Re-distilling cheap supermarket scotch whisky

This started as a slight spoof of Ralfy's whisky channel, but then yielded a completely unexpected result.
Yes I did do the clickbait thing I joked about in the video.
Here's Ralfy's fairly open minded analysis of the contents of the two bottles.
• ralfy review 874 Extra...
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
www.bigclive.co...
This also keeps the channel independent of KZbin's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.

[@msrlapin99]

There is no part of this entire experiment that does not strike me as a bad idea. I love it.

[@DiniM]

Legend says he's still tasting both till this day. Growing ever more unsure with each dose

[@aragustin]

JAJAJAJAJA

[@yato3335]

Well, everything's for the experiment's sake XD

[@amorphuc]

It's science. LOL

[@piconano]

When the brand name of a vodka is "VODKA", you know you're getting the good street stuff.

[@EngineeringVignettes]

God bless no-name products.

[@irreverend_]

Nah, you're getting the real street stuff when it's called Vodkat and it's actually 22% 'schapps' :)

[@irreverend_]

Also I've drunk a lot of cheap vodka over the years, an awful lot, and it's mostly just neutral spirit like it should be. There have been 2 occasions when it was not, one was a brand name I've forgotten that Bargain Booze started carrying for a while, began with a P, you could smell a bit too much acetone in it and fuck me I was ruined the next day. The other was some bottles my brother got me from Aldi at the beginning of the first lockdown, had about 500ml of that and ended up falling backwards down my concrete staircase. Poured the other 1.5 litres away, that shit wasn't right

[@fivespeed3026]

@@irreverend_ You’re not supposed to drink the whole 1.5 L in one day. 🤣

[@cheyannei5983]

@@irreverend_ but why? Monopolowa is already insanely cheap!

[@yorkaturr]

Greetings from Finland. This is exactly what I would imagine a typical afternoon in Scotland is like.

[@MauriatOttolink]

yorkaturr My Dundonian father in law says that he only drinks to relax. Sometimes he's so relaxed that he can't move. He also said that there are only two things which you can put in a whisky. One is another whisky and the other is your top lip

[@TheOriginal_BigMac]

When the Finns think you have a problem with alcohol then you have a real problem

[@jsmith498]

This is 9 o'clock in the morning

[@TheGreatest1974]

Haha that’s a good one! I’m in Scotland and I have my air still running right now! And I’m trying an experiment to get a bit more usable alcohol out of it. I’m taking my 800ml, diluting to 1200, taking that away, then collecting another 300ml for redistilling instead of throwing it away. 👍🇬🇧

[@BobbyDukeArts]

I had to go back and look at the thumbnail. Lol, excellent

[@Brad_Okami]

haha was about to do the same lol

[@TaiGell]

Bobby. Where is new videos? )

[@babyboysmooth1353]

Hello there

[@JS-bf9dw]

guilty

[@pompshuffle562]

Keep seeing you in places i did not expect

[@lucasnunes5185]

Truly a miracle! The master has turned whisky into vodka and vodka into whisky! May all those whom have ears hear this!

[@bradshauer6286]

Might have been easier to just switch the labels

[@BilisNegra]

That Jeese guy, bah, this dude is truly a Lord.

[@rexsceleratorum1632]

Behold the Holy Whisky of Jerusalem! Cast off the Vodka, follow the Whisky!

[@CesarPerezn]

Nex up water into wine, then wine into pee, then pee back to water.

[@Da_Shark]

@@CesarPerezn and repeat said cycle until it tastes like piss

[@ncc74656m]

See, now we need Ralfy to troll you on electronics.

[@tazz1669]

I can just imagine Ralfy's tear down, have a feeling it will involve an x-ray machine lol

[@tomaskovacik]

@@tazz1669 hammer?

[@tazz1669]

@@tomaskovacik Yes

[@chinanorthairguns]

When Ralfy posted about his new book, I left a spoof Clive forward comment saying this book contains reviews on expensive ethanol blends and absolutely no information about electronic components.

[@mikedrop4421]

I can here it now "HELLO my exquisitely exciting Extraordinarily Egg-headed Equals and thank you to Dickins Hyde for that Electronic Entrance ."

[@jennyd255]

Speaking as a chemistry teacher, (and of course whisky lover) the problem with this experiment is that you would need a rather more precise fractional distillation to successfully separate the alcohol from the volatile aromatics. Most of the flavourings will be volatile esters and aldehydes with maybe a few trace cyclic rings. That being the case many of those volatiles will have quite similar boiling point to ethanol and will therefore end up coming off with it. So what you ended up with as residue was, as you eventually realised, the heavy sugars, plus any trace phenolic rings or terpenes - which might contribute a little woodiness or smokiness and bitterness to the flavour - but wont be the major taste elements.

[@yottaforce]

As an engineer, agree. You can see there's almost a full bottle of output even though the whisky only contains about 40-50% alcohol.

