# Distillation Guide This guide is general in nature. It is intended as an introduction to distillation for those new to the hobby. ### What Is Distillation? Distillation is how spirits are made - bourbon, rum, whiskey, gin, vodka etc. Distilled spirits typically form the base for liqueurs and other alcoholic beverages. Distillation is not the process of making alcohol or ethanol - it is the process by which alcohol is distilled (hence the name!) from an alcoholic liquid - generally known as a wash. Washes are made by fermentation typically, and can be made from almost any type of sugar. Malt whisky washes are made from malted barley (or barley, corn and other grains for bourbon) in almost the same way as beer is made, although without hops. Sugar washes are very common - this is simply dissolving sugar in water and then fermenting it - it is quite common to use a sugar wash as the basis for a completely neutral spirit, as this is generally a really cost effective approach. To give you an idea of the different types of wash that can be made and distilled (and how to make them!) check out the links below When distilling a wash you will generally use one of three types of still - a [Pot Still](#pot-stills), a [Reflux Still](#reflux-stills) or a [Bubble Plate Still](https://kegland.com.au/collections/modular-polyphoenix-parts-1). Complete stills (at the hobbyist level) often comprise of three main parts - a boiler (usually electric), a suitable distillation lid and the actual still head. ### What Are The Different Types Of Still? #### Pot Stills A Pot Still is normally a still head with a straight condenser and no packing. This quite simply captures the steam from boiling the wash. The vapour then condenses into distillate and is captured as it exits the condenser. Pot Stills produce a wide range of alcohols, and leave a lot of the flavour of the wash in the resultant distillate - it is important to take cuts and separate a pot still run into Heads, Hearts and Tails. Pot Stills are used to make whiskey, bourbon, gin, rum etc because of the flavour passthrough. The [35L Alcoengine Copper Pot Still Bundle](https://kegland.com.au/products/35l-alcoengine-copper-pot-still-bundle) is a great, easy to use Pot Still. #### Reflux Stills Reflux Stills are generally much taller columns filled with some kind of packing with a condenser at the top of the column. The vapour from the wash behaves differently as a result. It condense at the top of the column and drops back. Eventually it refluxes (fractions) in the column in a manner that means only pure ethanol (normally \~90-95% pure) is collected. In a Reflux Still there is little to know flavour passthrough - it can only produce pure flavourless ethanol (which can then be diluted to make vodka or diluted and flavoured with essences to make other spirits). The pure ethanol from a reflux still is also ideal as a base to make gin in a pot still. When starting out in distilling, it is quite common to start with a Reflux Still as these are usually quite easy to operate and very little knowledge is required. You can make a great bourbon (for example) from a sugar wash distilled through a Reflux Still and then diluting the distillate and flavouring it with a high quality [Bourbon Essence](https://kegland.com.au/products/impressence-kentucky-bourbon-spirit-flavouring). One of the easiest to use reflux stills on the market is the [35L Alcoengine Copper Reflux Still Bundle](https://kegland.com.au/products/35l-alcoengine-copper-reflux-still-bundle). #### Bubble Plate Stills Bubble Plate Stills are a bit different. In a sense, they combine both reflux and pot stills to an extent. A bubble plate still will have at least one (and generally more than one) copper bubble plates. Each bubble plate acts as a separate, mini distillation step - essentially increasing the purity at each plate beyond that which can be performed by a pot still, but not to the level of a full reflux column. This can be extremely useful as it allows for finer purity and control over the finished spirit, while also allowing flavour passthrough. Bubble plates also tend to make for cleaner cuts (with less smearing) which can make it much easier to get the best flavour/purity from the distillate with better flavour separation. With a modular still such as the [PolyPhoenix](https://kegland.com.au/collections/modular-polyphoenix-parts-1), you can quite easily use one still in all three configurations for the absolute maximum in convenience and flexibility. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.kegland.com.au/products/distilling-equipment/distillation-guide.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.