"Are you using stone carbon? It sounds like you are trying to save too much heads and tails. Even on a column you need to make good cuts. re run the waste later with half wash. Or add some baking soda and water, or salt and water to get a full tank. take tighter cuts till you have only good hearts on the waste. 2/3 water to 1/3 waste helps some.

The key being you don't want any taste. commercial spirits are unclean. that is why they have taste. Some like grey goose distill from wheat and leave a small amount of grain flavor but this makes the spirit dirty.

You can replicate those tastes with vodka essences, and still have clean spirit and no hangover, if you prefer those tastes."

Boil and clear the charcoal 3 times? read the gert charcoal book? Pre wetting and just taking the heart and no water from the carbon?

Are you using turbo? What clearing agent? it should be several days before running from when you used the agent. If you need to, find chitosan or super Klear. It should look clear like a white wine(which it sort of is). The funny smell is the yeast bodies rupturing when heated. they spill their insides and smell as well as add nasties. Turbos are non floculating. this means a yeast cell makes a bud and then that single cell detaches and now you have two. packet yeast makes a bud and it stays then a new one grows and a long chain ends up forming. it clears fast and clean due to the chains. 3 times as slow and lots of extra work adding nutrients etc, and making starters, but much higher quality over turbos. all yeasts die and make nasties so the sooner you can clear and rack away from the lees the better the wine produced.

If it all smells there is no real way to sort heads and tails. You can re run with generous amounts of baking soda. it may take a couple runs adding water back each time with new soda. An old trick is to mix it with lots of dark red wine and let it set for a couple days and do the final distill to get it a tiny bit more palatable.

When you get the final pure stuff, like everclear, and have diluted, add some glycerine, like around a tsp. per quart for a mouth feel, and some body. Really helps. Adjust to your likeing.

Tell that Tio's Vodka, who makes it from corn

"Hey,

Make it from Wheat!!!!!

http://www.home-distilling.com/...s/Wheat-Vodka-Recipe.pdf"

"This knowledge is priceless, I"m reading and retaining. There is so much more to this process than I was first lead on to believe. The "product" I"m making today based on everyone"s help and guidance compared to the stuff at first run is light years apart.

Thank you again for the great information.
Turtleberg"

"U get that from Perry Luntz's book?

Interesting how, by definition vodka should be truely nuetural. But in order for competative distilleries to distinguish their ""brand"" and (for lack of a better word) flavor profile, they are compelled to install flavor."

Looks like thats where Mr. Luntz gleaned his info!

Whats your process Kentucky?

"One Thing that helps is to add a bit of glycerin. Try a teaspoon/ fifth. Perhaps a teaspoon of simle sugar. Regular vodka is not distilled to the purity we can achieve for total neutral, so will have flavors and hangovers, though not as much as flavored spirits. Brewhaus has vodka flavoring for neutral. I prefer the neutral taste in preference. clean and sweet, and no bad feelings in the morning. Commercial vodka is not distilled as clean as the home specialist can make it. We make cuts they can't afford. so yes, they have flavors. Don't make your cuts so tight and you can have some fairly clean vodka. add some glycerine and glucose in small amounts.

Or, make completely pure and neutral, dilute and add one of the vodka essences availiable."