[@jennyd255]

@@yottaforce yes I did think that probably most of the H2O had come across too. So basically the only residues left were things with a boiling point above 100. Whereas for proper alcohol distillation, as we both know, the still would have to be maintained at 78.3 degrees Celsius, and then the result, whether flavoured or not, would be much closer to pure alcohol, thoroughly illegal, and probably best used as rocket fuel! lol Maybe Big Clive could do a deal with Elon Musk, I gather he has fuel supply problems at the moment!

[@NikkoHawkes]

I was about to comment this myself, he either needs a fractional distillation setup or do at least several dozen passes with his simple distiller to get any good separation. Although he'd also concentrate the alcohol in the process, and end up with something closer to a rectified spirit than vodka

[@H33t3Speaks]

As a chemist as well, I’m far more interested in the heavier weight alcohols (Fusel Alcohols) in the apparatus, including 1-hexanol, 1-butanol among some other nastiness. Fermentation is a stochastic process, choosing the right grains for the spirit is INTENSELY important. What I’d like to know is, what was the next morning like? For anybody else reading, you cannot attain 100% pure EthOH through distillation because it forms a higher boiling azeotrope with atmospheric moisture: either some cosolvent or molecular sieves are required.

[@AM-hf9kk]

@@yottaforce Agreed. Would need to vary the temperature of the heating element, or the cooling element, or both to do anything interesting with alcohols. This thing is a residential distiller only intended to remove dissolved solids from "hard water." I've not run a serious gas spectrometer comparison, but visual inspection of the residue certainly reveals a lot of solids remain behind.

[@73North265]

So essentially you de-glazed the whisky residue with the vodka - so by all foodie logic, you have made gravy!

[@squirlboy250]

I like this kind of gravy! HAHA

[@garethhanby]

He forgot the finely chopped shallots.

[@Ultimra]

That look into the camera after 'oh sorry, that's the cask.." I laughed so hard

[@arson8582]

Ditto!!

[@madseeker2188]

as did I his sacrifice will be long remembered

[@f.f.s.d.o.a.7294]

I did a double-tap double-take.

[@russellslater4037]

I fell off my chair, superb moment

[@Deliquescentinsight]

So that is how they make Iron Bru!

[@panzersheriff727]

"He has taken the bottles away for analysis" Now that is a smart brother right there!

[@rodh1404]

I can't help but think it would have been even smarter if he could have taken away the good stuff!

[@Doeff8]

Yeah. "Analysis", huhuuhhuuu

[@eugenesnell6600]

I was going to say the same thing 😅😃😅😃! My thing is that he's probably just going to drink them himself.

[@chinanorthairguns]

He must approve if he feels the need for further sampling.

[@CommodoreFan64]

@@rodh1404 I'm surprised he did not go hey Clive do you have any other whisky for control sampling. 😂

[@DaanDoornbos]

I'm a long time watcher of Ralphy's whisky reviews. And I found this channel randomly while browsing youtube and it turns out to be his brother. When you said I have to give it to my brother Ralphy, he's the whisky aficionado it blew my mind!

[@fluffycritter]

I hope that you film Ralfy's reactions to drinking vodka-colored whisky and whisky-colored vodka.

[@tonysolar284]

-- Ralfy was unimpressed. He said it was an intriguing experiment and that the results tasted "interesting". But that was all. He has taken the bottles away for analysis ~Clive --

[@fluffycritter]

@@tonysolar284 That bit wasn't in the description when I posted my comment 4 days ago, before the video went public.

[@tonysolar284]

@@fluffycritter That's why I posted it here, for you to see.

[@fluffycritter]

@@tonysolar284 Yeah, I appreciate it! Just explaining why I didn't know that at the time.

[@5roundsrapid263]

@Agustinus Reynaldi There actually is a company that sells “Vodquila” and “Rumquila”. Anything to make a buck, I suppose...

[@maximusironthumper]

Big Clive does clickbait!? These must be the end times (I clicked straight away - couldn't help it).

[@SBCBears]

So, it's a sad verity that in the end times, clickbait still works. ☹️ 😄

[@Peter_S_]

Seemed quite an honest title to me. He just knows what the people want. Maximus, fantastic channel! Your videos are ace!

[@JamesAllmond]

guilty...and we don't even have supermarket whisky and aren't allowed to distill it anyway...

[@DarkMetaOFFICIAL]

The combination of thumbnail and beard is his final form 😄

[@Skund79]

You have to please the algorithm otherwise you get punished and yes even if you subscribe it could happen that his content doesn't pop up on your feed, if you don't ring the bell KZbin is a nightmare

[@martinXY]

"This distillate still smells like whisky" "This vodka + residue smells of whisky" Maybe it's the room that smells of whisky.

