An acrid, oily, poisonous liquid mixture of amyl alcohols, occurring in incompletely distilled alcoholic liquids and used as a solvent and in the manufacture of explosives and pure amyl alcohols.
[German Fusel, bad liquor, from Low German.]
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An acrid, oily, poisonous liquid mixture of amyl alcohols, occurring in incompletely distilled alcoholic liquids and used as a solvent and in the manufacture of explosives and pure amyl alcohols.
[German Fusel, bad liquor, from Low German.]
A mixture of organic acids, higher alcohols (propyl, butyl, and amyl), aldehydes, and esters, known collectively as congeners, produced in alcoholic fermentation.
It is present in low concentration in wines and beer, and in high concentration in pot-still spirit. On maturation of the liquor fusel oil changes and imparts the special flavour to the spirit. Many of the symptoms of hangover can be attributed to fusel oil in alcoholic beverages.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
a mixture of amyl alcohols and propanol and butanol formed from distillation of fermented liquors
Fusel alcohols, also sometimes called fusel oils, or potato oil in Europe, are higher order (more than two carbons) alcohols formed by fermentation and present in cider, mead, beer, wine, and spirits to varying degrees. The term fusel is German for “bad liquor.”
The compounds involved are chiefly:
Excessive concentrations of these fractions may cause off flavours, sometimes described as "spicy," "hot," or "solvent-like."
Some beverages, such as whiskey, Siwucha and traditional
ales and ciders, are expected to have relatively high concentrations
of fusel alcohols as part of the flavour profile. In other beverages, such as vodka and
lagers, the presence of fusel alcohols is considered a fault. Very high
concentrations — usually caused by incompetent distillation — can cause acute illness, including
headaches,
Fusel alcohols are formed when fermentation occurs:
During distillation, fusel alcohols are concentrated in the "tails" at the end of the distillation run. They have an oily consistency, which is noticeable to the distiller, hence the other name fusel oil. If desired, these heavier alcohols can be almost completely separated in a reflux still. Freeze distillation, on the other hand, does not remove fusel alcohols.
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