Home distilling in Australia comes down to a handful of practical decisions: which still suits your space and water access, what the gear and consumables actually cost, and what a run looks like from wash to bottle. This guide covers all of it, with current 2026 figures.
Key takeaways
- A still of 5 litres or less needs no ATO permission at all. Above 5 litres you apply for free written permission.
- Distilling water, essential oils, hydrosols and botanical extracts requires no licence, and every still sold in Australia does that work.
- Air-cooled stills need no plumbing. A water-cooled reflux run draws roughly 135 to 200 litres depending on flow rate.
- Consumables for a full 25 litre wash come to about $44, which is roughly $3.78 per 700ml bottle equivalent.
- Brewing beer, cider and wine at home needs no licence and uses most of the same fermentation gear.
What equipment do you need?
A working setup is a still, a fermenter, two measuring instruments and a handful of consumables. The still is the expensive decision and everything else comes to roughly $250 to $350 whichever way you go.
For the full cost breakdown and a direct recommendation by situation, see Alcohol Distiller Kit Australia: What to Buy, What It Costs.
Three things decide the still, in this order: whether you have a tap you can tie up for four hours, how much bench or floor space you can give it, and how much you want to make per batch. Budget matters less than people expect, because the cheapest 25 litre system costs less than the dearest 4 litre one.
Compare every setup at a glance
| System | Difficulty | Capacity | Cooling | Water per run | ABV ceiling | Yield per wash | Ferment | Distil time | ATO permission | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Still 4L | Basic | 4L | Air | None | 60% | 2L @ 40% per 8L wash | 7 to 10 days | ~2hr per run | Not required | $479 |
| Air Still Pro | Easy | 4L | Air | None | 80% pot, 90% reflux | 2.25L @ 40% per 8L wash | 7 to 10 days | ~2hr per run | Not required | $1,419 (kit) |
| Pure Distilling Reflux | Intermediate | 25L | Water | See below | 93% | ~8L @ 40% per 25L wash | 3 to 10 days | ~4.5hr | Required | $999 |
| T500 + reflux condenser | Intermediate | 25L | Water | See below | 93% | ~8L @ 40% per 25L wash | 3 to 10 days | ~4.5hr | Required | $1,199 |
| T500 Pro + Alembic dome | Advanced | 25L | Water | See below | 70% | 3.5 to 7L @ 40% per 25L wash | 7 to 10 days | ~5hr, two runs | Required | $1,999 |
| Pure Distilling Reflux + Pot | Advanced | 25L | Water | See below | 93% reflux, 70% pot | Both of the above | 3 to 10 days | 4.5 to 5hr | Required | $1,799 |
Difficulty ratings, ABV ceilings, yields and timings are manufacturer figures. Prices are current listings and move with stock.
Two notes on reading that table.
The 8 litre yield is recipe-specific. Still Spirits calculates it on a 25 litre wash built from 6kg of sugar with Classic 6 Turbo Yeast. Change the sugar load or the yeast strain and the number moves. The costings further down use that same recipe so the inputs and the output actually match.
A T500 recovers about 95% of the alcohol in the wash. That is the real argument for reflux at volume. Fit an Alembic dome to the same boiler and you get flavour, but you leave more alcohol behind and you spend an extra run getting there.
The compact path: Air Still and Air Still Pro
Air cooled, 4 litre capacity, sits under the 5 litre permission threshold, and needs no water connection at all. This is the benchtop category: it plugs into a normal power point, occupies about the footprint of a kettle, and runs in a kitchen, a laundry with no spare tap, a caravan or a unit on tank water.
The Air Still Pro is the current model and runs in two modes, reflux for clean neutral at up to 90% ABV and pot still for botanical work at up to 80%.