[@paulcarter7403]

Maybe it's him that smells of whiskey. Some people will use any excuse to get pissed!😎

[@DoctorX17]

I wish I could smell whiskey Whisky? I can never remember the difference XD

[@railgap]

maybe it's the beard! ;D

[@paulcarter7403]

He'd doing it so we don't have to, for the benefit of science. By the way, where can I get one of those distilly things?

[@DoctorX17]

@@paulcarter7403 I'm curious about this as well... It's much more compact than the still I built!

[@Psyopcyclops]

The world has peaked. Big Clive has called out the soy face KZbinrs. I want this man to be my uncle.

[@crsc3095]

timestamp?

[@HoboVibingToMusic]

@@crsc3095 The thumbnail :V

[@NotJustBikes]

Next time you empty an entire bottle of liquor into a larger container, spin it, so that a vortex is created. Then the air goes up the middle of the vortex and the liquor down the sides, and the bottle empties a lot faster and cleaner. This tip proves that I did, in fact, take some useful information away from engineering school.

[@robertkustos2931]

Exactly how I empty my pop bottle when I wash it out

[@thevideoman12]

You also learn that if you like to drink a lot. I've heard. And Robert, why are you washing out your soda bottles?

[@wannabuyabridge]

When I empty a bottle of whisky, a vortex is often created

[@tissuepaper9962]

@@thevideoman12 reduce, *reuse* , recycle, guy. Everybody always forgets about "reuse". Most plastic soda bottles are easily durable enough to last months or years as a daily-carried water bottle.

[@jindivik321]

this tip was on the kids TV show "How 2" in the 90s

[@kaylaandjimbryant8258]

"Whatcha doing Jim?" "Watching Big Clive slamming down shots" Interesting experiment!

[@phipli]

For the "saké" of science.

[@shaneshannon6874]

Jim, as in Beam?? I'm Beam, Jim Beam...

[@kaylaandjimbryant8258]

@@shaneshannon6874 actually, I prefer tequila anejo, canadian whiskey, good wine, and good stout or porter. Not much for bourbon.

[@nickk8762]

Nurse! He's out of bed again!Thanks Clive, made me smile!🤣 Interesting too....

[@s9enny]

And he’s wearing that hat again I smell trouble 👿

[@WashupCyclone]

“He has taken the bottles away for analysis” 😂 I think he just didn’t want to admit he liked it!

[@lonestar1775]

"Hold on, I'm just going to chug this". Spoken like a true man.

[@brendonelton]

I have to admit, that bit made me laugh :D

[@metatechnologist]

I think that might be dangerous.

[@megamanx466]

@@metatechnologist Lol, how so? 🤔

[@metatechnologist]

@@megamanx466 He could be unintentionally concentrating the alcohol. So it'd be like drinking Everclear straight. Alcohol poisoning is easier to do than people think. Also, when distilling it's possible to end up with wood alcohol which is poisonous.

[@lonestar1775]

@@metatechnologist Gotta live life a little bit.

[@hjdorn]

"He has taken the bottles away for analysis." Right on.

[@kempy666999]

Maybe decant it into a mega-expensive single malt bottle before you get Ralfy to try it? :-)

[@haggismuncher735]

Big Clive talking about soy face was something I wasn't expecting to hear today

[@DerCrawlerVomUrAnus]

The freaking hat kills me, it looks like the cheap supermarket version of Ralfy's hat, very fitting.

[@baileyanderson6824]

Poundland version

[@77thTrombone]

I was thinking so. Quite sporting, PoundLand style!

[@RickJohnyALL-PROProcue]

Looks great

[@jazzswinglish]

Looks like a tribute to Chick Murray. Loved it.

[@TheRealColBosch]

I was going to say that it's the most-Scottish hat I've ever seen. Yes, even more than a tam o' shanter.

[@anotheruser9876]

"What would you like to drink Mr. Clive?" "Whisky. Shaken, not stirred"

[@ahashdahnagila6884]

@another user Indeed! Just like Sean Connery's character... old what's his name.

[@lacdirk]

"Distilled and clear, please"

[@georgenewlands9760]

@@ahashdahnagila6884 Whishky, shaken not shtirred.

[@ahashdahnagila6884]

@@georgenewlands9760 Yesh! Yesh, indeed!

[@greeftish]

When you give it to Ralphie you should put the dark vodka in the whiskey bottle and the clear whiskey in the vodka bottle, making sure to wash out the bottles as you transfer them, then we can have a psychological test as well as just taste.

[@tonysansom]

I was thinking absolutelt the same thing!

[@pmam1968]

"They always speak of my drinking, and never my thirst"

[@wizdude]

“I’m going to have a wee taste of the whiskey again” ... “just to verify” 😂 😂 😂

[@dodgydunc7]

Made me laugh. Sort of thing I'd do

[@ivanstefancic3151]

And then he adds "that's odd" which gives him another chance to try lol

[@user-bg2oi4bz3p]

I thought whiskey was taken in micro sips, not gulps?

