Still Spirits Stills Guide - UPDATED 2024

With over 30 years in the market, Still Spirits is a leader in home distilling and filtration systems that meet and exceed even commercial standards. The range features:

• Premium spirits with equivalent commercial quality at a fraction of the price.
• Homemade spirits in as little as 7 days.
• Distilled alcohol from a wash made simply using sugar, yeast, carbon and drinkable water.
• Homemade spirit flavoured with your choice of Still Spirits spirit or liqueur essences.

Air Still

A compact, sleek stainless steel still for those who want a no fuss way of producing 1 L (1 US qt) of 40% ABV spirit at a time. Distils alcohol at 60% strength. Used with a small 10 L (2.6 US Gal) fermenter making this system easy to move and operate from any kitchen, boat or campervan.

DIFFICULTY: Basic

CAPACITY: 4 L (1 US Gal)
TIME: 7- 10 day Fermentation Approx 2 hours distilling per 1 L (1 US qt) of 40% alcohol
YIELD: 2L (2 US qt) of 40% ABV alcohol per 8L (2 US Gal) wash
PURITY: Distils at 60% ABV (120 US proof) before being watered down to 40% (80 US proof)

QUICK GUIDE TO DISTILLING WITH THE AIR STILL

1. Wash – Make an 8 L (2 US Gal) wash by mixing water, sugar, carbon and yeast in the fermenter. Allow to sit and ferment for 7-10 days.
2. Distil – Put 4 L (1 US Gal) of the fermented wash into the Air Still and turn on. 700 ml (23.6 US fl oz) of 60% ABV will be collected.
3. Dilute and Filter – Dilute alcohol from 60% to 40% by adding 300 ml (10.1 US fl oz) of water. Filter the alcohol by using a carbon based filter.
4. Flavour – Flavour your alcohol by adding your favourite Still Spirits spirits or liqueur essence.
5. Repeat - Repeat with the second half of your wash.

FEATURES

• Easy to operate, set up and use. With no hoses or complicated assembly, the Air Still is extremely easy to use wherever and whenever you want to, whatever your experience.
• Attractive, small compact design. Perfect for using as an every day appliance in your kitchen or home.
• Uses no water when running. The Air Still is fitted with an efficient internal fan to cool the alcohol vapours and requires no cooling water.
• Takes 2 hours to distil 1 L (1 US qt) of 40% ABV spirit from 4 L (1 US Gal) of wash.
• Flavour alcohol with a range of Still Spirits essences.

Click here to check out our range of Air Still Packs.

Air Still Pro

A small-batch, 2-in-1 distillation system that allows you to craft high quality light and dark spirits. The Air Still Pro is a dual mode reflux and pot still enabling you to produce clean, neutral alcohol at up to 90% ABV in reflux mode and make flavoursome and botanical-infused spirits in the pot still mode. An in-built botanical basket is included. Also suitable for distilled water and hydrosols.

DIFFICULTY: Reflux Mode = Easy, Pot Mode = Easy to intermediate

CAPACITY: 4 L (1 US Gal)
TIME: 7-10 day fermentation and 5 hours distilling per 1L (1 US qt) of 40% ABV
YIELD: Up to 2.25 L (2.4 US qt) of 40% ABV alcohol per 8L (2.1 US gal) Air Still Fermentation Kit wash
PURITY: Pot still: Distills at up to 80% ABV (160 US proof) before diluting to 40% ABV (80 US proof) Reflux still: Distills at up to 90% ABV (180 US proof) before diluting to 40% ABV (80 US proof)

QUICK GUIDE TO DISTILLING WITH THE AIR STILL

1. Wash – Make an 8 L (2 US Gal) wash by mixing water, sugar, carbon and yeast in the fermenter. Allow to sit and ferment for 7-10 days.
2. Distil – Put 4 L (1 US Gal) of the fermented wash into the boiler. Set up your still for reflux or pot still mode and select your distilling mode.
3. Dilute and Filter – Dilute alcohol to 40% ABV by adding drinking water. Filter alcohol by using a carbon-based filter.
4. Flavour – Flavour, age or infuse your spirit with botanicals.
5. Repeat - Repeat with the second half of your wash.

FEATURES

• 2-in-1 reflux & pot still
• Suitable for distilled water, hydrosols, flavoursome and neutral alcohol. • Compact for easy use and storage
• Perfect for small batch distillation
• No additional water required for distillation
• Automatic foreshots collection
• Automatic shut off in reflux mode
• Automatic shut down with dry boil
• Air Still Pro Head Unit available – compatible with the Air Still boiler.

Click here to check out our range of Air Still Packs.

Turbo 500 (T500)

The ultimate still in home distilling, the T500 is a must for anyone who wants to produce large quantities of extremely clean, pure alcohol. The T500 allows you to collect an astonishing 95% of the possible alcohol from the wash and produces a purity of up to 93% making it the perfect base for flavouring into any spirit or liqueur you like.

DIFFICULTY: Intermediate
CAPACITY: 25L (6.6 US Gal)
TIME: 3-10 Day Fermentation Approx 4.5 hours distilling time per 8 L (4 US Gal) of 40% alcohol
YIELD: 8L (4 US Gal) of 40% per 25L (6.6 US Gal) wash. (NOTE: Calculation based on using the standard recipe of 6kg (13.2 lb) of sugar with Classic 6 Turbo Yeast)
PURITY: Distils at 93% ABV (186 US proof ) alcohol before being watered down to 40% (80 US proof)

QUICK GUIDE TO DISTILLING WITH THE T500

1. Wash – Make a 25L (6.6 US Gal) wash using sugar or Turbo Sugar and a Still Spirits Turbo Yeast. Allow to ferment for 3-10 days (depending on yeast selected).
2. Distil – Set up the T500, and connect to your water supply. Add wash to the boiler part of the T500 and turn still and water on. Fermented wash will heat up and reflux through the column while the running water will keep the still between 55 - 65°C (131-149°F). Collect alcohol in an external vessel.
3. Dilute and Filter – Dilute alcohol from 93 to 50% ABV by adding water before filtering through a carbon filter.
4. Flavour – Dilute alcohol further to 40% ABV and flavour by adding your favourite Still Spirits spirit or liqueur essence.

FEATURES

• Column available in either a 304 grade stainless steel construction or
• traditional copper.
• Produces alcohol at 93% purity.
• Takes as little as 4.5 hours to distil a 25 L (6.6 US Gal) wash to produce 8L (2 US Gal) of spirit when watered down to 40% ABV.
• Connects to the kitchen, laundry or garden tap and uses a constant flow of cold water while the still is running to maintain optimum temperatures and ensure the best quality spirit.
• Flavour with a range of Still Spirits essences.

Click here to check out our range of Turbo 500 Packs.

Alembic Pot Still

Designed for the artisan distiller. While the T500 is designed to strip all flavours from the wash, the Alembic Condenser and Dome Top combined with the Still Spirits Boiler form a pot still, designed to retain and enhance flavours in the wash. Perfect for when you are distilling whiskey, rum, and brandy washes to make the spirit from traditional ingredients, just like the professionals.

DIFFICULTY: Advanced

CAPACITY: 25 L (6.6 US Gal)
TIME: 7-10 Day Fermentation. Approx 5 hours distilling time to distil 25L (6.6 US Gal) of fermented wash
YIELD: 3.5 – 7 L (3.7 US qt – 1.8 US Gal) of 40% ABV per 25 L (6.6 US Gal) wash
PURITY: Distils at 70% ABV (140 US proof) before being watered down to 40% (80 US proof)

QUICK GUIDE TO DISTILLING WITH THE ALEMBIC POT STILL

1. Wash – Make the wash using the traditional ingredients used to make the particular spirits you are wanting to distil.
2. Stripping-run – Set up the pot still and do an initial run of the still.
3. Spirit-run – Rerun the collected spirit through the alembic pot still and collect different fractions or “cuts” of the collected spirit at the stages according to the recipe. This is called the “spirit-run”.
4. Mix – Mix the fractions together according to your recipe.
5. Age – Age the spirit on oak chips or staves depending on spirits and recipe.

FEATURES

• Traditional copper dome top acts as a catalyst with the vapour in the still and helps enhance and concentrate flavours in the wash.
• Fits onto the T500 Boiler. Comes with a thermometer, tubing and tap adapter set.
• Perfect for distilling traditional whiskeys, rum and brandy.
• Can be used with Still Spirits Distillery Kits, which contain all the ingredients for the wash.
• Takes approximately 3 hours to get about 7L (1.85 US Gal) of 70% ABV spirit for a single distillation, and a further 2 hours for the second distillation. The second distillation will yield approx 3.5 L (3.7 US qt) at 40% ABV.

Click here to check out our range of Alembic Pot Condenser Packs.