- Roughly 700ml of 60% ABV output per two-hour run
- Automatic shut-off, and an integrated vial that captures the first 30ml of foreshots
- Built-in botanical basket, which makes it the better gin unit of the two paths
- The Air Still 4L on its own is $479; the Air Still Pro Super Starter Pack with copper parrot head is $1,419
That automatic foreshots vial is the feature beginners underrate. Foreshots are the first fraction off the still and they have to go. Making that cut by hand takes practice and getting it wrong spoils the batch. The Pro takes the judgement out of it.
The honest drawback is batch size. Four litres of wash per run means an 8 litre wash gives you two runs and about 2.25 litres of finished spirit at 40%. If you already know you want volume, skip this path and read the next two.
The volume path: T500 and T500 Pro
The T500 is a water-cooled reflux still on a 25 litre boiler. It recovers around 95% of the alcohol in a wash at up to 93% purity, which is why it is the standard rig for neutral spirit. Over 5 litres, so it needs free ATO still permission before assembly.
- Up to 3.5 litres of 93% ABV per run, roughly ten Air Still runs' worth
- Needs a tap for the full run, with flow held near 500ml per minute
- Stands about 133cm tall in the reflux configuration, which rules out a bench with a cupboard above it
- T500 Create+ Starter Pack from $1,199; Super Starter Pack from $1,339; the T500 Pro copper condenser Super Starter Pack from $1,539
Add an Alembic dome later to convert the same boiler into a pot still for whisky and rum character. Understand what that involves before you buy it: it is a two-run process, not one. The stripping run takes about three hours and gives you roughly 7 litres at 70% ABV. That goes back through for a spirit run, another two hours with cuts collected as you go, landing at about 3.5 litres at 40%. Five hours of work and two water draws for a batch a reflux condenser finishes in four and a half. The dome buys flavour and charges you in time and yield.
The cheaper route into 25 litres: Pure Distilling
Worth knowing before you settle on a T500: the Pure Distilling reflux system is the least expensive way into 25 litre batches on the site.
- STARTER KIT Pure Distilling REFLUX Distillery Kit, $999, which is $200 under the entry T500 pack
- DELUXE STARTER KIT REFLUX + POT, $1,799, which gives you both condensers from the start rather than buying a dome later
- The reflux condenser is Australian made and carries a five year guarantee, the longest warranty of any system here
- Same 25 litre class, same water requirement, same permission threshold as the T500
If both condensers are the plan, price the $1,799 Deluxe against a T500 Pro plus an Alembic dome bought separately before you commit either way. Spares and upgrades live in Pure Distilling Accessories.
How much water does a still actually use?
None, if it is air cooled. That is the whole case for the Air Still range and it is the constraint that decides this purchase for a lot of people.
For a water-cooled still, the figure depends on flow rate and run length rather than on the model, which is why published numbers vary so widely. Do the sum yourself:
Litres used = flow rate in litres per minute x run time in minutes
A T500 reflux run at 500ml per minute over four and a half hours comes to about 135 litres. Push the flow to 750ml per minute and the same run uses 200 litres. An Alembic dome run is longer and less efficient at condensing, so it draws more again across its two runs.
At Australian water rates none of that is a meaningful cost. It is cents. What matters is whether you can tie up a tap for four to five hours, and whether you are on tank water or under restrictions. If the answer is no, the decision is already made and it is an Air Still.
Everything else you need
| Item | What it does | Approximate cost |
|---|---|---|
| 30L fermenter with tap and airlock | Holds the wash during fermentation | $117 |
| Wash hydrometer | Tells you when fermentation has finished | $39 |
| Alcometer | Measures the ABV of the distillate | $47 |
| Turbo yeast | Ferments a sugar wash hard and clean | $14 |
| Turbo Carbon | Adsorbs off-flavours during fermentation | $7 |
| Turbo Clear | Drops yeast and solids before distilling | $9 |
| Carbon filter | Polishes neutral spirit after the run | From $30 |
The hydrometer and the alcometer are the two most commonly skipped items and the two that matter most. Fermenting by eye and cutting by taste is how people end up with cloudy, harsh spirit, which our troubleshooting guide walks through in detail.
Consumables are cheaper bought in batch packs than singly. Sugar and fermentables, T500 turbo yeast and carbon and carbon and filters each have multi-batch options, and a ten-batch pack works out roughly 20% under single-batch pricing.
What does it cost to run?
Consumables for a full 25 litre sugar wash come to roughly $44, which works out at about $3.78 per 700ml bottle equivalent of finished spirit. Add a spirit essence and it is about $9.69.
| Per 700ml bottle equivalent at 40% ABV | Neutral spirit | Essence-flavoured |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar, yeast, carbon, clearing agent | $3.78 | $3.78 |
| Spirit essence | n/a | $5.91 |
| Total consumables | $3.78 | $9.69 |
For context on why commercial spirits cost what they do: a duty-paid 700ml bottle at 40% ABV carries $30.84 in excise alone at the rate applying from 3 August 2026, before the distiller's costs, the retailer's margin or GST. Excise is most of the shelf price of a bottle of spirits in Australia.
Consumables are also where the equipment pays for itself over time. A $599 kit spread across fifty batches adds about $12 a batch. Across two hundred, about $3.
How a distilling run works
A full cycle is about ten to fourteen days: five to seven days fermenting, a day clearing, a day distilling, and a week resting the finished spirit. The distillation itself is four to five hours on a T500 and about two on an Air Still. The same sequence applies to water and essential oil work with the alcohol cuts removed.
1. Make the wash. Sanitise the fermenter. Add 21 litres of water at about 30°C, dissolve 6kg of white sugar or dextrose, then stir in turbo yeast and Turbo Carbon. Seal with an airlock and hold it at 20°C to 25°C. The carbon turns the wash black, which looks wrong and is completely normal.
2. Let it finish. Five to seven days, depending on temperature. It is done when the airlock stops, the hydrometer reads 990 or below, and it smells alcoholic rather than sweet. Do not distil a wash that has not finished. Our turbo yeast guide covers which strain suits which temperature and target ABV.
3. Clear it. Add Turbo Clear per the pack, wait 24 hours, then siphon the clear liquid off the sediment into the boiler. Leaving the sediment behind is not optional. Distilled yeast sludge is where most off-flavours come from.
4. Run the still. Bring it to temperature, then collect into numbered 200ml to 250ml jars. Discard the foreshots, the first 50ml or so, which carry the acetone and trace methanol. Set the heads aside. Keep the hearts, the clean middle 60% to 70%. Set the tails aside for the next wash. Making cuts is the skill that separates good spirit from harsh spirit, and heads, hearts and tails explains how to judge them by nose and by alcometer rather than by clock.
5. Dilute, filter, flavour. Measure the hearts with the alcometer, dilute to 40% with distilled water, run neutral spirit through a carbon filter, then add an essence or age on oak. Rest it a week before you judge it. Spirit straight off the still tastes worse than the same spirit does seven days later, every time. Carbon filtering has its own guide, including when not to do it.
What can you make?
The still determines the category, and the finishing determines the style. A reflux still strips flavour out to give you a blank canvas; a pot still keeps it in.
Reflux still output. Clean neutral at 90% to 93%. That becomes vodka once filtered, gin once redistilled through botanicals, and anything else once an essence goes in. Our vodka from sugar wash and Australian native gin guides cover both.
Pot still output. Character stays in the spirit, which is what you want for whisky from a grain mash, rum from molasses, and brandy from wine or fruit. All three then want time on oak.
Essences and oak. Neutral spirit plus a Top Shelf essence gives you a recognisable style in minutes, and it works on shop-bought vodka just as well as on distillate. Oak chips and spirals do the slower version, two to four weeks for most home ageing. The spirit essences guide explains the ranges and how much spirit each sachet is designed for.
Non-alcohol output. Distilled water for filtering and dilution, hydrosols and essential oils from herbs and citrus, and botanical extracts. None of it requires a licence.