[@TheLuftpolsterfolie]

@@user-bg2oi4bz3p depends on how good your tastebuds are. I always need to chuck the whole glass sadly 😊

[@user-bg2oi4bz3p]

@@TheLuftpolsterfolie Well, yes but, gulping and chucking is bypassing the tongue entirely. That is the purpose of beer because it's cheap enough to do that especially when you brew your own. Plus beer you can fill up on. It's like a highly nutritious meal. Whiskey you can't make a meal of...or can you?

[@terrymarsh1255]

I’m humbled by the personal sacrifices you make for our education and entertainment.

[@d.e.potter4923]

I agree: Humanity is in perpetual debt to you. I doff my hat to you, Sir!

[@_BangDroid_]

Jesus turned water into wine. BigClive turned whisky into vodka and vodka into whisky. Needless to say, I'm more impressed with the latter

[@eyeswideshut2800]

I cannot concur there.

[@scabthecat]

Jesus provided no proof of the feat, while Big Clive made a KZbin video. If there was any justice in the world, people would worship Big Clive.

[@Nicmadis]

Haha, I will concur. At least until Jesus posts a video where he turns water into whiskey, or at the very least vodka. Might change my mind then.

[@Bryan1342]

I can turn whisky, vodka, wine, spirits, and many other kinds of fluids into salty water. Checkmate, Jesus.

[@Grim_Beard]

Big Clive also has the distinct advantage of almost certainly existing.

[@johncummings9740]

What temperature did you distill it too? It looks like you distilled all the water out as well? The water would have dragged the flavours with it. Try this again but keep the temperature under 90c and then proof the distillate back down to 40% before tasting, I think you will find it’s closer to the expected vodka outcome.

[@thewhiskybothy]

O.M.G. it's a malt-moment !

[@Thermalions]

Well I was half right. I was expecting a comment "O.M.G. How could you?"

[@danpalu2308]

OMG FACE REVEAL!

[@ROKNRED]

I expected a bit more contempt from you on this, but it made me laugh. :D

[@christeamhound]

@ralfydotcom you should have been there for tasting notes!

[@billysgeo]

why not do colab and try and make some DIY whiskey. Small still and some ultrasonic "aging" maybe

[@avramlevitter6150]

"Sorry, that's the *cask* that colors it." Me, glancing at the two bottles of cask strength scotch on my shelf: "Yes. Definitely the cask and nothing else."

[@penergrastmanilow8731]

The cask use to do that 100 years ago. Today it is caramel colour (E150)... which gives you a terrible hungover and a lot of vomit

[@MultiAndrew1971]

A decent single malt still is the cask that adds the colour and some of the flavours. A cheap supermarket whisky probably has some artificial additives in to keep the price down

[@AdeptPaladin]

@@MultiAndrew1971 can confirm, the barrels do colour it in single malts! Visit any distillery worth their salt and you can see the process and how the whiskey darkens over time.

[@psr0459]

Yep ! Definitely an Aha ! moment and the sound of my delusions popping.

[@AdeptPaladin]

@Bob Watters Some correction, a blended malt isn’t “several distillers”, it’s usually the same distiller but different distilleries (ie: Bell’s has multiple distilleries but they are all the same company). Blended scotches are just combined single malts, typically only aged 3 years so they barely have any colouring. Raw spirit is just clear and after three years has absorbed barely any of the barrels tannins. By using shorter aged alcohol, there’s higher turnover, reduced loss due to evaporation all of which makes it cheaper. By mixing barrels and proportions you can get some good flavours at a fraction of the cost of longer aged scotch. So while a 12, 25, or 50 year single malt will have a distinct colour and flavour based on the cask they’ve aged in, a blended scotch will have artificial colourings most likely as they’ll have almost none of that.

[@oil_moon]

Now I can die peacefully having heard Big Clive use the words "soy face"

[@JasTheGoose88]

based Nanami poster

[@eviethekiwi7178]

I thought i misheard him...

[@pov_music]

definitely funnier hearing it from him than PJW or hbomberguy

[@qwertyTRiG]

@@pov_music I wouldn't imagine that there's a great deal of crossover between Big Clive and Hbomberguy fans. There's me, and apparently you.

[@Treakorizor]

@@qwertyTRiG well threes a crowd right?

[@piratepiratesman4310]

Your beard looks like you have a giant hairy moth on your chin, and it's awesome

[@upyoursassmonkey]

I can't unsee that now.

[@piratepiratesman4310]

@@upyoursassmonkey mwahaha!

[@krap101]

I'm not having a glass of wine! I'm having SIX. It's called a tasting and it's classy

[@TexasVexes]

Just have to make sure this bottle is consistently tasting the same the whole way.

[@mickd6942]

He has taken the bottles away for analysis killed me 😂

[@aquarius5264]

it's oddly satisfying to see him pour out an entire bottle of whiskey

[@number3stunner118]

That's how it's supposed to feel. This is an ASMR video. Right?

[@coolguy9651]

"A soy face." This man has earned my subscription.

