Yes, there are quite a few esters and acids that will hitch a ride with some of the alcohol and water molecules that make it up the column. This certainly depen

Yes, there are quite a few esters and acids that will hitch a ride with some of the alcohol and water molecules that make it up the column. This certainly depends on the type of still (eg plate vs alambic and continuous vs pot), but there are a lot of flavors transfered. The distiller's job is to choose which ones (eg at least remove the heads and tails). One easy example is apple brandy which has a very distinct nose. It's not until you multiple distill and charcoal filter that vodka loses its flavor (you can actually detect potato, if you care to).