silverfish Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I saw an ebay auction for CLIX vodka. The auction claimed CLIX is distilled 159 times. Thinking it was some bogus info I did a search and learned it's a BT product and it is distilled 159 times. I'll be darned... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillman Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Interesting. I couldn't glean from the BT link exactly how this is made, e.g., were separate mashes made for each grain type, distilled and later combined? Also, given you can get practical purity (around 196 proof) in a few runs, I wonder what was achieved past the first few, i.e., how did the proof keep rising? Or did they just boil and re-boil the same alcohol at the same strength?Or do they mean perhaps that the re-distillation of condensing distillate in the column counts as multiple runs? Each time the spirit condenses and is re-vaporised in a column it is redistilled (on the plate where the steam vaporises it), but I don't think they mean that here.Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 People will tell you that each plate in a column still is the equivalent of a single pot still, so perhaps that's how they get 159 times. The idea of 159 discrete passes is ridiculous. You would simply be passing GNS through the still just for the numbers but accomplishing nothing. Without a better explanation, the number is meaningless. Also, the reality of vodka is that greater neutrality is mostly achieved through filtration, not redistillation.To get to 159, I have to believe each grain was mashed and distilled separately. Prior to this, the only vodka they actually made was Rain, which was made from a single mash bill that I assume is mostly corn. All of their other vodkas are just bulk GNS that they purchase, filter, and bottle.I do know that in Canada, when making base whiskey, they take the 70 percent ABV distillate and reduce it with water to 10 percent before redistilling it to 95 percent. Somebody explained this technique to me but I don't remember the explanation. They may have done that a couple of times, again counting each pass through the column based on the number of plates in it, which is probably 12 to 16. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andykeck Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 They've clearly left the door open for a savvy competitor to release a product distilled 160 times. What good is their marketing plan when that happens?Related link: Gillette: We're doing five blades! (nsfw) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillman Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Chuck, the reduction to about 10% ABV and subsequent distillation is the extractive distillation step. It is done to remove certain congeners not otherwise removable because too close in vaporization temperature to ethanol. The mixing of the distillate with hot water enables this. The low levels of congeners remaining in the first run (from the stripper) become insoluble (relatively) by the addition of with water. They collect at the top of the mix and are drawn off. The remaining solution is piped out and purified to high proof in the third column (rectifier).Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steeltownbbq Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Anyone notice that CLIX is 159 in Roman numerals? How did that meeting with production go? "You want us to distill it how many f%#&ing times?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFerguson Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I have to admit, Harlen had some taste when he picked the burl for the box. Next to bourbon, woodworking is my other passion. But really, is the following going to do anything?? "the final product rested in a cool and dark stainless steel tank for 12 more months to ensure the smoothest finish before bottling." Maybe that's the secret to Saz 18, its been all those years in the tank!! While I think it would be cool to work at a place like BT, I would not want to be a PR guy. "You want me to say WHAT!!! Ok, it's your name on the bottle......." B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiskeyCharlie Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Blurb in Texas Beverage Journal says:"...the distilling team started with 28,400 gallons of mash, dividing them down and re-distilling over a period of 12 months, resulting in 2,000 precious bottles..."Just all seems like a marketing ploy. How much cost in in that crystal bottle and burl wood box?SRP: $299 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer&Bourbon Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 I saw one of these. Beautiful, but really? A bit disappointed that they even made this. And who is this product aimed at? I guess it's like the William Heaven Hill except that no one even wants to drink this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Super premium vodka is a category in which too much is never enough. There is a vodka filtered though diamond dust, after all.As my friend Terry Sullivan once suggested, the ultimate vodka would be vodka filtered through the pubic hair of 1,000 Polish virgins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothAmbler Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Chuck, the reduction to about 10% ABV and subsequent distillation is the extractive distillation step. It is done to remove certain congeners not otherwise removable because too close in vaporization temperature to ethanol. The mixing of the distillate with hot water enables this. The low levels of congeners remaining in the first run (from the stripper) become insoluble (relatively) by the addition of with water. They collect at the top of the mix and are drawn off. The remaining solution is piped out and purified to high proof in the third column (rectifier).GaryA very good explanation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebo Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 What is the leather bag for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainQ Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 What is the leather bag for?To keep the small change you receive back from your $500 bill after purchase.:grin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebo Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 To keep the small change you receive back from your $500 bill after purchase.:grin: No doubt. ............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Fantom Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 A friend of mine actually bought be a bottle of this stuff for my birthday. The "distilled 159 times" stuff is pure copywriter baloney. If you read the booklet that accompanies the product, they make the stuff in a bunch of small batches, for reasons that are never really explained, then distill each batch 4 times. So if you multiply the number of batches by 4 distillations, you get 159. Bottom line, it's distilled 4 times like a lot of other premium vodka. But the proof is in the pudding, and IMHO, this stuff is really vile, possibly the worst vodka I have ever tasted. It has an oily, bitter aftertaste that reminded me of really cheap Mezcal. Neither my friend nor I were able to finish even one small glass of the stuff. Honestly, I wouldn't even use it to mix a cocktail, that's how nasty it tasted. It comes in a really gorgeous decanter, inside an even more gorgeous wooden box. I will keep both of those to remind me that price is not always a good indicator of quality. But I'm dumping the vodka. It's really a crock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p_elliott Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 A friend of mine actually bought be a bottle of this stuff for my birthday. The "distilled 159 times" stuff is pure copywriter baloney. If you read the booklet that accompanies the product, they make the stuff in a bunch of small batches, for reasons that are never really explained, then distill each batch 4 times. So if you multiply the number of batches by 4 distillations, you get 159. Bottom line, it's distilled 4 times like a lot of other premium vodka. But the proof is in the pudding, and IMHO, this stuff is really vile, possibly the worst vodka I have ever tasted. It has an oily, bitter aftertaste that reminded me of really cheap Mezcal. Neither my friend nor I were able to finish even one small glass of the stuff. Honestly, I wouldn't even use it to mix a cocktail, that's how nasty it tasted. It comes in a really gorgeous decanter, inside an even more gorgeous wooden box. I will keep both of those to remind me that price is not always a good indicator of quality. But I'm dumping the vodka. It's really a crock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorvallisCracker Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 So if you multiply the number of batches by 4 distillations, you get 159. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratcheer Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 So there are 39.75 batches? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callmeox Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 So there are 39.75 batches?Some of batch LXIX spilled during processing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorvallisCracker Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Some of batch LXIX spilled during processing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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