T500 still vs (?) newb looking to make whiskey & rum

[thedapperbenz]

Hey all,

Complete newb here. Up until yesterday, I’d never even looked at distilling before.

Quick background: I’ve been a bourbon/whiskey drinker for around 15 years, nothing too fancy but just the usual JD/MM, etc.. just none of that JB stuff! I also love a spiced rum to mix things up a bit, with my absolute fav being Rebellion Bay.

I’m currently exploring the idea of a small setup at home, and really like the look of the T500 boiler & copper condenser. It looks easy enough for a total beginner to not stuff up too badly. Pricing on sale isn’t too bad, so I might even be able to convince the treasurer to spend my own money on it for my own birthday.

Now after cramming some reading in on the train, this sounds like a column reflux still… after some further reading, this doesn’t sound ideal for whiskey/rum making. If using a molasses wash, would it be possible to produce a decent rum on the t500 with the copper condenser? I’m thinking that given the condenser is copper, it should remove enough of the sulphur if I run it empty and without needing to be jam packed with saddles, kind of avoiding much of the ‘reflux’ action. Running it at 60-65C by slowing the water cooling down might also help me collect from the optimum range for rum making.

How would the t500 fair for whiskey making? Does it again strip out too much flavor, or will running the copper condenser empty of saddles still give me something to work with?
Watching some YouTube vids, it seems that you can pull a very clear/pure product from the T500, but then add pre-made essences to colour and flavor it to whisky/rum, etc. This doesn’t seem right to me, as I would’ve assumed the flavor profile would be a combination of the base (inherited from the wash) coupled with the ageing process and additives (charred woodchips, oak barrels, orange peel, vanilla pods, etc).

Is using a T500 to make Whiskey or Spiced Rum like trying to make a square peg fit into a round hole?

Is there something as simple as the T500, in the same price range, that would be better suited to what I’m after? I’ve seen some threads pop up in various searches around a McStill Pot Still, if I couple that to a T500 boiler would that be similarly as “fool proof” and easy to use for a newb, but better suited to whiskey/rum?

Cheers,
Pete.

[woodduck]

G'day mate and welcome. I moved your post to the welcome centre as it's your first one :handgestures-thumbupleft:

It sounds to me like you need a pot or a bubbler. The T500 is a reflux still good for neutrals not much more. For your rums and whiskeys you need a still that can bring flavor over. The ultimate start would be a 5 star modular 4" pot still. It will get you going and can be added to to build a bubbler as time and finances allow.

Keep up the reading mate and you'll get the hang of it, your only very early on your journey :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[thedapperbenz]

G'day mate and welcome. I moved your post to the welcome centre as it's your first one :handgestures-thumbupleft:

It sounds to me like you need a pot or a bubbler. The T500 is a reflux still good for neutrals not much more. For your rums and whiskeys you need a still that can bring flavor over. The ultimate start would be a 5 star modular 4" pot still. It will get you going and can be added to to build a bubbler as time and finances allow.

Keep up the reading mate and you'll get the hang of it, your only very early on your journey :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thanks woodduck.. wasn't sure where to put the first one!

The 5 Star looks gorgeous, but it's creeping over what I'll be able to pass by the mrs as an acceptable cost.. Would something like the Alembic Dome Top & Condenser clipped to a T500 boiler do the trick? I'm thinking if I add a parrot (or keep an eye out for a second hand one to save some coin) it won't be as foolproof as running sugar washes through a T500 condenser, but will give me enough control/information over the output to make the cuts, etc.

What sort of output would be reasonable to expect from something like the above once I've figured out any teething issues?

[warramungas]

Overall mate I'd steer clear of the t500 and go for one of the boilers and a copper reflux head that most home brew shops seem to sell now if a 5 star pot is out of your price range. A turbo 500 column cant be run in pot still mode due to plastics in the top of it.
The bonus is that you can run the copper column, check to be sure of the model, in pot still mode as well as reflux it if you want to make.
You NEED a boiler regardless of what head you buy and a t500 boiler is pretty good but it needs a controller if you're going to run it in pot still mode. Anywhere from .5 to 1 liter an hour for a spirit run from a pot still can be expected but I'm not an expert on pot stilling.

[thedapperbenz]

Overall mate I'd steer clear of the t500 and go for one of the boilers and a copper reflux head that most home brew shops seem to sell now if a 5 star pot is out of your price range. A turbo 500 column cant be run in pot still mode due to plastics in the top of it.
The bonus is that you can run the copper column, check to be sure of the model, in pot still mode as well as reflux it if you want to make.
You NEED a boiler regardless of what head you buy and a t500 boiler is pretty good but it needs a controller if you're going to run it in pot still mode. Anywhere from .5 to 1 liter an hour for a spirit run from a pot still can be expected but I'm not an expert on pot stilling.

Thanks mate. I'm starting to lean this way also after reading more and more threads on here.

Would I be better off trying to convert a 30L brew pot to a still/kettle? I have an outdoor kitchen in the backyard with a gas cooktop and a sink. I could run the 30L brew pot directly ontop of a burner and have pretty tight control on temps by adjusting the flame/burner output. Only issue would be outdoor temps hitting the sides of the pot and/or wind messing with flame (could make a wind break though). If I do it this way, I can skip on the voltage controller and run it on gas (cheaper), the only challenge from what my newbie eyes can see would be sealing/clamping the lid and drilling a 47mm hole in the middle to accommodate the alembic pot still condenser.

I'm thinking a strip of flexible silicone could be run around the lip of the pot, then I could clamp the lid down onto that using two rods and some u-bolts to pull the lid down to the pot.

[woodduck]

http://www.5stardistilling.net/2-pot-still/

This one is a cheaper option and you still get the shotty condencer that can be used in a bubbler later on. It can be clamped straight to a $50 keg, a weldless element for $55 a bit of wiring and a power controller or a gas burner and away you go. Might even come in under the price of a T500 :handgestures-thumbupleft: