Making Your Own Spirits at Home Without Breaking the Law

We sell stills, and the question that comes with them nearly every time is whether you are allowed to use one, so it is worth answering that properly before anything else.

Owning one is fine. Running one is the bit that needs a licence

You can buy a still and own a still and nobody minds. The moment you distil alcohol in it you need an excise manufacturer licence from the ATO, and that is true whether you are selling the result or drinking it yourself in your own shed. It is not a technicality that everybody quietly ignores, and I would rather tell you that across the counter than have you find out some other way.

If you want to go down that road properly, the licence is the road. Have a look at what the ATO requires before you spend money on gear.

The good news is that the licence is not what most people are actually after

When somebody tells me they want to make their own spirits, what they usually mean is that they want a rum or a whisky or a gin that tastes the way they like it and that they made themselves. That is a flavour question, not a distilling question, and there is nothing stopping you doing it today.

You buy a neutral base spirit, you add an essence, you leave it a bit. That is the whole method. The essence does the work that a still and a lot of practice would otherwise do, and the result on a good one is genuinely nice rather than a novelty.

How to actually go about it

Start with one essence and one bottle rather than buying six and hedging. Follow the dilution on the pack, because the ratio is the difference between something you are pleased with and something a bit thin, and it is the part people eyeball and then wonder about.

Then leave it alone for longer than you want to. A day or two settles the harshness out and a week is better again, and this is the only patience the whole thing asks of you.

Keep a note of what you did. Not a lab book, just the essence, the ratio and how long you left it, because the second batch is where you actually start steering it and you will not remember otherwise.

What to start with

A dark spiced rum or a bourbon is the forgiving end, because the flavour is big enough to carry a slightly off ratio. Vodka and gin are less forgiving for exactly the same reason, so there is nowhere to hide if the dilution is out.

Come and have a yak with us about what you are chasing, because the range is wide and the right essence depends entirely on what you actually like drinking.

Shop related products

• Still Spirits Dark Spiced Rum Essence 50ml. The forgiving one to start on.
• Still Spirits Kentucky Bourbon Essence 50ml. Big flavour, hard to get wrong.
• Still Spirits Smokey Whiskey Essence 50ml. For anyone who takes their whisky peaty.
• Still Spirits Pink Gin Essence 50ml. Less forgiving, so measure it properly.
• Edwards Essences Irish Cream Essence. The one that surprises people.
• Edwards Essences Coconut Rum Essence. Good over ice in summer.

The full range is in the homebrew section, and there is more in the Edwards Essences range.

Have a go with Brewhilder

If you are working out where to start, Brewhilder will walk you through it before you spend anything.

Keep reading

• How to Use Still Spirits Vodka Flavouring Essence
• Still Spirits Dark Rum Essence, a Bundy-Style Classic

Candeece. I would rather tell you the boring legal bit than have you hear it from someone else.

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