The Top 3 Myths About Moonshine Stills Uncovered

"Moonshine Stills” are what many Americans call copper or stainless steel distilling equipment that is used to make alcohol - commonly whiskey or moonshine. Call them what you want - many people do - that’s not the only misconception about the many designer moonshine stills available on the market today. So before you buy moonshine stills or any type of equipment for distilling alcohol at home, find out the truth about some of the most common myths about moonshine stills. 

  
Myth #1: Moonshine Stills are Illegal

There are two version of this common myth - either people believe that whiskey and moonshine distilling equipment is completely prohibited by federal law, or that it is only legal to own a whiskey or moonshine still that is no bigger than 1 gallon.

The truth is that it is completely legal (under federal law) to own alcohol distilling equipment of any size, as long as you’re using it for legal purposes. It is illegal to distill whiskey, moonshine, or other spirits without a license. “Legal purposes” include decoration and distilling water or essential oils.

Myth #2: All Moonshine Stills are the Same

People commonly believe that because the design is basic and ancient that there is no difference in types, designs, sizes, or materials of whiskey and moonshine stills. First of all, quality is important. A cheap moonshine still kit may include all the pieces, but have lower quality materials that don’t provide a high-quality product. However, the best designer moonshine stills will be items that contribute to your home or business for decades to come.

Make sure you do your research to find out if you need a specific moonshine still design, depending on what you plan to make. We always recommend copper as the highest quality material for whiskey stills, and always make sure your moonshine still was made with 100% lead-free soldering. 

 

Myth #3: Moonshine Stills are Hard to Maintain

When you buy moonshine stills or any distilling equipment, you have to consider that it will be a long-term item around your home for many years. You don’t want something that is difficult to maintain, and the common myth is that whiskey stills are difficult to clean and repair.

The fact is that copper moonshine stills are easy to clean - both inside and out - and have some of the best natural detoxifying properties. If you don’t want to use commercial copper cleaners, you can clean moonshine stills using an all-natural combination of hot water and vinegar. With just that and a little elbow grease, you can keep your beautiful still as shiny as a new penny.

Those are 3 truths for the most common misconceptions about moonshine and whiskey stills. When you’re shopping for a still, don’t let falsehoods stand in your way. Find the right copper moonshine still and start enjoying it soon.

Choose Your Moonshine Still Company Wisely

So you buy a moonshine still from an online company, but what happens next? Like any online company, you expect certain things, but since superior quality moonshine stills are products that last for decades, you may need to have dealings with the moonshine stills company again in the future.

What do you need to know?

Before you buy a moonshine still from just any company, consider a few things to help you decide which is the best to buy moonshine stills from.

Reputation: In today’s world of online reviews, comments, forums, and blogs, there is no reason you shouldn’t review a product before you buy it. What are other people saying about it? What are other people saying about the company and its customer service? You have a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips online, and that includes reviews from users that can save you potentially hundreds of dollars.

Why is it important?

If you have a problem with shipping, assembly, or the still itself, you want to know that you can call the company and receive help. Check out their reviews for both the products and for their customer service.

Materials: Although a picture is worth a thousand words, pictures can also be deceiving. In addition to looking at the pictures to get a sense of how superior quality moonshine stills are made, make sure to read the manufacturer's specifications anytime you buy moonshine stills. Materials should always be 100% lead free, including the soldering, and properly treated copper.

Why is it important?

If you have a problem with the still’s materials, it can be difficult and expensive to fix. You want to know you can avoid problems and get advice if you need it.

Services: Your experience as a customer begins the moment you arrive at their website. If the information is not easy to find or confusing, it can be an indication of how they run their business. You may want to consider if they offer free shipping, what their customer service hours are, and the specifics of the return policy. Do they offer a newsletter with updates? You never know what you might need to call on them for.

Why is it important?

A company that stays in business is a company that takes care of its customers. You always want to do business with a company like that.

Even the best moonshine and whiskey still company may have an “off” day, but you can’t let it be a detail that concerns your safety, your time, or your money. Shop around and consider how you may interact with the company long-term before you purchase any superior quality moonshine stills.

A Homemade Flour Paste for Your Whiskey Still Kit

After you buy a whiskey still kit and have all the pieces at home, ready to distill your first run, you will need to also make a flour paste at home to seal the seams on your still. During distilling of whiskey, moonshine, and other alcohols, your whiskey still will reach very high temperatures, causing the alcohol in your whiskey mash to evaporate into a vapor. If you don’t seal the seams on your whiskey still, these vapors will escape - which is unsafe as well as a waste of your precious alcohol.

You can make flour paste at your home easily using ingredients that can be found at your local grocery store. The ingredients are fairly inexpensive, so stock up on several packages while you’re there if you plan to distill a lot. Purchasing in bulk can make this part of your distilling more affordable.

Whiskey still kit usually includes the metal parts of your still: the pot boiler, the column (if your still has one), the onion head, and the condenser coil. Wherever the pieces join together, you want to spread the flour paste into the seam. 

 

Alcohol vapor is flammable. If you don’t seal the seams on your still, you are creating a fire hazard. It’s a great idea to always have a fire extinguisher handy when you are distilling whiskey, moonshine, or other spirits.

Make a flour paste for your moonshine still using:

• ¾ cup rye flour
• ¼ cup (distilled) water

Add water to the flour until the paste is a putty-like consistency. Roll the dough into long snakes before you begin heating up the still, and have them ready. Once the whiskey still boiler pot reaches about 100 degrees, apply the paste to the seams of your whiskey still kit, capturing the alcohol vapor.

