A Pot Still vs a Column Still.

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By 1822, there had been several attempts at making column stills, attempts at lowering the cost and increasing the speed of making whiskey using traditional copper pot stills. Copper pot stills had been used to make whiskey in batches for centuries. (Watch how a copper pot still works, by clicking here.) That’s when Aeneas Coffey started working on an improved version.

He made changes to existing column stills, letting the vapors produced re-circulate into the still, instead of moving into the receiver with the spirit like current copper pot stills and previous column stills did. The result was more efficient, producing a ‘lighter’ spirit at higher alcohol content, and did so continuously — thus, producing more product. Coffey patented his design in 1831, and it is the basis for every subsequent column still. (Watch how a column still works, here.)

He tried to sell it to the Irish whiskey makers, but they felt it made an inferior, less tasty drink, and would have none of it, even adding an “e” to the word whiskey to distinguish it. Coffey, perfectly aware that the Scottish were a bunch of cheap bastards, took his invention to Scotland, where it sold gangbusters. We’ll start at the critical part (for this topic) of this video, but you can always rewind to watch the whole thing:

Pot Still vs Column Still Whiskey.

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Hi, and welcome back, and thanks for checking us out during our enforced hiatus.

Copper pot still whiskey, or column (Coffey) stilled whiskey? Without going into too much detail on the differences between the kids of stills, this video discusses a lot about the differences in taste between the two. Bill Comerford likes to describe pot-stilled whiskey as having an “oily” taste. Pot stills are an older, slower way of making whiskey that retains more of the congeners and byproducts of the original wash, and we will go into a bit of that in the next post.

Adirondack Barrel Cooperage

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Hi! We see you are still checking in. In good news, there are some vaccines now, so, there’s finally a light at the end of this miserable tunnel, and, hopefully by next year at this time, we’ll be clinking a glass together with company, as it should be. Meanwhile, something to keep you entertained… ever wonder how whiskey barrels are made? What a cooper’s croze is? It is all in this fascinating video. Grab a dram while you watch the Adirondack Barrel Cooperage make barrels… they use traditional coopering methods to build spirit barrels out of American oak. Their one-of-a-kind barrel charring and toasting process imparts complex flavors in spirits, like smoke, coconut, vanilla, caramel, and more.