An alcohol cleaning process called TerrePURE is growing in popularity recently.  TerrePURE is a technical cleaning process that takes out unwanted minor alcohols in spirits such as isoproponol.  For example in whiskey distillation, distillers use pot stills which leave a lot of good tasting flavor in the final whiskey product but it is necessary for the spirit to sit in barrels for a few years to round out the whiskey’s harsher tasting flavors.  The spirit naturally reacts with air, by breathing in and out of the barrel as the temperature changes.  Through this process, it cleans the whiskey of the minor alcohols and adds vanilla flavors and color.

TerrePURE works by moving the alcohol through an oxygenated chamber and where it is subjected to high-intensity ultrasonic energy.  It takes anywhere from 4 to 12 hours to get the necessary purification. This process takes out multiple different minor alcohols that do not taste good. The finished spirit is considered a product that tastes great and has a light and more delicate aroma.

One of the biggest challenges of new micro distilleries is that trying to age a whiskey in barrels and getting a whiskey that tastes good requires aging them for years.  But put that same whiskey in a smaller barrel it will get the flavor and color much quicker but will still taste “harsh”.  That is because the spirit has not had time to react with the oxygen in the barrel which alters the chemical compounds in the spirit to make it taste much better.

A Brief Overview of the TerrePURE® Process from Daniel Hewlette on Vimeo.