Stills, Reflux and Purifiers - What's the deal with Ardbeg Heavy Vapours?

Stills, Reflux and Purifiers
Ardbeg Heavy Vapours has everyone talking about purifiers but what are they? What does a purifier do? And why is it important to whisky distillation?
Let's find out! And the best way to do that is by starting with Reflux itself.
#WhiskyReview #WhiskyTube #Scotch #Ardbeg #HeavyVapours #Purifier #Whisky #WhiskyLock #Distillation

[@thewhiskyenthusiast]

Thank you for this Shane, a very thorough and easy explanation.

[@fraserthistle4200]

Fantastic whisky geekery. I loved how you had a visual example of the different stills along with your explanation. Really well put together video 👍

[@WhiskyLock]

Thanks Fraser. Dragging my camera around every distillery I visit finally paid off 😉

[@thewhiskian]

Thank you for bringing up the topic and presenting it in an accessible way! I always learn something new here. I'd be interested in hearing your and others' experiences in comparing whiskies with and without purifiers, lyne arm degrees, and still builds to see if there are significant, correlatable differences between the two. Perhaps even using examples from the same or similar distilleries.

[@WhiskyLock]

Thanks! That's great to hear. I'm always on the lookout for things like that; similar whiskies with one variable changed. I'll be sure to cover anything else I find. Cheers 🥃

[@WhiskyNeighbour]

Great conversation. Loved the visuals from different distilleries too. Cheers!

[@WhiskyLock]

Thanks mate. Dragging my camera around all those distilleries finally paid off 😁 Cheers!

[@andywalker6908]

Hi Shane very educational today, lots of new things learnt. well done a a tricky subject

[@WhiskyLock]

Cheers Andy 🥃

[@dennissmelly9599]

Well explained, and I totaly agree the current craze for turd pollishing is often confusing and distracting.

[@WhiskyLock]

Thanks Dennis. Yeah, I'm still kind of annoyed with Glenmorangie and those other early adapters for popularising the cask finish. Real whisky please! 🙂

[@TimHoekstra]

Great breakdown! You never stop learning new things 🙂

[@WhiskyLock]

Thanks Tim!

[@Aircraftsystemst]

I agree that new make spirit gains alot of its flavour from fermentation and distillation processes. I get sick of distilleries using 3,4,5 different casks to flavour there whisky.

[@WhiskyLock]

It's a real shame that so many have become obsessed with more exotic and heavier cask influence. I do miss the old ways...

[@OdysseasK]

Couldn't agree more. Being someone who much prefers unfinished whiskies, I would be so glad if distilleries actually started focusing on the grain, the fermentation, and the distillation instead of slapping whatever sort of wood they can on their distillate. But then again, that wouldn't be as "fancy" or "marketable" and would actually require them to want to produce something exciting...

[@WhiskyLock]

Exactly that! It's far easier to sell a sherry finish sadly... Cheers 🥃

[@kiwigor]

Short and well explained. Thanks! From now on i will try to find still info of every whisky I’m tasting. This must mean i reached the next level in whisky geekery. So exciting…. From “beginner” to “advanced beginner” 🥳

[@WhiskyLock]

It's really interesting to look at the still size and shape and try to spot patterns 🙂 ScotchWhisky.com's WhiskyPedia is a great resource for looking into what setup a distillery is using. Cheers 🥃

[@nenads.3695]

Thank you for the explanation. Greatly appreciated. Keep up the great work!

[@WhiskyLock]

Thanks Nenad 🥃

[@wouterblom7569]

Hi Shane, love these nerdy videos! And I agree: I have a strong preference for flavours from the spirit itself over these ‘unsubtle’ cask finishes. Keep up the good work! Cheers

[@peathead4450]

Very interesting. Thanks for explaing. Now I can redirect people to this video (saves a lot of time explaining it myself 😅) Slàinte mhath

[@WhiskyLock]

You're welcome! 😂

[@hordeum-vulgare]

A great wee primer on the topic. Three cheers for innovation in grain varietals, fermentation regimes, and distillation variables. The other thing we're seeing here in Australia (and also in the US) is innovation in the 'malt bill': using different maltings, much as a brewer would, including roasted ones.

[@WhiskyLock]

Yes, it's a very interesting area. Sadly, as I'm sure you know, Single Malt Scotch has to be 100% malted barley. Which is good in a way because there is something special about malted barley... but also a shame because it discourages most from experimenting. There are lots of interesting things that can be done with a mixed mashbill though. Cheers 🥃

[@Bowman1999]

You had me at Geeky. Great video keep them coming !

