Water Used to Produce Bourbon

[fricky]

How critical is the purity of water used to produce bourbon? Apparently, iron-free water is very important. I assume that is one reason why the use of limestone water is important. What about other minerals? Is it best to use distilled water? Are some minerals useful in the fermentation process? I read that some believe that calcium in limestone water aids enzyme action during fermentation. I also remember reading that most if not all distillers purify water. What processes do they use to purify water.

Doug

[cowdery]

Most places treat their water, even if it's from an aquifer. They use reverse osmosis, probably others.

You wouldn't want to use "pure" water. As always, you want to keep the stuff that is tasty and discard the stuff that isn't.

[Thesh]

You wouldn't want to use "pure" water. As always, you want to keep the stuff that is tasty and discard the stuff that isn't.

That may be the case with beer, but with something that is going to be distilled anyway, I doubt you will see much difference other than an increased boiling point when using non-pure water.

To the OP... Just remember, if anyone asks, it's for infomrational purposes only; don't say anything about a home-distilerry operation.

[Gillman]

Here is something I never understood: they say iron is fatal to good whiskey, turns it black. But how can iron vaporise from solution (or does it)?

If iron can't vaporise from solution, perhaps the old saw is due to the fact that water used to cut finished whiskey in the old days would turn it black if not iron-free and limestone water was, therefore, the best. That though is different from saying you need iron-free water to make good whiskey.

Gary

[cowdery]

I think where the natural qualities of the water come into play is in shaping the environment where the yeast will do their thing, because that is where everything we will later call flavor is created.