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| Classic Moonshine Still |
Nineteen people have died from consuming
alcohol tainted with toxic levels of methanol in Costa Rica, where the Ministry
of Health issued a national alert. Fourteen
men and five women ranging from 32 to 72 years old have died in several cities
across the country since the beginning of June, the ministry said.
The government has confiscated about
30,000 bottles of alcohol suspected to be tainted, affecting several brands. The Ministry of Health advised against
consuming alcohol from a number of brands because samples had tested positive
for methanol adulteration.
Adulterated liquor often contains
methanol, which can make people feel inebriated. Adding methanol to distilled
spirits enables sellers to increase the amount of liquid and its potential
potency, according to SafeProof, a group that lobbies against counterfeit
alcohol.
Methanol is a byproduct of the production
of ethanol. The head is the first part of the distilled
liquid to be produced and mainly contains unpleasant substances that would give
the liquor an unpleasant sour taste, as well as methyl alcohol, which is toxic,
and therefore needs to be eliminated. Fortunately, these substances have a
lower evaporation point than the "noble" substances of the liquor,
and therefore are the first to come off of the still. The skill of the
distiller consists of the ability to establish when the heads of the distillate ends and when the
so-called hearts begin. Proper distillation methods
will, make sure that these foreschots and heads are discarded. These make up about 25% of the output of or a
distillation run. Using these in the
final mix is either done by someone who is unscrupulous or has no knowledge of
the process. This is not as uncommon as
one might want to believe.
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