Traditional Distillation: Art & Passion

Throughout the years, I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying all of Hubert’s masterpieces. Until now, all of them came in the form of artfully crafted distillates, each a faithful representation of a particular spirit. Hubert’s latest gift to the world comes in the form of a delightful, insightful and long overdue book on the Art of distillation.

It is exceedingly easy for today’s distillers to find technical documents and “how-to” instructions on the internet, all pragmatically written and whose sole aim is to impart

the bare minimum knowledge required to ferment and distill a spirit. For many, such superficial and often insipid documents are enough, but serious students of the craft are always left thirsty for more knowledge. Until the arrival of Traditional Distillation, this rich depository of knowledge was available only to those lucky to apprentice under old masters.

The book takes the reader on a journey through history, basic pot still designs and operation (including insightful commentary on wood vs. gas burners), troubleshooting unexpected results, best practices for consistency (how to take into account the environmental differences between distilling during the day versus distilling at night, distilling through the seasons, etc.) and tasting/nosing techniques.

The book is very engaging and extremely easy to read. I had a hard time putting it down after I started reading it.

I sincerely recommend this book to anyone who is seriously considering becoming a distiller.

Thank you, Hubert, for sharing your expertise with the world.

The book is published by White Mule Press (www.distilling.com).

-Luis Ayala