Can you distill alcohol with an Air Still?
Yes, you can distill alcohol with an air still. Air stills are probably the easiest way to get into the hobby of distillation. You can purchase an air still designed specifically for alcohol production or modify a cheap water still.
What is an Air Still?
Air stills work by heating the liquid in the pot with an electric element to create vapor. That vapor then rises into the head of the air still where it runs through a radiator with fins that are cooled by a fan. This head replaces the liquid cooled condenser on a traditional still. The fact that air stills are fully self-contained and do not require additional cooling water is what makes them so simple to operate.
When it comes to using an air still for distilling alcohol you have 2 options:
- DIY – Add a controller to a cheap air still to control the temperature.
- Still Spirits – Spend a little more money and get an air still that is ready to go out of the box.
Can you use a Vevor Air Still for alcohol?
A quick search on Amazon for Air Still results in several matches from Vevor that are under $100. These are great little air stills, but they cannot be used for alcohol production without a slight modification.
The Vevor stills are designed to distill water. Water has a much higher boiling point than ethanol and these air stills get too hot to effectively separate the alcohol for the water in a wash. Luckily you can plug in a simple SCR controller between the air still and your wall outlet to reduce the power making them perfect for alcohol distillation. You will also need an additional power cord to plug the fan on the condenser head directly into the wall. If you leave the fan plugged into the pot with the power reduced it will run slower and not completely condense the vapor.
I have the cheapest Vevor still, it’s a white model with no extra buttons or controls connected to my controller and think it’s a great setup.
Here are links to the parts I used to build my air still for under $100:
Using this DIY method you have full control over the heat going into the still, this allows you to adjust the take off speed of you final product compared to the Still Spirits air stills in the next section.
Warning: The cheap air stills with built in temperature controls are not designed for alcohol distillation and will not work well.
Still Spirits Air Stills, Alcohol production right out of the box
The Still Spirits series of air stills will cost you a little more money than the DIY option, but they are designed specifically for alcohol production and have a few bonus features that a DIY still doesn’t.
There are 2 Still Spirits models to choose from and both have a capacity of 1 gallon:
- Air Still, Pot Still Distillation up to 60% ABV
- Air Still Pro, Reflux or Pot Still Distillation up to 90% ABV
Both models are sold as a still only or in a starter kit with everything you need to make your first batch. I’ll add links below to compare pricing, but the Air Still Pro is about 2x the cost of the original model.
Still Spirits – Pot Still
The pot still model looks very similar to any water distiller you would use in the DIY method. The main difference is that the temperature is controlled to prevent overheating and vaporizing the water at the same time as the ethanol in your wash.
An optional botanical basket that clips into the inside of the still head can be purchased for making gin or other infused spirits.
Click here to check the Still Spirits Air Still price on Amazon
Jesse from Still It on YouTube has used both stills quite a bit on his channel. Here’s a link to his full review of the pot still
Both models from Still Spirits use the same pot so, if you decide to start with the base model you can upgrade it to a Pro after the fact by purchasing the Pro still head.
Click here to check the Air Still Pro Head on Amazon
Still Spirits – Air Still Pro
The Air Still Pro adds reflux in the condenser to increase the proof and purity up to 90% ABV.
The pro head has a foreshots collection jar that automatically collects the foreshots in a small jar before the liquor comes out the spout. The botanical basket is included with this model as well saving you another purchase if you want to make gin.
If you want a more flavorful whiskey, rum or brandy you can always run the air still pro in pot still mode and it will produce a spirit around 60% ABV just like the standard model.
Click here to check the Air Still Pro Price on Amazon
Here is Jesse’s video sharing his opinions on the Air Still Pro
What kind of Alcohol can you make with an Air Still?
Air stills are a great tool for small test batches of just about any liquor. Because they have a low power density without an exposed heating element they allow you to run solids in the still. This is usually only possible with very expensive commercial stills that use an oil jacket for heating.
The basic pot still is great for whiskey, rum or brandy. If you upgrade to the reflux air still pro you can make high proof moonshine and get very close to a vodka. Usually, to be considered vodka the sprit needs to come off the still at 95% ABV or higher, but this you a hobby and if you want to call your 90% spirit vodka I won’t tell anyone.
Again, I’ll refer you to Jesse on YouTube, he has a whole series of videos he calls meme spirits where he does creative things using an air still
Wrap up
To wrap this up, Air Stills are an excellent way to get started into the hobby of distillation. They provide a lot of flexibility, can be setup quickly and are easy to cleanup when you are finished. The biggest downside of an air still is they are relatively small at 1 gallon and if you want to produce a large volume of spirit you will have to make several runs.
Want more information about distillation with an Air Still? There is a whole subreddit dedicated to it here with tons of great information.
Do you have an Air Still? Let us know in the comments below what you like or don’t like about it.