Final answer:
The claim that in the first distillation of Cognac, the heads are removed but the tails move on to be removed in the second distillation is false. Both the heads and tails are separated during the first distillation, and the tails may be redistilled in the second distillation for further refinement.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement is false. In the first distillation of Cognac, known as the 'première chauffe' or 'first heating', both the heads (têtes) and tails (secondes) are separated from the heart (coeur), which contains the desired alcohol. The tails, however, are not immediately discarded. Instead, they are often redistilled in a process called the 'deuxième chauffe' or 'second heating'. This second distillation helps to refine the product further and collect the 'bonne chauffe', which is the portion of the distillate with the desired quality and alcohol content for Cognac. Thus, the tails do move on, but they are not removed until after the second distillation, where more precise cuts can be made to isolate the highest quality spirit.