it but there aren’t many other brands around at that price point
I am going to get this high rye not a blended drinker unless on vacation it’s cheaper at the bars in Mexico. But I have friends that only drink blended scotch so I think this will be a new taste for them.
Kudos Daniel, another fine episode! I think I've finally moved on from the old format to this one. I'm finding the deep dives really interesting and I am looking forward to the guest sommelier's stories that you eluded to a while back. One question if you have time: is distiller's beer the liquid that is produced from the mixture of grain, water, and yeast?
"I'm a little lad who loves berries and cream" 😂🥃
I tried this at a tasting at my local whiskey bar, and I liked it the most of all the Johnnie Walker's we had, and not because of price. But, I'm a bit more of a rye guy.
Lmao, the Jordan playing baseball reference makes a lot of sense.
Something I've wondered about continuous stills: You feed the wash in, but what happens with the build up 'residue' of whatever stays behind? Where does that go and how does that work? It's something that often gets left out imo.
Anything below a certain point gets siphoned off and becomes waste
@@WhiskeyVault oooooh! So that's why it's fed in at the middle of the column. Alright that makes sense. Thanks for answering this!
Rye is getting more popular. Would love to try this or Powers rye. I liked wild turkey rye. My colleague had he's house renovation. Builders drank all he's alcohol even pure spirit. Does that happen in your construction too? 😅
Have to watch fast in case the video disappears... cough glenlivet cough cough.. As always great job Daniel you nail it everytime. I know this is the whiskey vault but i would love to hear about iron roots brandy. Also do you know why balcones disappeared? I cant find it anywhere in florida. There basic red label bourbon is so nice and for the price its lip smacking good. And there rye is awesome i love what texas climate does to whiskey but garrison is a bit pricey for me. Ill have to do the texas whiskey trail one day. Cheers.
Diageo bought Balcones. A tragedy.
to continue the chocolate chip/oatmeal raisin analogy, what would be cowboy cookies?
Johnny Walker says that officially 60% of the whisky is rye which is then blended with the rest which they call Barley and grain. It's a little irritating when Scottish Distilleries use grain to mean something when in fact it's all grain. Usually grain to them is wheat or corn. Still, if they know which grains go into it specify them.
I’m not much of a JW fan save for an occasional dram of the Green but this one isn’t bad!
Braced for whisk(e)y intellectual impact
Makes you wonder why some advice columns only talk about Ionic, Doric, Roman, and Corinthian but never still columns?
Cheers 🥃
First of all a column still strips the flavor element out of liquor. It is used to make neutral grain alcohol. When you buy premium liquor you want flavor not neutral grain spirit. To get the flavor you distilled in a pot still. Point is a premium label is selling cheap whisky.
Do distilleries pull from different parts of the column and then blend that back together? Or is it always pulled from just one plate section at a time?
Typically they choose the point which they're going to pull for the product and that's what goes to the next stage of the process. Things of a higher proof go out the top and get recycled and things that drop down eventually get so low they are removed as waste.
Confused. If the only way to remove the methanol is to run the column whiskey through a pot still to make the cuts, how do you retain the benefits of continuous distillation? If you have to run the column whiskey through pot stills, why not just dump the column and produce exclusively through pot stills? I recognize there must still be an advantage to the column still, I just don't see where it is. Also, at some point there must be wash at the bottom of the column that simply won't produce additional alcohol and has to be removed from the column. For continuous operation, it must be possible to remove that unproductive wash without interrupting the distillation process. How is that done? Can you have confidence that the wash at the very bottom of the column is the waste? Or is there more to it? Thanks.
I've always been curious about how methanol is handled with a column still
I am curious about the same thing. Could the wash drain from the bottom of the column instead of being recycled?
The advantage is Volume. A column still can make a more consistent alcohol at a greater volume than having a pot still be turned on and off in batches.
To your point in the methanol, is grain (and to a greater degree, fruit) based alcohols always have methanol tied to it. It is distilled non linearly, because of varying boiling points, and how it bonds to ethanol. (This is a tangent and a lot of information, I'm sorry) Methanol has a lower boiling point to ethanol at 64.7C (148F) so when you are warming up a pot still, it is the first thing to come off the still as it ended up in the collection first. But then, as ethanol starts boiling off, the methanol bonds to the ethanol as it comes off the still, and is less prevalent. the most methanol is collected (In this fashion) in the tails, once most of the ethanol is boiled off, and the water is almost at boiling (mileage varies once you begin using fruits, more methanol in those kinds of ferments).
NOW, how you make your cuts on Column vs Pot is based on Location vs Time. A Column still, you just siphon off the alcohol at the ABV you want, at that plate level. where you are in the column still (or how many plates you have) determines the ABV of the product. This type of still also has a collection vessel at the top of the still for Methanol and other Fusel oils (Which can be redistilled or recycled into the column still again). The reason you would use a Column still in the first run of a distillate is for Volume and Consistency in that first distillation. The Secondary distillation in the pot still is where you are getting that character and those bolder flavors. Here, reflux in the lyne arm will play a massive part, and you have less stillage at the bottom of the pot still so less difficult cleaning overall.
By using this conjunction of Column and Pot, you loose more sulfur from the fermentation through the plates (meaning less copper to clean and replace), and you have less wear and tear on your Pot still (Which is more expensive in replacing). Cont'd
PART 2, JOSEPHSIRKINOV BOOGALOO
the wash at the bottom of the column is siphoned off continually as the wort is siphoned in from the fermenters. Much like how alcohol is taken out at certain points, the stillage vessel is tapped and drained slowly to collect the stillage and dead yeast at the bottom. it doesn't interrupt it as the ethanol and other vapors will be at the top of the vessel, being vaporized, while the water and other stuff is at the bottom, where it is drained. as for cleaning, there are a few shutdowns a year where everything is turned off, taken apart, and cleaned.
this all being said. there will always be a stubborn >1% ABV in the stillage coming off the column still, that can't be avoided. the water is seperated and treated, then drained off.
I hope this info helps. I can try answering other questions you have. I am in school for distilling right now, and this is as best an explanation I can give with my Rookie knowledge. If you ask something I dont know, I can certainly find more information somewhere else, and I'm happy to admit if I dont know something
thanks for this, well explained and really useful.
as someone who is just starting to move into Rye whiskey, I find that this is a great 'baby's first' rye. Is that a fair read?
absolutely
Oats! uh,... Mother Earth's Carolina Rye!
its a column shaped still. end video :P
Neeeerds!!!!
I may have to add a dollop of Balcones rye to a scotch and see what it's like.
Hi Daniel, hi everyone and hi rye. … Sorry.
Pappy is grain whiskey 😄
68👍
A column still works because the rows haven’t taken over yet
Blasphemy! You cannot legally call it beer (in Germany) unless it has hops in it. I'm sure you don't want hops in it, so isn't it a mash if no hops?
Yes :) but there's an American habit for some people to call it distillers beer
MJ playing baseball...... Or a strat trying to sound like a Les Paul