Hi all,
A new member based in Adelaide with a sore head from all the reading I've been doing over the last few weeks. I've been keen on the idea of getting into distilling for a while, but after a recent conversation with a like-minded mate, we've decided to take the plunge and give it a go together.
The long-term plan (for me) will be to make some single malt whisky, and the mate is more keen on the neutral/gins to start with. Ideally it would be great to build a still, but with both of us having kids/wives/jobs/lives we're not so keen on it taking us 6 months until we can finish the build and get started. Therefore, we will be looking to buy the full set-up. Likely to start with basic gear at first, then as the skills improve and we know more about what we want, we'll look to build/upgrade in the future.
I'm still working my way through all the beginner forums and reviews, but at this stage the likely setup might look something like the items listed below: (Happy to be told otherwise, cos I haven't bought anything yet).
- 35L Robobrew (to use as a boiler and mashing): obviously a budget option, but from what I can tell there seem to be a few people on the site who use these and they seem to be ok for the money. I like the idea of having one thing that can do multiple jobs, but I'm guessing it's probably not the most efficient boiler out there(?)
- I've ear-marked the 5-Star modular pot as the likely winner for the whisky-making, but finances suggest it will need to stay as a pot for a while until the skills improve to justify the expenses to add to it.
- Still undecided on the best direction to take for the reflux still though. Obviously there's the usual HBS options and I've come across a few pre-made Boka's online. The Bokas seem to get the tick of approval from the more experienced distillers and they seem a bit more beginner-proof. I've read mentions on this and other forums about members who might be able to make and sell us something, but have so far struggled to find any specific info on who to contact. I'll keep looking/reading for now, but if anyone can steer me in the right direction it'd be great.
Cheers, and I look forward to wasting many more hours on the site in the coming months.