[@stephenrowe2927]

All you need now is some whiskey barrel chippings and a ultrasonic cleaner, apparently its a way to 'Age' whiskey quickly

[@bigclivedotcom]

I do have an ultrasonic cleaner here too.

[@vermillionreaper]

yes, actually true!

[@brolohalflemming7042]

Throw in some plastic gloves for a hint of grape. Or collab with NileRed to do that part? But needs a name. Whisky and Whiskey are taken, so I propose Whiskish. And keeping results away from the revenuers. Presumably scope for refinement depending on how good the thermostat is in that distiller as presumably it's distilling water along with the good stuff. Which I guess is why the caramel syrup's left over with it's higher boiling point.

[@mikedrop4421]

That is such an amazing process. Thought emporium right?

[@Nicmadis]

"Big Clive Ye Olde Barstool Whiskey."

[@Speedi1103]

"He has taken the bottles away for analysis." XD

[@humdrumyokel9890]

And before that ... tasted them and called the result interesting ... well, he felt a need to confirm his result, repeatedly over some time, obviously. For such noble endeavor one would need an amount of samples.

[@monty3854]

@@humdrumyokel9890 He takes pride in his work!

[@manictiger]

@@humdrumyokel9890 It's bizarre. The more you drink it, the better it seems to taste. More study is required.

[@SimonZerafa]

"He has taken the bottles away for analysis". OK, I bet it's analysis, more like he's chugging the stuff and getting rat arsed! 😂

[@AussieTVMusic]

In the next episode we turn Beer into Cider.

[@bikerchrisukk]

"...the cask colours it apparently". I did laugh on my own when it was combined with the look 😂😂👍

[@michaelwise1224]

I was bitterly disappointed to find out in a tour of the distillery of my favourite rum that OP is only darker than UP because they use less water after the caramel is added to the white spirit.

[@FragGile]

I can’t wait until he reaches 1 million, one of the few channels on KZbin that have truly earned it

[@bigclivedotcom]

I'm not so keen on that. If the channel gets too big it will get less personal. (Like this response.)

[@simonoleary9264]

To paraphrase Ford Prefect: "Oh don't give me none more of that Old Manx Spirit No, don't you give me none more of that Old Manx Spirit For my head will fly, my tongue will lie, my eyes will fry and I may die Won't you pour me one more of that sinful Old Manx Spirit"

[@damonedwards1544]

I didn't get the reference. I thought he said "Mank spirit."

[@simonoleary9264]

@@damonedwards1544 Hi Clive was talking about "Manx spirit", which is a clear 40% alcohol spirit. Ford Prefect, from "Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy", sung a song (when drunk) called "That Old JANX Spirit". I just combined fact and fiction, given the chance to be a bit daft 😁.

[@markdonnelly1913]

Lol, I have never heard of Manx spirit before, but when he mentioned it, my first thought was of Hitchhiker's.

[@greyroo]

I love everything Big Clive does.... his mellow voice is just so good it makes anything interesting.

[@MaverickBlue42]

You can tell Clive was really feeling his samples, he's liked some 9000+ comments, give or take a handful........

[@fredjones7307]

Now that's what I call a bloody sensible experiment.

[@molletts]

5:08 "I'm just doing to have a wee taste of the whisky again... just to verify..." Ah, a man who understands the scientific method and the importance of repeatability when performing an experiment.

[@59jalex]

I'm overseas now, so I had to search for Crag and Glen 3 year old. The reviewer on whiskybase seems to like it. When I lived in the Philippines, I used to pass the alcohol section in the supermarkets. Unheard of, if not creative, brands of whisky. I often considered buying one. For the price, I couldn't see how you could go wrong. But, fortunately for me, they had my favourite whisky, The Macallan, at unbelievably cheap prices. You have convinced me to try the supermarket stock. You deserve a Nobel Prize for culture. My dad was from Bridgeton, I do believe I have the water of life flowing through my veins. Cheers.

[@JasonPullara]

In this video, Clive finds unique nerdy ways to get sick.

[@jamesplotkin4674]

He's killing bacteria.

[@chartle1]

So much better than drinking methylated spirits 😝

[@paulmurgatroyd6372]

So this is the spirits version of snakebite?

[@DirtyPlumbus]

Clive: I'm going to make vodka look like whiskey and whiskey look like vodka for a video. Me: I had no idea air distillers existed, I wonder what I'd use it for.

[@williammentink]

Distilling water. Booze distills at a lower temp, so no problem.

[@squirlmy]

@@williammentink does that eventually make "instant water?" Its a powder that you just add...um...something to...

