Making Cuts

How to Make Distillation Cuts: Heads, Hearts & Tails Explained

If you’re new to distilling, learning how to make your cuts can be one of the most confusing parts of the process, seem daunting at times, and even cause frustration for new distillers.

You will hear people talk about foreshots, heads, hearts, and tails. You may find charts telling you that one fraction comes off at one temperature and another starts at a different temperature. You might even find formulas telling you exactly how much of each fraction you should collect.

Unfortunately, it isn’t quite that simple.

Making good cuts is part science and part experience. Once you understand what is happening inside your still—and stop expecting the different fractions to appear at precise temperatures—it becomes much easier.

What Are Distillation Cuts?

During a distillation run, you aren’t collecting pure compounds one at a time. Your wash contains ethanol, water, and many other volatile compounds produced during fermentation.  It is a mixture, not simply a group of individual compounds.

These compounds have different boiling points, but that doesn’t mean they neatly separate according to those boiling points. The vapor leaving your still contains a mixture of these compounds, and that mixture continually changes throughout the run.

We divide the distillate into several general fractions:

Foreshots – The first small portion collected from the still. This fraction contains some of the most volatile compounds and is normally discarded.

Heads – The early portion of the run. Heads can contain compounds that produce sharp, solvent-like or chemical aromas and flavors.  Some people consider Foreshots and Heads one in the same, while others separate them, for reasons discussed later.

Hearts – This is the portion you generally want to keep. The harsh characteristics of the heads have diminished, and you’re collecting the cleanest or most desirable portion of the spirit.

Tails – As the run progresses, heavier compounds become increasingly noticeable. Depending on what you’re producing, some of these flavors may be desirable, but eventually the spirit can develop wet cardboard, damp grain, oily, or other undesirable characteristics.

The important thing to understand is that there isn’t a sharp dividing line between these fractions.  They overlap.

Don’t Make Your Cuts Based on Temperature Alone

This is probably one of the most common mistakes we see among new distillers.

Ethanol boils at approximately 173°F (78.4°C), so it seems logical that watching the thermometer should tell you exactly what is coming out of your still.

It doesn’t.

A fermented wash is a mixture of water, ethanol, and many other compounds. Those compounds interact with one another, and the vapor composition changes continuously during the run.

Your thermometer is a useful tool. It can help you understand what your still is doing and give you useful information from one run to another, but do not rely too heavily on it when making cuts.  It shouldn’t be the sole factor determining when you move from heads to hearts or from hearts to tails.

Your senses are ultimately a much better tool for making your final cuts.

Collect in Small Containers

One of the easiest ways to improve your cuts is also one of the simplest: don’t collect your entire run into one or two large containers.

Instead, collect the distillate in a series of smaller, numbered containers.

As the run progresses, move from one container to the next. This gives you individual samples from different points during the run.

Exactly how large those fractions should be depends on the size of your run. The goal isn’t to hit a particular number of ounces or milliliters. You simply want enough separate samples that you can identify how the spirit changes throughout the run.

If you collect everything together, you have already made your cut.  You can’t go back and undo it.

With multiple containers, you can evaluate everything after the run and decide exactly where you want your final cuts to fall.

Give the Samples Some Time

When the run is finished, don’t feel that you need to make your final decision immediately.  Loosely cover the containers and allow the samples some time to air. Even 12–24 hours can make evaluating them easier.

Then start working your way through the samples.  I suggest starting in the middle and working your way one direction, then the other.  Use your nose first.  After smelling a couple of the samples, give your olfactory senses time to clear.

Early jars may have a sharp, solvent-like aroma. As you move toward the hearts, those harsh aromas should begin to disappear and the spirit should become cleaner and more pleasant.  As you continue through the samples you will eventually begin detecting characteristics associated with the tails.

You can also dilute a small sample with water before evaluating it. High-proof alcohol can overwhelm your senses, and reducing the proof can make subtle aromas and flavors much easier to detect.

There Is No Single “Correct” Hearts Cut

This is where distilling becomes as much craft as science.  Two people can make different cuts from exactly the same run—and both can be correct.

Why?

Because it depends on what you’re trying to make.

If you’re producing a very clean neutral spirit, you’ll generally want relatively conservative cuts. Your goal is to remove as much unwanted flavor as possible.

If you’re making whiskey, rum, brandy, or another flavorful spirit, things become more interesting.

Some of the compounds appearing toward the edges of the hearts can contribute desirable character to the finished spirit. A little more heads or tails character may add complexity that becomes especially interesting after aging.

Cut too tightly and you may produce a very clean spirit that lacks character.

Cut too broadly and undesirable flavors can overwhelm it.

Finding that balance is one of the skills that develops with experience.

Don’t Throw Away Your Heads and Tails

Just because a portion of the run didn’t make it into your hearts doesn’t necessarily mean it needs to go down the drain.  Many distillers save usable heads and tails—often collectively referred to as feints—and add them to a future distillation.  There is still ethanol in those fractions, and a future run gives you another opportunity to recover it.

Exactly how and when you recycle feints depends on your process and the spirit you’re producing, but throwing away everything outside the hearts can mean throwing away recoverable alcohol.

Keep Notes

This may be the most underrated part of learning to make good cuts.

Record what you did.

Write down your recipe, fermentation details, still configuration, how you ran the still, the approximate proof throughout the run, where you made your cuts, and—most importantly—what the finished spirit tasted like.

That last part matters because you may love a spirit immediately after distillation and feel differently after it has aged for several months.

Likewise, something that seems slightly heavy in the tails when fresh may develop desirable character after spending time on oak.

Good records allow you to connect the decisions you made during distillation with the spirit you eventually drink.

Without notes, you’re relying on memory.

Practice Makes Better Cuts

There isn’t a chart that can make perfect cuts for you.

Charts, temperatures, alcohol readings, and other measurements are useful tools, but eventually you need to smell and taste the spirit and decide what belongs in your final product.

The good news is that this becomes dramatically easier with experience.

Collect plenty of small samples. Compare them side-by-side. Smell them. Dilute small samples and taste them. Take notes.

After several runs, you’ll begin recognizing the transition from heads into hearts and hearts into tails much more easily.

And that’s when making cuts stops feeling like you’re following somebody else’s instructions and starts becoming part of your own distilling style.

A Note About Distilling Legally

Federal, state, and local laws governing distillation vary depending on where you live and what you are producing. Before operating distillation equipment, make sure you understand and comply with all applicable laws, licensing, and permitting requirements.