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Sounds like you were running with a bit too much heat, and its puckining, foaming or boiling up into column. Presumeing your column was clean. Less heat especially at start up.

I would use those first 2 qts as heads and run them with your next batch to clean them up. To filter, I use an 8"" ss fine strainer, lined with coffee filter, and just pour through slowly.

Presume the rest of the distillation was clear? You can run faster with more heat later in the run than the first, as the higher alchohals come off at a faster, lower temp. rate. I would try for total or as slow go as possible to start off with to concentrate the heads and make the cut to hearts cleaner and with less head mixture collected. Also less foaming and heavy boiling. A cup or two of boiling chips helps a lot to prevent pucking. Small bubbles instead of huge ones."

"When you first start your boil, your boiler is almost full. Without boiling chips, you get large bubbles of gases that will splash up into your column. the higher alchohals have a fast rate of evaporation, and between the 2 can flood your column and cause the pucking into your condenser.

Several things can help. I always use about 2 cups of rashig rings in the boiler for boiling chips. Also a few copper fittings or some pennies for the heck of it. Breaks the boil into smaller bubbles and eliminates the explosive kabooms, that will alert neighbors to wonder, meybe in your case, I don't have any, and just like cooking on a stove, some things just foam and boil over for a few minutes then settle down. Another thing that might help is a tbs. or 2 of vegetable oil. Like cooking peas or beans, helps stop initial foaming and eruptive boil.

As expected, as soon as heads were gone and the volume lowered a bit, and the alchohal concentration decreased a mite, it stopped.

This is why old timers used a slobber box to catch those puckings. I wouldn't bother filtering those first qts. as they are mostly heads anyways. Just add them to your next run and get the good out of them. Save all those, and the tails into a seperate jug. Best to use them on a spirit run if you do like i do a stripping fast run, and then after collecting enough low wines, a full reflux spirit run. Saves time and energy, and greatly increases the end product quality.

Took me a year or 2 to get it all straight myself. \\Cheers!"

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Congradulations. It will get better with every run you make as you gain experiance.

I would suggest that you check your alch. meter though. Assuming you got close to perfect distillation, say 95%, then diluted with same volume water, you should have gotten a ABV in the lower 40's. 5.8 parts base with 4.2 parts water would give you 55%, and thats assuming a perfect run.

After dilution, it will get even better in a week or so as the water and alch. marry together.

Glad you enjoying the end result. Drinking your own, is much more heart warming, and later, if you again try store bought stuff, you will find it relatively nasty.

Cheers, enjoy!"

It does sound like the temp was to high, or the still had to much in it to start with.