How to Start Alcohol Distillation at Home

How to Start Alcohol Distillation at Home

The first step of spirits production involves fermentation. This creates what is referred to as “wash”, the fermented liquid used as the base product that will eventually become whiskey, gin or vodka depending on your desired spirit type. It may consist of various materials.

After heating the wash to vaporize part of it, alcohol vapor is collected and cooled down quickly before being collected back as pure alcohol with much higher proof than originally found in its source wash. Distillations is often carried out to reach minimum proof requirements while multiple distilations cycles might be necessary depending on desired styles of spirits.

The wash is then transferred to a still, which may range in size from large industrial contraptions containing metal pipes and dials to plug-in gadgets resembling benchtop coffee grinders. A still has three key parts: a container for holding wash, heat source and condenser that collects purified alcohol for collection.

Vapor rises from the still and passes through a coil heated at different temperatures to separate various chemical compounds. At each temperature change, this vapor is sent to another condenser which concentrates it into liquid form for final distillate processing – either bottle sale or barrel ageing, or it may even be redistilled in either pot stills or column distillers.