Pot and Stripping Stills
To fully understand this category, it is important to clarify some terms.
What is a Pot Still?
There is a difference between the Technical and Legal Definitions of a Pot Still, and also between the Public Perception of what is a Pot Still.
- Technically, a Pot Still is a Still that only has a Boiler and a Condenser, with the Vapor Path between the two consisting out of nothing more than a Pipe.
- Legally, a Pot Still is considered to be a Batch Operated Still, opposed to a Continuous Still, which runs 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, used in Mass Production.
- Public Perception is that an Alembic Still, which incorporates a Vapor Chamber into the Vapor Path (think a traditional Moonshine, Whisky or Mampoer Still) is a Pot Still.
In this Section we therefore list Stills that comply with the Technical and Public Perception of Pot Stills.
As all the Distilling Equipment Distillique sells are Batch Operated, all our Stills, regardless of look or design, can be considered Pot Stills on the legal basis.
What is a Stripping Still?
A Stripping Run is when the Distiller literally just boils off the Ethanol, Flavors and Aroma's from the Fermentation, Concentrating it into what is referred too as Low Wines.
The Bulk of the Volume of any Fermentation is Water, and by removing this excess Bulk, it allows us to achieve several benefits in terms of Production.
These benefits include:
- Doubling or even Tripling Production Capacity for minimal Capital Expenditure
- Reducing Production Hours needed to achieve the same Production Target
- Higher Production Volumes with the same Equipment
- Phased or Staged Distillery Designs to allow for future Expansion and Growth
- Improved Product Quality when dealing with poor quality or challenging Fermentations
This obviously only focuses on the use of the Stripping Still, from a design point of view, any still can be used as a Stripping Still - the way the Distiller Operates the Still merely changes - but the ideal Stripping Stills would consist out of a big Boiler, to accommodate volume, an Alembic Head or Packed Column, to remove impurities and concentrate the volume for the lowest cost, and an Over-sized Condenser, to allow for high speed runs.