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US 12,139,694 B2Granted
Systems and methods for the preparation of ethanol-containing beverages
AssigneeNext Century Spirits, LLC
InventorJoel Justin Pawlak
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present inventive concept relates generally to simulating the barrel aging or finishing process of distilled spirits in a rapid manner.
Claims20
A method of preparing an ethanol-containing beverage comprising:
- providing in a first vessel an ethanol/water mixture comprising about 10-80% ethanol;
- mixing in the first vessel a first flavoring material with the ethanol/water mixture;
- providing in a second vessel a second flavoring material;
- heating the ethanol/water mixture and first flavoring material in the first vessel to greater than about 70° C. to produce a vapor;
- aerating the heated ethanol/water mixture and first flavoring material in the first vessel;
- condensing the vapor in a condenser to form a condensate having a greater percentage of ethanol than percentage of ethanol in the ethanol/water mixture, wherein the condenser is in gaseous communication with the first vessel and wherein the condenser is in fluid communication with the second vessel;
- exhausting from an exhaust of the condenser a gaseous mixture comprising the gas and at least a portion of the vapor;
- collecting the condensate in the second vessel and mixing with the second flavoring material;
- and
- mixing the condensate with the ethanol/water mixture in the first vessel to create an ethanol-containing beverage comprising a percentage of ethanol within about 5% of the ethanol in the ethanol/water mixture.
7 more elements
A method of preparing an ethanol-containing beverage comprising:
- providing in a first vessel an ethanol/water mixture comprising about 10-80% ethanol,
- mixing in the first vessel a first flavoring material with the ethanol/water mixture;
- heating the ethanol/water mixture and first flavoring material in the first vessel to greater than about 70° C. to produce a vapor;
- aerating with the aerator the heated ethanol/water mixture and first flavoring material in the first vessel with a gas;
- condensing the vapor in a condenser to form a condensate having a greater percentage of ethanol than the percentage of ethanol in the ethanol/water mixture, wherein the condenser is in gaseous communication with the first vessel and wherein the condenser is in fluid communication with a second vessel;
- exhausting from an exhaust of the condenser a gaseous mixture comprising the gas and at least a portion of the vapor;
- collecting the condensate in the second vessel and mixing with a second flavoring material;
- processing at least a portion of the condensate with at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) a catalyst, (ii) a size exclusion filtering medium, and (iii) an absorbent material with a surface area greater than about 500 m2/g;
- and
- mixing the condensate with the ethanol/water mixture in the first vessel to create an ethanol-containing beverage comprising a percentage of ethanol within about 5% of the ethanol in the ethanol/water mixture.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.