TEK - Acetic acid back to ethanol?

[bcubed]

Sorry if this has been dealt w/ before, but I gave up after 5 pages of unrelated posts in search.

SWIM, in a psychotic delusion, imagined that he'd built a still to process a "whisky-style" brew: corn, sugar, malted barley.

Well, SWIM noticed that the brew had picked up a distinct "vinegar" smell while chilling in his fridge for 2 wks for the still to be built.

SWIM's gonna run the mash anyway and see what happens. Whiskey's probably out the window now, but grain-neutral vodka might still be possible.

SWIM's questions:

1. As acetic acid boils at 118C (vs. 75C for ethanol) SWIM should be able to isolate the ethanol (possibly with >1 pass thru the still), right?

2. Can an additional chemical (possibly a base?) cause the acetic acid to revert back to ethanol?

SWIM's doing this more for the technical thrill, as he's wagon-bound presently...or at least that's what he thought before the delusion wore off!