A note on the rules
Owning and using a still in Australia is legal. A still of 5 litres or less needs no permission at all, which is why the Air Still range is built at 4 litres. Above 5 litres you apply to the ATO for still permission, which is free and is a form rather than an interview. Boilers and condensers are sold separately and are not a still until joined, so permission is needed before assembly.
Distilling water, essential oils, hydrosols and botanical extracts needs no licence. Distilling spirit requires an excise manufacturer licence from the ATO, which is also free to apply for. Brewing beer, cider and wine at home has never needed a licence. Full detail is in our guide to the ATO rules for home distilling.
Is home distilling safe?
Modern home distilling equipment is safe when it is used properly. The two real risks are alcohol vapour near an ignition source and lead leaching from old soldered equipment, and both are avoidable. The methanol fear that dominates the conversation is largely misplaced.
The methanol question
Fermentation of a sugar wash produces methanol in trace amounts, well below harmful levels, and it boils lower than ethanol so it comes off first. Discarding the foreshots removes it. Fruit-based washes carry more pectin and therefore more potential methanol, so they warrant more care with cuts. The blindness stories that attach themselves to home distilling come from Prohibition-era bootleggers cutting product with industrial methanol, which is a completely different thing from a sugar wash run properly.
Commercial spirits contain the same trace amounts. Nobody prints it on the label.
Equipment and process
- Never run a still near an open flame or in an enclosed space without ventilation
- Never use equipment with soldered joints, which is the actual lead risk
- Discard the foreshots every run, without exception
- Always dilute to drinking strength. Spirit off a reflux still can exceed 90% ABV and should never be drunk undiluted
- Clean between runs with proper sanitising products rather than detergent
- Do not drink while you run. The cuts are a judgement call and you need your palate
Frequently asked questions
Do I need permission to own a still in Australia?
Only above 5 litres. A still of 5 litres or less can be owned and used without any permission. Stills over 5 litres need free written permission from the ATO regardless of intended use, which is a short application form.
What is the spirits excise rate in Australia right now?
$110.15 per litre of pure alcohol from 3 August 2026, for spirits exceeding 10% ABV. Brandy sits lower at $102.87. Rates are indexed against CPI every February and August, so check the ATO's current rates page for the latest figure.
How much does it cost to start home distilling in Australia?
The Air Still 4L is $479 on its own. Complete kits with fermenter, yeast, essences and accessories run from $999 for a Pure Distilling reflux kit, $1,199 for a T500 Create+ Starter Pack, $1,419 for the Air Still Pro Super Starter Pack, and $1,539 for the T500 Pro copper condenser pack. Consumables after that are about $44 per 25 litre wash.
How long does a full distilling cycle take?
Ten to fourteen days. Five to seven days fermenting, a day to clear, a day to distil, and a week resting before you judge the result. The distillation itself is two hours on an Air Still and four to five on a T500.
What is the best still for a beginner in Australia?
The Air Still Pro, for most people. It is under the 5 litre permission threshold, needs no water connection, runs in both reflux and pot modes, and its small batch size means a mistake costs you 4 litres of wash rather than 25. If you already know you want volume and have a spare tap, start on the T500 or the Pure Distilling reflux system instead and skip the upgrade.
Can I flavour shop-bought vodka instead of distilling?
Yes, and plenty of people do it by choice. Buy a neutral spirit, add an essence or age it on oak, and you have a finished spirit with no distillation involved. It is also how most people work out which styles they actually like.
Where to start
If you want to make something this month, buy a bottle of neutral spirit and an essence and see whether the result is worth chasing further. It costs under $40 and it answers the question honestly.
If you want the equipment, start from your water access and your space rather than your budget. No tap you can tie up for four hours means air-cooled, and the Air Still range handles water, essential oils, hydrosols and botanical extracts with no paperwork at all. A spare tap and a want for volume means one of the 25 litre systems.
Browse the complete distilling starter kits to compare setups, or talk to our team if you want a second opinion on which unit fits your space.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Excise rates and ATO requirements change.
