Troubleshooting Harsh, Solvent-y Spirit

That harsh, solvent-like character is a classic sign of one main culprit: heads contamination. Here’s what to check, in order of likelihood.

Most Likely Cause: Heads in Your Hearts

Solvent, nail polish remover, or paint thinner notes come from acetone, ethyl acetate, and other light esters that concentrate in the heads fraction.

What to do: – Make deeper heads cuts — You’re likely not removing enough of the foreshots and heads before switching to hearts collection – Slow down your run — Running too fast can cause heads compounds to smear into your hearts – Use the “empty glass” test — Per DU sources: coat the inside of a glass with your spirit, pour out the excess, and smell it the next morning. If you get “brackish, sour, solvent-like, or wet cardboard flavors—shame on you—you got greedy and ended up with heads or tails in your spirit”

Other Things to Check

Fermentation issues: – High fermentation temperatures can produce excess esters and fusel oils – Stressed yeast (low nutrients, wrong pH) creates more off-compounds – Incomplete fermentation can leave harsh precursors

Still operation: – Are you running too hot/fast? This pushes unwanted compounds over – Is your column flooding or puking? Wash carryover tastes terrible

Water quality: – What are you diluting with? Hard water can sometimes contribute off-notes

Quick Fix to Try

If you have spirit that’s already harsh, DU sources suggest: – Redistill it — Run it again with careful cuts – Activated carbon filtering — Can help, but won’t fully fix a badly cut spirit – Time — Some harshness mellows, but true solvent notes rarely age out completely

Bottom line: Slow down, cut deeper into heads, and don’t get greedy with your hearts collection. Quality over quantity!

Sources: Distillery University sources

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Essential Records to Keep From Day One

Great question—getting your record-keeping system set up early will save you major headaches down the road. Here’s what you should be tracking from the start:

For Licensed/Commercial Distillers

Federal requirements are non-negotiable. You must keep daily records covering:

– Manufacturing of distilled spirits products — what you made, when, and how much – Storage and finishing — what’s aging, where, and for how long – Bottling and processing — quantities, dates, proof levels

Key point: Even if you don’t distill anything in a given month, you still need to submit your paperwork to TTB showing zero production. Three forms, every month, no exceptions.

Retention period: Federal regulations require you to keep records for at least three years from the date of the record (or the last entry made on it). TTB can require an additional three years if they deem it necessary for revenue protection.

For Hobbyists & Recipe Development

A simple, practical system works best:

1. Wash/Mash Log (front of notebook) – Recipe name and batch number – Ingredients and quantities – Starting specific gravity, temperatures – Fermentation notes and dates

2. Still Run Log (back of notebook) – Batch name/number (linked to your wash log) – Cuts timing and volumes – Final proof readings

3. Aging/Bottle Labels – Recipe revision and batch number (e.g., “Rum #7 Batch #2”) – Date barreled or bottled – Proof at bottling

This lets you trace any bottle back to its run and original wash—invaluable when something turns out great and you want to replicate it.

Pro Tips From Experienced Distillers

– Focus on recipes first: Many experienced folks say detailed run timing (how long to fill jar #3) matters less than nailing down your recipe and any changes you made between batches. – Don’t skip the notes on experiments: The most frustrating thing is creating something fantastic and having no record of what you did differently. – Label everything aging—mystery bottles are fun until you need to reproduce a winner.

Sources: Distillery University knowledgebase; Hands-on Workshop educational content; 27 CFR (TTB regulations on record retention)

Want me to put together a simple template you could use for tracking batches?

How to Figure Out a Realistic Price Per Bottle

Pricing is one of the trickiest parts of the business—get it wrong and you’ll either lose money or scare off customers. Here’s a practical framework based on Distillery University sources.

Step 1: Calculate Your True Costs Per Bottle

Don’t base your cash flow on the retail price—this is a common mistake. You won’t see that full amount. Here’s what actually eats into your margin:

– Raw ingredients (grain, yeast, botanicals, water treatment, etc.) – Bottles, closures, and labels — These add up fast. Labels alone can run $0.15–$0.25 each, and bottles around $1.00 or more depending on style – Labor — Your time has value, even if you’re the only employee – Overhead — Utilities, rent, insurance, licensing fees – Aging time — If you’re aging 2–3 years before sale, that’s capital tied up earning nothing – Taxes — Federal excise tax, state taxes, local fees – Distribution cuts — Distributors, retailers, and restaurants all take a share

Reality check: A $30 bottle of vodka? You’ll be lucky to net $10–$12 after everyone takes their cut.

Step 2: Understand Contribution Margin vs. Retail Price

Your contribution margin is what you actually make per bottle after variable costs—not the sticker price.

Example from DU sources:

If your fixed costs for a vodka batch are $20,000 and your contribution margin is $10 per bottle, you need to sell 2,000 bottles just to break even (zero profit).

This is your breakeven point. Anything beyond that is actual profit.

Step 3: Do Competitive Pricing Research

Research what similar spirits sell for in your market, then position yourself appropriately:

– Don’t underprice — If comparable bourbons sell for $75 and yours is $55, customers may assume it’s inferior. One distiller raised prices from $55 to $80 and sold more because the price matched perceived quality. – Don’t wildly overprice — If everything on the shelf is $100 and you’re at $175 with no story to justify it, customers will pass.

The sweet spot: Price at what reflects your quality and brand positioning, not what makes you feel comfortable.

Step 4: Maximize Your Highest-Margin Sales First

Direct-to-consumer (tasting room) sales are your best margin—no distributor, no retailer taking a cut.

Prioritize getting people into your tasting room and walking out with bottles.

Step 5: Be Willing to Adjust

“It’s only worth what people are willing to pay for it.”

Even experienced distillers take a swing at pricing, then adjust based on real sales data. If a bottle sits at $75 and nobody’s buying, it’s not worth $75—regardless of how good it is.

Quick Pricing Checklist

– [ ] Calculate all ingredient costs per batch – [ ] Add packaging costs (bottles, labels, closures) – [ ] Factor in labor and overhead – [ ] Include aging time as a cost – [ ] Account for taxes and distribution cuts – [ ] Research competitor pricing in your market – [ ] Set price to reflect quality—don’t undervalue yourself – [ ] Plan to sell direct-to-consumer as much as possible – [ ] Review and adjust based on actual sales

Sources: Distillery University sources (Business Planning Webinar, Marketing Distribution Pricing session); Hands-on Workshop educational content

Would you like help building a simple spreadsheet to calculate your per-bottle costs and breakeven point?