[@generalerror7473]

@@squirlmy That's just what NASA calls dehydrated water, and used in space for weight savings

[@KonradTheWizzard]

You could use it to go blind by distilling random alcoholic beverages without regard to the complexities and chemicals... ...just a thought. ;-)

[@DirtyPlumbus]

@@KonradTheWizzard I was wondering if that could be a possibility. Lol

[@devilsadvocate1597]

"I'm expecting some residue in the bottom of the bowl..." I was expecting Clive to say "So I will lick the bowl clean!" 👅 Used to drive my mom crazy when I did that... ... "flush the handle like everyone else!" she used to shout at me! 🚽

[@PaulMansfield]

You can only flush the handle down the drain once

[@timdixon3391]

Whoa! Lol

[@MkeKen67]

Here's to ya for talking about "residue." My wife thinks I use that word too much, but there's usually not a great alternative available. My favorite residue is the dried bit of Guinness (although other beers often have the same effect) at the bottom of a pint glass about three hours (or a day) later. It smells like sweet wood smoke, like when you are taking a walk in the winter and someone has a fire going.

[@Nono-hk3is]

I imagine it would be possible to control the temperatures so precisely that you could control which chemicals (alcohols, flavors, water) carry over, although filtering through activated charcoal might be more effective if your goal were to make it neutral.

[@TDOBrandano]

It's not that easy. Alcohol does not distil with a clean boiling point when mixed with water, its boiling point changes with concentration, so that you can't obtain 100% alcohol by distillation alone. It's technically called an azeotrope, wikipedia has a page on the phenomenon. You could use a fractioning column and separate the single portions of the whiskey with it. But the compounds that carry the various flavours and smells are also quite volatile, and difficult to separate. Vodka has almost no flavour because the alcohol is distilled to about 95% and then diluted back to 40% with water.

[@racistpandagod]

Distilling is tough coz it's not consistent. Watch videos from still it or the whiskey tribe to understand why it's more of an art than a science. Not that good science doesn't help with the process.

[@thereaper489]

This is false, alcohols distill at different temperatures, in a fermented soup the alcohol contained is in every form, ethanol is your hearts but your heads (what comes before the ethanol) is a mix of rubbing alcohol and acetone. The tails are a mix of ethanol and basic water. Listen to TDO, as an irish man grown in the land of whiskey farms I can tell he knows the way as well as I.

[@blahorgaslisk7763]

@@TDOBrandano I was going to post something about this, but you saved me from spending time trying to compose something readable. I was wondering why he didn't test the alcohol content, but then I saw the bottle was almost full and there were very little left in the still. Sure signs that he had just taken head, heart and tail all, leaving just the absolute dregs. So of course a lot of the taste will still be in there.

[@roblamb8327]

@@blahorgaslisk7763 and, of course, the original distiller will almost certainly have removed all the nasties (near enough) in "his" first couple of distillations to make "his" product street legal.

[@BRUXXUS]

That thumbnail bit had me cracking up! Also, this is a fascinating experiment! Looking forward to hearing Ralfy's thoughts.

[@134StormShadow]

IF poor old Ralfy can formulate any after shampling/ teshting boths bottlesh - hic

[@markaudley-thewles5920]

You deserve a blue plaque on the front of your home . Complete legend !

[@chuckoneill2023]

That sounds impressive, but could you enlighten a non UK citizen, as it's not something I've heard of before?

[@samanthafox8273]

@@chuckoneill2023 Here in the UK, there are several heritage/historical preservation groups both official (government) charity and also independent charities. The blue plaques are used by these charities to mark an important location, such as the birthplace of a famous person, or other historically/culturally important things. I don't know why they're almost all blue with white lettering, but that's by far the most common type.

[@khaid12345]

BigClive has the greatest and manliest beard I have ever seen. Its brilliant, well done m8

[@robinbrowne5419]

I love the super-computer calculating away in the background.

[@bigclivedotcom]

It was analysing the whisky.

[@Pondus]

@@bigclivedotcom Is that something you made yourselves?

[@jamesg1367]

@@bigclivedotcom It appears to have sampled a slight excess.

[@SharkoonBln]

@Robin Browne: It obviously has some parity errors, hence the red lights ;)

[@robinbrowne5419]

@@SharkoonBln Those are sampling errors ;-)

[@BrendanPerkins]

Absolutely sodding brilliant! I'm going write a song called "Sticky Golden Residue" 🥃

[@speckledjim_]

Never in a million years did I have you down as having a smashing big beard like that. Bravo man 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@Case_]

(How, though? He even has it in his logo/icon...)

[@speckledjim_]

@@Case_ never noticed

[@ffmag9501]

I am a Chemist I can try to explain: The flavour of any snaps is provided by many different molecules. And some of them do have a relatively low boiling point (e.g. alkenes). When destilling, a mixture of liquids can be separated. Technically they are separated by their vapour pressures and not as commonly thought their boiling points but lets keep taking the boiling point. Besides water and ethanol (the drinkable alcohol) also the low boiling flavour substances (alkenes) will be vaporized and transfered to your bottle so the clear condensate will have a taste very close to the original whisky but of course not exactly as it used to be. It should taste something like after it has been distilled orginially for the first time before put into casks to mature. The colours (and other flavours with higher boiling points) usually come from the cask and might have higher boiling points so they are not transferred to your distillate and remain as an oily residue.

