Aging alcohol distillation involves an intricate web of chemistry and flavors, taking time and patience to achieve. But its complexity warrants examination as the craft continues to advance with new innovations in barrel aging alongside its traditional approach of alcohol + oak + time.
Distillation allows a distiller to extract potable alcohol (ethanol) from low boiling-point congeners that boil in first in the still, known as heads or foreshots, known as heads. But this doesn’t mean less desirable components have gone away for good; they are simply redistilled in hearts cut and later directed back into heads cut for another pass through the column and concentrated even further; effectively doubling proof and creating higher-proof spirits with more desirable flavor components.
As spirits mature, organic acids extracted from wood pulp interact with existing organic acids in the liquid to form esters–molecules responsible for many of the fruity, floral, green grass, and soapy notes found in aged spirits. These reactions occur via esterification; over time more complex forms of esterified esters develop.
As such, it is crucial that one understands these chemical interactions before trying to interfere with nature by hastening aging in any way. According to Spedding, any attempt at this could create a Rube Goldberg machine-esque situation: all devices would need to work in precise sequence so as to produce results with any relevance to reality; furthermore this might disrupt delicate chemical equilibriums within the system and produce unintended outcomes.
