Distilling Safety – Foreshot

Distilling Safety – Foreshot

Foreshot is the first 50-100 ml (from a 25 Litre batch) of distillate collected from a run through your still.

The foreshot generally contains a quantity of Methanol, Acetone and various Aldehydes along with small amounts of wanted Ethanol. To put it in perspective, the first 25 mls contains most, the remainder of the 100ml is to be sure all the nasties are cleared and collected.  We recommend to collect the first 100 ml and dispose of it. (Applies to fractional/reflux distillation techniques and equipment)

To enhance the quality of your spirit being collected for consumption, the foreshot should be collected at a slow rate (fast drips, rather than the streaming we see during collection of the main part of the distilling run).

Foreshot does contain a range of chemicals and alcohols that are undesirable and potentially harmful, therefore it should never be collected and re-distilled.  Don’t be a tight wad and try to resurrect a few cents worth of product to make it drinkable. In time, It has the potential to cause irreversible eye, brain and liver damage…….seen largely in people developing chronic and even terminal diseases…….dump the foreshot.

D U M P – T H E – F O R E S H O T

Consider the following.

If the first 25-50 mls contains just 5 ml of methanol and 2 ml of Acetone, then you collect it, and redistill that with your next batch, by the time you get to about batch number 10, then your first 50 ml contains pretty much pure methanol and Acetone. The rest of the "nasty stuff" has been left behind in the ensuing batches, being consumed and is now doing significant and irreversible damage to your eyes, nervous system, brain and liver.

By the time you’re 5-10 years down the track, it’s too late to take it all back.

Be smart – Be safe:  D U M P – T H E – F O R E S H O T

Oh, and drink in moderation.