[@unkleturpis9253]

I don't know why this popped up in my feed, but that magnificent beard was worth the viewing. And then the rest just made it even better.

[@JxH]

When distilling, you have to separate the start, the heart, and the tail end. It's because the "contaminants" are at one end or the other.

[@naajohnnorthcott8267]

The foreshots and feints will have been removed following the first distillation.

[@GSX1402]

That already happened at the distillery.

[@naajohnnorthcott8267]

@@GSX1402 That's what I wrote.

[@TheFreak111]

Would have been intersting if he did separate them, and taste the three. I guess the heads would taste like concentraded whiskey flavour with less alcohol?

[@physiocrat7143]

When distilling a new fermentation the low temperature distillate is useful for cleaning or adding to petrol for your car. Just don't drink it or inhale it.

[@Sem5626]

how have i never heard of you before, this is one of the rare times the youtube algorithm has worked and shown me a top shelf content creator subscribed

[@NotSoCrazyNinja]

Big Clive is amazing.

[@wisconsingoldrush8270]

Very interesting! You saved heads, hearts and tails so I'm not surprised the distillate tasted a bit like whiskey, as opposed to what might be expected from a fractional distillation. However, I have always wanted to make a whiskey concentrate, and this was super cool to watch for that reason!

[@shoestringeng6473]

I was thinking the same thing, with a simple still like that I would think you would need to take 3 samples head, heart and tail and compare those? cool expermint!!!!

[@iaing]

Have you ever calculated how much the visual white noise generator in the top left corner constantly running costs in bandwidth when you're uploading? Just wondering.

[@bigclivedotcom]

I have turned it off in the past or swapped it for the slow colour change one when connectivity has been poor.

[@ninjarobotmonk3y]

The thumbnail is truly a wonderous thing! bravo

[@jadekaay]

That light whisky would be useful for secret drinkers who like to hide the fact from their family members eg: "Are you drunk again?" *"Nah look, it's just water"*

[@skabde]

"Are you drinking whisky again?" "No, it's just vodka, I swear!"

[@guardrailbiter]

Only works on family that is deficient in olfactory perception. ;-)

[@jadekaay]

@@guardrailbiter or.. Pro Tip: keep making passing comments about how strange it is that your new aftershave smells like vodka - even tell jokes about it.. They'll never suspect a thing

[@corvidconfidential8826]

Oh no, a small fire in the kitchen! Quick, grab uncle's water thermos!

[@warmbeer2]

You know things are going well when you have to hide your drinking.

[@funnyvideos-24by7]

This man has the ability to confuse even the greatest Whiskey experts and oh of course I almost forgot, it includes Vodka experts too!!

[@Aqvavitae]

Fascinating. Get Ralfy on the case 🙌

[@precariousdave]

But please keep the bonnet. Ralfy doesnae need that one.

[@BigJimmyJazz]

So that's what E-150 coloring looks like. Making Vodka look like a Dalmore

[@DonnerPassWhisky]

@@BigJimmyJazz LMAO !

[@Mike_Hughes]

"Ralfy took the bottles away for analysis" ??!! - Clive, NEXT TIME PLEASE, let ME take them away for analysis! - It won't take me very long, as I have a much larger glass...

[@samfallow18]

I feel like I'm watching a trailer for a new series of Still Game featuring two new characters, Ralfy and Big Clive.

[@loganlutz5396]

First time watching anything from this channel. Very happy i clicked in. You have such a mellow soothing voice. Makes it easy and enjoyable to sit back and watch. Easy like an subscribe from me.

[@blapty]

BC: Just gave everyone the finger there.. So sorry. Me: Just confirms why I can't help love the man. 🤣🤣🤣

[@rickseiden1]

It's like some sort of bad magic trick. "Nothing up my sleeve, nothing in the distiller. Watch me turn Whiskey in to Vodka. Now, for my second trick, Vodka becomes Whiskey!"

[@graemejwsmith]

It's Scotch - it's "Whisky" without the "e". Leave the "e" to the Irish and Americans..... ;-) Peace

[@rickseiden1]

@@graemejwsmith I apologize. I'm an American that doesn't drink Whisky.

[@Galerak1]

Doc said I should limit myself to 2 glasses per day... Luckily the bottles are made of glass 🤣

[@johndododoe1411]

Luckily bottles are smaller than glass mugs for bear.

[@richardpowell4281]

Another experiment you could run is getting a 1 liter mini charred oak barrel, mine cost like $30 US. Pour one bottle in the barrel, keep another bottle as a control, and maybe even get some new make whiskey, and see which tastes best after 9 months.

[@brittakriep2938]

In Germany some breweries sell destilled beer , either as Bierschnaps or somehow sweetened as Bierlikör.

