Guides
In-depth guides to the craft - from making the cuts and distilling safely to choosing a still, measuring strength and understanding methanol. For newcomers and experienced distillers alike.
All guides
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Making the cuts: foreshots, heads, hearts and tails
The jar method step by step, how to judge each transition by nose and palate, and the mistakes that cost the most spirit. 7 min read
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Distilling safely: the hazards and good practice
Flammable vapour, pressure, electricity, heat and the spirit itself: the hazards of a still, and how careful distillers manage them. 6 min read
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Pot still, reflux still or column: which is right for you?
How pot stills, packed reflux columns and plated columns work, what each does best, and how to choose between them. 4 min read
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Stripping run and spirit run: why distil twice?
Why pot-still spirits are distilled twice, how each run differs, and how many washes it takes to fill a spirit run. 3 min read
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Proof and ABV, and how to measure your spirit
ABV, US and British proof, hydrometers and alcoholmeters, temperature correction - and calculators for proof, dilution and wash strength. 3 min read
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Why a temperature chart can't tell you when to cut
Why stills don't follow the familiar boiling-point charts, what the head temperature really measures, and what it is good for. 5 min read
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Distilling at altitude: how air pressure moves every boiling point
Why every boiling point falls as you climb, how much the weather moves it, and a calculator for your own elevation or barometer reading. 4 min read
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Your element isn't the power on the label
How mains voltage changes an element's real output, how to measure it, and why steady heat in watts makes runs repeatable. 4 min read
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Methanol in distilling: fact and myth
Where methanol really comes from, why fruit needs care, what distillation does and doesn't do - and the myths that won't go away. 4 min read
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Inverted sugar: how to make it, and what the acid does to your wash
How to invert sugar properly, what it does and doesn't do for a wash, and how the inverting acid changes your wash's pH - with a calculator. 10 min read
New to distilling? Start with the Introduction, which covers the basics, and look up any term in the glossary.
Each recipe comes with its own calculator, which scales it to your batch and shows what to expect. For everything else - dilution, alcoholmeter readings, sugar washes, heat-up times and column sizing - there are the calculators.