You can save extra flour paste by sealing it in an airtight container and storing it in the refrigerator for as long as 30 days. If the paste dries out, add water and fresh rye flour until it reaches the proper consistency again. Some moonshiners say that you can use pre-packaged dough or wheat flour, but rye is the best for holding moisture inside the moonshine still during a run. You spent your time and energy to buy a whiskey still kit that will produce the best whiskey and moonshine, so don’t settle for a flour paste that is less than the best when distilling your spirits.

Identifying Superior Quality Moonshine Stills

Many whiskey stills and moonshine still kits for sale online claim to be high quality, but how can you really tell? If you know what to look for, you should be able to browse through any website with whiskey stills for sale and identify whether it has supior quality moonshine stills, or something not worthy of your time and money.

Check Out the Manufacturing

The place where an item is manufactured can tell you a lot about that item’s quality. Some locations are more likely to use local materials to make moonshine stills, while other areas may be known for their superior craftsmanship and attention to detail. Find out what you can about the manufacturer, because history and expertise often are linked. Of course, you may want to consider the cost of shipping internationally when you buy moonshine stills, unless the website offers free shipping. 

 

Check Out the Materials

Most moonshine stills are made from copper or stainless steel, and there is an ongoing debate about which material is better for distilling the best products. While copper is known to help purify alcohols that are distilled in it, some distillers prefer the taste and recipe of whiskey or moonshine distilled in mostly stainless steel, using only a copper mesh filter. You might also consider how the two materials are to clean, as you will need to do a thorough cleaning after every moonshine run. Regardless of the main body material of your moonshine still, always be sure that it is soldered with 100% lead free solder.

Check Out the Design

A moonshine still should be solid - capable to withstand the high temperatures of distilling. You want the bottom of your still’s boiler to be thick, but even, so that heat will evenly distribute upwards around the pot. Superior moonshine still designs include a built-in thermometer at the top of the column or in the onion head. This helps monitor your distillate, creating the best possible product. Top moonshine and whiskey still designs also make it easy for you to run a cooling system around the condenser coil, so your whiskey or moonshine is collected easily.

Knowing these key features to look for when shopping moonshine stills for sale, you will be able to make a better, more-educated choice about the right whiskey or moonshine still for you.

Tips for Buying Whiskey Stills for Sale Online

 In today’s world, online shopping is the most convenient way to order anything you want. People today like having interesting hobbies, and groups of people who brew beer, make wine, and distilled spirits are popping up everywhere. To pick up a new hobby of distilling, one of the first things you have to do is shop

through a variety of whiskey stills for sale, and you are probably shopping online. Here are a few tips to help you get the best whiskey still out there:

• Always Choose Copper: Copper is a trusted material that has incredible antibiotic and antifungal properties, heats evenly, and is easy to clean. It’s the best for moonshine stills.
• Built-in Thermometer: Temperature control is incredibly important in distilling, so get a copper still with a thermometer built into the onion-head, and the boiler pot if you can find one.
• Lead-Free Soldering: There should be no lead anywhere in your whiskey still. Make sure the site tells you that the still is 100% lead-free.
• Free Shipping: Moonshine and whiskey stills for sale are listed by their gallon capacity, but shipping is charged by weight. A moonshine still distributor website that includes free shipping is your best bet.

Enjoy shopping for your new hobby and comparing the many options of high-quality whiskey stills for sale. Make sure you read about the US laws on distilling alcohol at home, and enjoy your still safely and responsibly.

How does a conical 8 gallon moonshine still work

One of the most unique and efficient copper still designs are the 8 gallon moonshine still with a conical column that increases the reflux in the still’s column. If you are looking for the best moonshine still for at-home fuel distilling, then a conical column still is your best bet. Of course, conical columns make some of the finest essential oils, spirits, and water as well.

What is reflux? Why is it important?

“Reflux” is the technical term for the additional refinement process that occurs in certain shapes of stills. In all copper moonshine stills, the vaporized alcohol rises out of the alcohol mash and condenses back into liquid because of the cooler temperatures in the condenser coil. Eventually, the liquid is collected at the bottom of the coil in a container of some kind.

Some stills - like a conical column still - are shaped so that some of the alcohol vapor will condense on the interior of the still’s column and drop back down into the boiling still pot. Then, the alcohol will vaporize again, eventually making its way down the condenser column. This additional period of vaporization and condensation is called reflux, and it is one of the best ways to refine all the impurities out of distilled alcohol.

The “Kentucky” moonshine still design

The premium conical column 8 gallon moonshine still design, the “Kentucky,” is the perfect capacity to distill batches of ethanol fuel at home, with your Federal Fuel Alcohol Permit. Because of the additional reflux, the Kentucky conical column moonshine still produces some of the purest alcohol free of impurities, and with less “feints” than other still designs.

For the best alcohol, always use a copper still. Copper’s natural properties purify your alcohol at every step of the process, which is what makes copper the best for distilling alcohol. Especially if you are distilling ethanol fuel at home, you can’t get better than a conical copper moonshine still.

Article by: Jim Thomas

How to Seal a Copper Still with Flour Paste

Once you have purchased the right copper whiskey still, you have made your mash, and you are ready for your alcohol run, there are a few final preparations to make your whiskey or moonshine run a smashing success.

Your copper moonshine stills detaches from the pot at the onion bulb, for easy cleaning, transport, and filling. However, you don’t want alcohol vapor to escape from the space between these parts. Alcohol vapor is highly flammable - which is why you should always distill in a well-ventilated area - and alcohol vapor that escapes is vapor that is not turned into moonshine.