The whiskey went through, because you distilled all of the liquid except the sugar. If you would have stopped once the temperature rises (so only the alcohol is distilled), and added water to the result, it would taste more like vodka (might have some hints of whiskey)

[@prestonhamm8117]

Exactly

[@Kainlarsen]

So now I need to get a soda stream AND one of those distillers.

[@alessandrozonfrillo7806]

If i want to make something like bourbon infused peanut butter, do i need to do the cuts or since i use a finished commercial product, there is no need to. Let me know :) Thank you in advance

[@bigclivedotcom]

If it's already manufactured no more cuts are needed.

[@Fixerbob]

Definitely a 'we have a cheap supermarket whisky here, Let's take it to bits ' ! moment.

[@metatechnologist]

Did you see what brand it was? 3 years aged? In my US locale they sell an 8 year Canadian whiskey 'black velvet' at the same price as Seagrams. I think it's pretty smooth.

[@catfish552]

Years after "Air freshener cross-breeding" comes the hotly-awaited sequel: "Alcoholic spirit cross-breeding"!

[@webbax90]

After spending time at the hospital, i really missed your streams and settling voice, I REALLY like this video, with Clive beeing Clive

[@youcan2657]

Your talking is pure art. Just came across your channel but had to subscribe immediately. Thanks for sharing your experience

[@tazz1669]

This has made my morning, can't wait for the Ralfy's review

[@morphuk1]

I don't know what's more shocking, that thumbnail pic or the wallpaper in the hall 😲

[@michaeldudziak2346]

He does drinks a lot of alcohol .

[@ChrisP978]

I guess if you wanted just the alcohol to go across you would need to regulate temperature more closely and use a reflux column or another method to help recondense water escaping. Should come out as a high proof vodka. Tech Ingredients did a good video on a few different methods kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXOrepZsgdx7bNE A fun experiment regardless, you're going to have to film Ralphy's reaction and have him give it a "Blend Mark" :)

[@RobertSzasz]

You need a pretty long column to let the more volatile stuff through while keeping the alcohol, then let the alcohol & water through while keeping the less volatile stuff in the pot. If you're going for neutral, distill once, ph buffer some activated charcoal then mix in with your first distillation, filter, redistill and you should have something pretty clean. If you want to go to full dryness, just get some molecular sieve

[@jimmylove7760]

Stick a potentiometer on it to regulate the temp, time how long it takes for the amount of liquid to leave the unit,then calculate. Plug it into a timer (set after calculation) now u can fill it up and walk away. When u return, job done. Put in 4 L of 40% ABV cheap booze.....render just less than 2L of finer spirit (around 80%). Dilute with something tastey. Good idea to run off about 75-100ml of nasty shit first.I believe it works.

[@jm.varian911]

Discovered your channel through magical algorithm of KZbin, watching undervolt LED lamps of Dubai, and somehow ended up watching re-distilling whisky! Happy accidents! Subbed, too!

[@orobica96x]

5:55 The alcohol is starting to have the first effects on Clive

[@REEESEY]

"I reckon its gonna be a queer spirit" hahaha as usual, big clive never fails to impress!

[@hxhdfjifzirstc894]

At least you can buy Scotch at the supermarket. Here, they have entire stores dedicated to liquor and you're not allowed to buy it anywhere else. FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, SAYS THE KING.

[@PhD63]

Where’s Here?

[@nokitseja]

@@PhD63 Sounds a bit like Norway, also the name hxhdfj ifzir st c is kind a giveaway.

[@AnttiBrax]

@@PhD63 King hints to Norway or Sweden. Finland is the same but with democracy.

[@nkt1]

To be fair, Scotland has a hell of a drink problem.

[@PhD63]

@@nokitseja, how does the name hxhdfj ifzir st c hint at being Norway? Just looks like a jumble of letters to me lol.

[@Francois_Dupont]

"He has taken the bottles away for analysis." you know what that means!

[@DavidGauthiersquidpride2014]

It would be interesting to see if the distillation changed the flashpoint or proof...I think you discovered the Clive Super Blend!

[@daic7274]

Not by much, look at the volume of distilled liquid compared to the unopened bottle. Not much reduction in volume so the strength won't have increased much.

[@chriss8825]

@@daic7274 Yea it probably only went up 1% or so (as he boiled it dry). If he wanted to increase the proof he could have distilled about 50% of the content, then re-distilled that output to another 50%. That would result in about 25% of the initial liquid but he would probably have at least 170 proof (85%). edit: I dont recommend doing this thought. You dont want high percentage alcohol touching plastics).

[@MARKE911]

How in the world did I miss this video??? Thank goodness you made mention of it on the other video so I could go back and watch it.

[@robertoneill1979]

Was waiting for you to drop to your knees giggling uncontrollably, like Withnail 🤣

[@tedvanmatje]

One should never excuse the chance of smashing down a few drams now and often big yinn. Hope wee ralfie enjoyed your experiment :)