New to distillation, or simply new to the HD forums.
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Hi all, I'm very new to brewing and I purchased an Air Still a couple of weeks ago. Yes, I know, I can hear you all gasping in disapproval But at the moment I'm just using it as a tool to introduce me to the hobby, simply because it's convenient (I have been reading for a couple of months now on building my own pot still and when it comes time to do it I want to do it right). According to Still Spirits, it is only recommended that Turbo products are to be used with the Air Still; is this marketing bullshit or is it safe to make normal washes and if so, has anyone got any mash recipes that would possibly work well with the Air Still (I say that with much understanding as to the fact that the Air Still produces not-so-good-quality likker, but as I said, I'm just using it as an introductory tool).
Any help or advice would be much appreciated.
Reality is merely an illusion caused by a lack of alcohol.
Yes, the talk of only using turbo washes in an Air Still is pure bullshit and couldn't be further from the truth... The real truth is that turbo washes don't belong in pot stills at all and that is what ALL Air Stills amount to... Find yourself a suitable recipe in the Tries and True Recipe forum and you'll be producing better spirits for less money and less effort... And while you may not get as much volume of spirits, what you will get will taste better and require less fuss to get it to that point... You should be shooting for quality, not quantity...
I do want quality over quantity, which is why I also want to know if it is possible to make liqueurs, such as sambucca, benedictine WITHOUT using the artificial flavourings. So what I want to do, is distill my spirit, infuse it with whatever herbs are needed, then distill that liquid and further infuse the herbs and hopefully end up with something that is purer than using those artificial flavours. I do want to eventually make Absinthe, but I think that is not possible with the Air Still (since absinthe needs a finishing aclohol of between 120-150 proof). So my question is, is it possible to use the Air Still to make liqueurs the traditional way or is it something that will have to wait until I build my pot still?
Thanks.
Reality is merely an illusion caused by a lack of alcohol.
But at the moment I'm just using it as a tool to introduce me to the hobby, simply because it's convenient (I have been reading for a couple of months now on building my own pot still and when it comes time to do it I want to do it right). According to Still Spirits, it is only recommended that Turbo products are to be used with the Air Still; is this marketing bullshit or is it safe to make normal washes and if so, has anyone got any mash recipes that would possibly work well with the Air Still (I say that with much understanding as to the fact that the Air Still produces not-so-good-quality likker, but as I said, I'm just using it as an introductory tool).