production
Feints
No legal definition
The weak, congener-heavy tail of the spirit distillation collected after the middle cut closes; rich in fusel oils, fatty acids and, in peated spirit, phenols. Retained and redistilled with the next charge.
Not a legal term
No whisky regulation in Scotland, Ireland, the United States, the EU or Japan defines this. It is a trade or marketing term, so it is only actionable if its use is actively misleading.
Often confused with foreshots
Foreshots are the volatile head of the run; feints are the tail. Both are recycled, not discarded.
Worth knowing
In heavily peated production the late cut into feints is where much of the phenolic character lives — which is why cut points matter more than malt ppm for smoke in the glass.
Related terms
Last reviewed 2026-07-30 · All glossary terms