Low Wines and Feints: How Whisky Is Redistilled
At the spirit still, the first liquid to flow from the condenser is sent back for another distillation. So is the last. In Scotch malt production, only the heart, the middle portion of the run, goes forward for maturation. The first and final runnings, called foreshots and feints, return with another batch of low wines: the spirit collected from the first distillation.[1]
What low wines and feints mean
Low wines are the wash still’s output, ready for another distillation. Vapours pass into condensers, turn back into liquid and collect in a receiver. From there, they enter the second still, known as the low wines still or spirit still.[1]
Despite the name, low wines are not wine. Nor are they the fermented liquid that entered the wash still: they have already passed through one distillation. That distinction marks the first important step through the still house, from fermented wash to a liquid ready to be distilled again.[1]
“Feints” has two meanings worth keeping separate. The Scotch Whisky Technical File uses it for the final part of the spirit still run, after the heart has been collected. A 2026 survey of whisky distillers uses “feints” collectively for heads and tails, meaning both portions returned for another distillation.[1][9]
Here, foreshots means the first runnings, heart means the middle portion selected for maturation, and feints means the final runnings. Where the survey uses its combined definition, that is stated explicitly. The distinction matters whenever a source describes how much spirit is recycled.[1][9]
From wash to low wines
Distillation begins with wash, the fermented liquid sent to the wash still. A review by researchers at Abertay University and the Scotch Whisky Research Institute describes wash strengths of 8 to 10% ABV in Scotch malt production. A separate modelling study uses about 8% ABV as typical.[4][5]
The wash still turns that liquid into low wines for the next stage. According to the review, the first distillation continues until the alcohol content of the emerging distillate falls below 1% ABV. This is the strength of the liquid leaving the still near the end of the run, not the average strength of the whole collection.[5]
Archived HMRC guidance on pot still production gives low wines at around 25% ABV, a change to feints at 60% ABV and an average spirit strength in the receiver of 68 to 73% ABV. These are typical figures rather than fixed rules; practice varies.[13]
The difference between a reading taken during the flow and the contents of a receiver matters throughout distillation. A cut point records the strength of the flowing spirit when its destination changes. The collected batch combines liquid gathered over time and need not have that same strength.[5][6]
For the wider sequence, how whisky is distilled places these two distillations in context. The key connection is straightforward: the first still supplies the next run, rather than selecting spirit directly for maturation.[1]
How the second distillation separates the flow
The spirit still is where the distiller selects what will mature. The Scotch Whisky Technical File specifies that only the heart, or middle cut, is collected for this purpose. The first and final runnings return for redistillation with the next batch of low wines.[1]
Each portion therefore has both a name and a destination. Following those destinations makes the Scotch malt sequence easier to understand than treating everything leaving the condenser as one product.[1]
| Stage or portion | What it is | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Low wines | Condensed spirit from the first distillation | A receiver, then the spirit still.[1] |
| Foreshots or heads | First runnings from the spirit still | Redistillation with another batch of low wines.[1] |
| Heart or middle cut | Selected portion of the spirit run | Maturation.[1] |
| Feints or tails | Final runnings from the spirit still | Redistillation with another batch of low wines.[1] |
Alcohol strength is only part of the selection. Cuts also depend on congener concentration: the compounds considered alongside alcohol when assessing spirit character. The technical review identifies both measures as part of the decision, rather than reducing the cut to an ABV reading alone.[5]
The Technical File puts quality at the centre of the process, describing collection of the middle cut only once the distiller is satisfied with it. For a closer look at those decisions, see heads, hearts and tails.[1]
Why there is no universal cut strength
Even whiskies made at the same distillery can have different heart collection ranges. A 2014 Institute of Brewing and Distilling account records distinct figures for Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn, alongside those for Glen Scotia.[6]
The numbers below mark the strength at the beginning and end of heart collection, not a constant strength held throughout the run. They are documented producer examples from that account, rather than current operating instructions or industry standards.[6]
| Whisky | Start of heart collection | End of heart collection | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Springbank | 76% ABV | 60% ABV | May 2014.[6] |
| Longrow | 69% ABV | 58% ABV | May 2014.[6] |
| Hazelburn | 79% ABV | 63% ABV | May 2014.[6] |
| Glen Scotia | 74% ABV | 63% ABV | May 2014.[6] |
Against that spread, the review’s description of a spirit cut at around 70% ABV is best read as a broad account. It does not require every distillery to collect at that strength. It also describes spirit selected for maturation, which need not be its eventual cask filling strength.[5]
The Scotch Whisky Technical File, published in 2019, describes filling strengths somewhere between 60 and 70% ABV. Collection and cask filling are separate production decisions: the strength at which spirit is selected should not be confused with the strength at which it enters the cask.[1]
