How to choose a still for making spirits at home

Start with the licence, because it decides whether the rest of this applies

Buying a still is lawful and owning one is lawful, so there's nothing odd about having one sitting in the shed. Using it to make spirits is the part people get wrong, because in Australia you need an excise manufacturer licence from the ATO before you distil alcohol at home, and that's a federal requirement rather than a state or territory one, so it doesn't change depending on where you live. Plenty of guides say to check the rules in your area and that's simply the wrong shape of answer.

If you want the flavour without the paperwork, essences into a bought neutral spirit will get you there, and that's the honest recommendation for most people. If you've decided you want to distil properly, sort the licence out first and then read the rest of this.

What a still actually does

A still heats a fermented wash so the alcohol turns to vapour before the water does, then cools that vapour back into liquid. Everything else about the design is about how much control you get over what comes across with the alcohol, and that's the whole reason there's more than one type.

Pot or reflux

A pot still is the simpler design and it carries more of the wash through with the alcohol, so you keep the character of whatever you started with. That's what you want for a whisky, a rum or a brandy, where the flavour of the base is the point of the exercise.

A reflux still runs the vapour back over itself inside the column, which strips the flavour out and leaves you with something much closer to neutral. That's the one for vodka, and it's also the one you want if your plan is to make a clean base and then flavour it yourself, which is how most people at home end up working.

If you can only have one and you're not sure yet, think about which of those two descriptions sounds like the drink you'd actually pour.

Size, and why bigger is not automatically better

The size that suits you comes out of how much you want to make and where it's going to live, and both of those are worth being honest about before you buy. A small bench unit is easy to store, quick to run, and forgiving while you're learning, which matters more than capacity when you're still working out your cuts. A larger one makes sense once you know what you're doing and you're tired of running the same thing three times to fill a few bottles.

Space, power and where you'll safely run it are the practical limits, and a still that's too big for the bench you own is a still that doesn't get used.

Copper or stainless

Copper reacts with sulphur compounds in the vapour and takes some of the off notes out with it, which is why traditional whisky and brandy gear is copper, and it does want a bit more cleaning and looking after.

Stainless is easier to live with, it cleans up quickly, and it doesn't give anything back to the spirit, which is exactly what you want when the plan is a neutral base. A lot of home setups use stainless with a bit of copper in the path, which is a sensible middle if you can get it.

Come and talk it through before you buy

This is one of those decisions where 10 minutes over the counter saves you buying the wrong thing twice, because the right answer depends on what you're trying to make rather than on which unit looks best in a photo. Tell us what you want in the glass at the end and we'll tell you honestly what shape of gear gets you there.

Shop related products

• Still Spirits purt Turbo Yeast. This is what ferments a sugar wash before it ever reaches a still.
• Still Spirits Universal Z Carbon. Use this for filtering a neutral spirit after the run.
• Still Spirits Distilling Conditioner 50ml. It keeps a boiler from foaming over on you.
• Still Spirits English Dry Gin 50ML Essence. This is the no licence route if you would rather flavour a bought base.

Did you know we also hold glass spirit bottles, oak soakers, carbon and a fair slice of the essence range in the shop that never makes it onto the website. Give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what's on the shelf.

Where to go next

The homebrew range has the consumables side of it, and Brewhilder will help you work out which way you're heading.

Worth reading next: What you need to make spirits at home, gear and licence and Home distilling myths, and where the law actually sits.

I'm the one who reads the whole manual after the first run rather than before it, which is a habit I keep meaning to reverse.