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thump keg

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thump keg (also thump barrel, thump chest) noun A second condenser added to a whiskey still between the cooker and the coil, eliminating the need to run liquor through a second time to strengthen it.

1939 Hall Coll (Emerts Cove TN) That thump keg, it takes the place of the ... singling and doubling. The old times didn’t have that. 1949 Maurer Argot Moonshiner 13 The term thumper or thump keg derives from the putt-putt thumping noise caused by steam in the keg. 1974 Dabney Mt Spirits xxv thump barrel = also known as the doubler, thumper, or thump keg. This container is charged with fresh beer or backings. Vapors from the pot bubble through, giving a second distillation called “thump likker.” 1985 Dabney More Mt Spirits 169 Just about the most common addition is the “thump keg,” or thumper, (sometimes called the “thump chest” or doubler), usually a 55-gallon barrel or steel drum, which is placed between the distilling kettle and the condenser. It thumps like crazy at the beginning of a run. By filling this keg part way up with distiller’s beer, or low-proof whiskey called “backins” from a previous run, the thumper serves as a “doubler,” giving the whiskey a second distillation, making it “doubled” whiskey without a second run.

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