Neutral spirit - plates vs. packing pros question

[Refluxed]

Hi,

I want to build a still for neutral spirit. I've been doing my reading, and decided that a column with structured packing would be a better choice than something with plates. I won't be needing to pull fractions, just the purest spirit I can get out of it.

Pros for packed column:
-shorter HETP
-cheap
-Simple design, construction, and maintenance

So, my question, are there any pros for me choosing a plate still over a packed column for neutral spirit? Apart from how cool they look (why I can't stop thinking about them), I can't see any reason why I would.

Cheers