[@WhiskyLock]

Thanks Rob 🤓

[@rubberbottom]

Thank you for the Whisky Stuff playlist! Great content! I like how you manage to explain geeky whisky stuff in a simple way. 👍

[@WhiskyLock]

Thank you my friend. It is really appreciate and I'm glad you got some value out of the Whisky Stuff videos. Cheers! 🥃

[@rubberbottom]

@@WhiskyLock 🥃to you too. 🙂You mention in the video, that the ABV of the fresh spirit, shouldnt be higher the 94,8% - because otherwise the spirit "wont work with the casks" (or vice versa). What happens since the cask-influence is absent at 95%+ ?

[@WhiskyLock]

@@rubberbottom the ratio of ethanol to water when filling casks changes what's extracted from the wood. Filling at too high a strength will probably give you something very bitter and woody very quickly. And 94.8% is certainly too high already. Many distilleries fill at 63.5% both for historical reasons and because it gives you a good balance of cask flavours whilst also giving you a good buffer against the ABV dropping below 40%. It's worked well for decades so many stick with it. A few fill a little higher but rarely much above 70%. The 94.8% max ABV figure is actually the upper limit of what you're allowed to distill to under the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 and that stupendously high number is probably more about preventing from distilleries distilling completely neutral spirit (vodka) that ends up with no flavour from the malt that can develop with maturation. Barrel aged vodka is a thing and it's cheaper to make than whisky (you need less casks to make 100 bottles of spirit if you're maturing at high strength) but it's not whisky and the SWR 2009 enshrines that difference in law to protect what we know as Scotch.

[@davidowen2834]

Hi Shane, yes indeed a very interesting topic, I really enjoyed watching it. A video I can look back at for reference and good info , nice one Shane 👍Slàinte 🥃.

[@WhiskyLock]

Thanks David!

[@seanreeves3503]

Thanks for that I enjoy that I like the extra information

[@WhiskyLock]

Cheers Sean 🥃

[@RebMordechaiReviews]

Very nice explanation.

[@WhiskyLock]

Thank you my friend 🥃

[@ericlani2622]

cheers

[@gareth630]

Everyday it's great to learn something or be reminded of facts. Great offering Shane, but please which brand takes Brasso on turds to quality ;-). P.s on a side note came across a bottle of Talisker Skye in the co-op for £24-00, looks like my 18 Ledaig is safe till winter 🙂

[@marty_sugar]

The Like button has only one size but consider mine as a huge one. Top content, thanks Shane 🥃👌

[@WhiskyLock]

Thank you for the very kind words! Cheers 🥃👍

[@WhskAZCL]

I liked the xtras... I meant, the "tech explanations"😂. I still wonder if I should try that heavy vapors liquid...

[@WhiskyLock]

🙅‍♂️ extras 😂 Definitely try it if you find a sample or see it in a bar. It's a pricey novelty though 🙂

[@chriskellas2902]

I would really like to taste the Ardbeg Heavy Vapours, but my local liquor store is selling it for $165.00 USD, so sadly no way, I'll just buy another bottle of Uigeadial and Ardbeg 10 and be content with that.

[@WhiskyLock]

Yeah whatever way we look at it, that's an expensive bottle of whisky. It's a shame that more retailers don't offer samples of things like Committee Releases for us to try them more affordably. I guess there's more profit into panicking us into buying a full bottle while we have the chance!

[@PaleMischief]

🥃👍🏻😁 Very interesting

[@WhiskyLock]

Thanks 🤓

[@Tantrum777]

If you were going to make your own scotch and you could copy any existing whisky still set up from what distillary would to want to copy? Mine would be Lagavulin.

[@WhiskyLock]

Great question and Lagavulin is a solid choice. I think I'd go with Kilchoman though. Everything about their setup tells you it's going to be a beast of a whisky and it is 🙂

[@Tantrum777]

@@WhiskyLock Excellent answer.

[@marclambert8596]

@@WhiskyLock Totally agree!

[@jtf2dan]

What affect does size have on the spirit..such as the Wee Witchie?....and Worm Tubs..what do they do?

[@WhiskyLock]

Generally smaller stills make it easier for heavier, less volatile compounds to get through and you get a heavier, oilier, more dirty and feinty whisky. Although a smaller but very narrow still will lessen that to some extent. The thing with the Wee Witchie is that they're also running partial triple distillation and that probably warrants its own video 🙂 They're essentially causing more reflux by putting some of what escapes the still, back into the still for another run. Does that produce the same effect as a still with more reflux? Nope! It's a very complex and nuanced process. Worm tubs probably deserve their own video too. They do the same job as a modern shell and tube condenser (the big vertical cylinder attached to the Lyne arm of most stills but are a more old fashioned version being a huge coil of copper pipe submerged in a tub of cooling water. Many say that worm tubs with their more gentle pace strip out less volatile compounds, including sulphur, to give a heavier spirit. Worm tubs also give a bit more variation batch to batch because you're relying on a tub of water to provide your cooling and at many distilleries that tub of water is outside! 🙂