11. Use of spirit

A spirit can be used in a range of final distilled spirits. Most commonly, these are vodka, gin and liqueur/cordial products. The specifications for spirit used for vodka production are usually the most exacting. Usually the final product has to be essentially neutral, so that the concentrations of secondary metabolites should be minimal. Typically, spirit for vodka has specifications for

### Whey to Vodka DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81679

total terpenoids, acetic acid, ethyl acetate and methanol. Spirit used for gin must also be neutral, but the use of botanicals to flavor the resulting spirit can help to mask any minor flavor deviations. Liqueurs and cordials based on neutral alcohol are often relatively strong in flavor. In principle a spirit that is less neutralized can be used with relative comfort.

One other aspect to bear in mind is that the addition of sugar, usually as syrups, can help to smooth out any "edges" to the mouthfeel of the spirit. Most liqueurs require significant levels of sugar addition during production, whilst for gin and vodka, only the London dry gin style has proscriptive sugar levels. Returning to the design of the still layout, the decisions there can be steered by the expected uses that the spirit will be put to, with vodka requiring the most tightly defined quality criteria. In any case, though the spirits produced for whatever duty should be of consistent quality.

One other option is to use the spirit for non-potable uses such as fuel. Generally, though the value of a non-potable alcohol product is substantially less than potable alternatives so there is less financial imperative for producing, say, fuel alcohol.