What recycling changes about the next batch
Every return of foreshots and feints connects one spirit run to the next. The still receives not just fresh low wines, but also these portions from the preceding batch. Recycled spirit is therefore part of the process, not an incidental leftover.[1]
A 2026 Heriot-Watt modelling study sets out that relationship in numbers. Its industrially representative dataset used a volume ratio of foreshots and feints to new make spirit of 3.66. The model treated the recycled quantity from the previous batch as equal to the quantity produced in the current batch.[4]
That ratio belongs to the model, rather than whisky production as a whole. It illustrates an important practical point: a production calculation must account for the returning spirit as well as the newly produced low wines entering the next distillation.[4]
The study also examined the consequences of stronger wash. Under its assumptions, the strength of low wines, foreshots and feints rose by two percentage points for each two percentage point increase in wash strength. The greater volume of low wines would also require a larger spirit still or multiple runs.[4]
A change at the wash still therefore carries through to the next stage. In this model, stronger wash changes both the material reaching the spirit still and the workload required to distil it. The two distillations cannot be considered in isolation.[4]
What distillers report about stabilising feints
Recycling was almost universal among the respondents to the 2026 Heriot-Watt survey. Of 60 distillers in eight countries, 59 reported recycling feints in some way. Here, the survey’s “feints” means heads and tails combined.[9]
Among those recycling, 93.2% reported that the feints appeared to stabilise after a few distillation cycles. This is a finding about distillers’ production experience: the survey did not experimentally establish the mechanism behind that stabilisation.[9]
The survey also found that 61.7% of respondents felt recycling improved overall spirit character. Those assessments describe what distillers experienced, rather than a benefit guaranteed by every recycling arrangement. The authors say that little is understood about how recycling affects character or why stabilisation occurs.[9]
The practice is much better established than its explanation. Both the survey and the Scotch production account document recycling clearly, while the behaviour of the returning material and its influence on character remain subjects for research.[1][9]
The spirit safe’s part in the process
The spirit safe allows an operator to send foreshots, heart and tails towards separate receivers without touching the spirit. A trade account also describes a hydrometer in the parrot, the device that holds the flowing distillate for measurement. This allows strength to be read from outside.[11]
Despite its name, the safe is not a strongbox for storing finished whisky. Its job here is observation and routing: it links the changing flow from the condenser to the operator’s decision about where that liquid should go. It is part of production, not storage.[11]
Common mistakes
Treating recycling as disposal. Foreshots and feints are not selected for maturation during that run, but that does not make them waste. In the Scotch process described here, they are retained and returned for redistillation rather than simply thrown away.[1]
Using “feints” without checking its meaning. Traditional process descriptions can mean tails alone; research may mean heads and tails together. Before interpreting a recycling figure, establish which portions it includes. The same word can describe two different quantities.[1][9]
Reading a cut strength as a universal target. Published producer ranges differ, and selection depends on congener concentration as well as ABV. A figure from one account describes that example, not a decision every distillery must follow.[5][6]
Where to go next
- Double and Triple Distillation: compare the broader routes through successive distillations.
- New Make Spirit: Straight From the Still: follow the heart after collection.
- Distillation Strength and Congeners Explained: examine the measures behind spirit selection.
Sources
[1] UK Government. Technical File for Scotch Whisky, June 2019.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fd36667e90e07662ed92c85/Scotch_Whisky_Technical_File_-_June_2019.pdf
[4] Zhuang, S., White, J. and Boulton, C. Quantifying the impact of increasing wash strength for Scotch malt whisky production: a modelling study. Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 132(2), 78 to 91, 2026.
https://jib.cibd.org.uk/index.php/jib/article/view/97
[5] Daute, M., Jack, F. and Walker, G. The potential for Scotch Malt Whisky flavour diversification by yeast. FEMS Yeast Research, 24, foae017, 2024.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11095643/
[6] Mitchell, B. Och! Campbeltown Loch... Brewer and Distiller International, May 2014, pages 33 to 38. Institute of Brewing and Distilling.
https://www.cibd.org.uk/media/5e2hin4o/5-campbeltown.pdf
[9] Strickland, M. and Maskell, D. Unravelling the art of feints recycling for whisky: a production survey. Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 132(2), 92 to 100, 2026.
https://jib.cibd.org.uk/index.php/jib/article/view/99
[11] Waterbury, M. What Is A Spirit Safe? The Whiskey Wash, 9 October 2016. Trade source.
https://thewhiskeywash.com/bourbon/whats-spirit-safe/
[13] HMRC. Spirits Production Manual, SPIR4100, pot still distillation, UK Government Web Archive capture, January 2025.
Prepared by desk research from the supplied verified fact sheet and editorial rulings, distinguishing the production specification, research findings, historical producer examples and trade reporting.
Last checked: November 2026