Still Smart

Today sees the launch of the new StillSmart discussion forums, a place to talk about anything and everything with your fellow distillers. You can access the forums by clicking the link on the far right of the menu bar at the top of the page.

Please do get involved if you can - every discussion and answered question makes this into a better resource for everyone. All are welcome, from seasoned distillers to absolute beginners - don’t be shy about saying hello and asking questions, that’s the best way to learn.

If you have a Gravatar set up, your image will be displayed next to your posts in the forums, on this site and any other which is Gravatar enabled.

One more thing - when you register for the forums, your login will also work for leaving comments on the main site - this saves you having to log in twice. Aren’t I nice to you all?

Let me know what you think, or if you find anything that you think might be a bug - and enjoy the forums!

Another guest article from our new contributor - the Phantom Distiller - this time a review of an Irish Whiskey essence.

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Here is a review of a Scotch Malt Whiskey essence, written by our newest contributor - the Phantom Distiller.

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In home distillation circles, the accepted practice is to construct your own still, either from a published design or from scratch using your own ingenuity. There are some places that will sell you a ready made column or a complete still, giving similar results for those without the required metalworking skills. The whole scene is full of interesting and varied approaches to making and distilling alcohol. However, there is a tendency to look down upon the SmartStill, but why is this?

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We get a lot of people hitting this site from the search engines with queries such as ‘How do I make alcohol with my SmartStill?’. The short answer is that you can’t. But don’t despair! The good news is, you don’t actually need to. To understand why, you need to understand the process of alcohol distillation - here is a guide that tells you everything you need to know to make spirits with your SmartStill or EasyStill.

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StillCooker is a site about building your own still and producing your own alcohol. It has some great pictures of various types of still, information about building your own, how to make a moonshine wash, safety tips, and lots more useful information - check it out!

StillCooker

Here you’ll find liquor and liqueur essences, candy shots, turbo yeasts and supplies for distilleries, home distillers and home brewers. Our goal is to produce the worlds best essences and turbo yeasts and to sell only top quality. Our assortment of essences is the world’s largest and the same top quality we sell to distilleries. You can also get the best activated carbons, Rashig rings, supplies and German glass instruments here.

We gladly share our 27 years of knowledge. Many inventions in this field (like Turbo Yeast) originate with us. Read about Turbo Yeast. Learn more than some competing turbo yeast manufacturers. Learn our new method for using activated carbon with 100-150% better results – only by knowing how and why to use the activated carbon in this new way. Learn everything about the hydrometer - with illustrations.

In their own words :

Infusions of Grandeur is a blog of vodka infusions and mad science. Your hosts, renowned mad scienticians Brendan and Wayland, begin an experiment each week, infusing vodka with a new flavor. We began this blog in December 2006, and before that point, we had never attempted to create an infused vodka before.

We are learning about infusions through experiments, research, and the kind suggestions of our readers. By blogging every step of the process, we hope to teach others to create their own infusions (and hopefully entertain them in the process).

In my words :

Two silly men make lots of drinks with vodka, some good and some bad. Great attention to detail, loads of pictures and a suitably scientific style mean that this is both an amusing and useful resource.

Hi everyone! This is just to let you know that we have setup an Amazon store featuring lots of books and other items that may be of interest to the home distiller. I must point out that we are not selling these ourselves, we just collected the Amazon items into one place for your convenience. However, we do get a small commission if you buy through our store, which goes towards supporting this site.

Here is the link - enjoy your shopping!

After our recent article about preventing the top popping loose on your SmartStill/EasyStill, I’ve received some more detailed information about the issue. It seems that all stills now come with a set of Raschig rings, as I recommended earlier. If you have one of the older models, then my advice to purchase some for yourself is still valid.

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