Instructions - Artisan Whiskey Ingredients Kit - Air Still

To distil the Artisan Distiller's Whiskey Ingredients Kit in an Air Still, follow the instructions included in the kit up to page 3 to make and ferment your wash. Follow the below instructions to perform the stripping run and spirit run. 

Stripping Run

1. Assemble your Air Still as per the instructions and transfer 4L of the wash to the boiler adding one capful of Distilling Conditioner (purchased separately) into the boiler.
2. Collect all the stripping run distillate into a 5L glass demijohn (or other type of container – preferably not plastic) and put this aside for use in the spirit run.
3. Repeat the above steps until you have ‘stripped’ the whole of the 25L wash and ensure you have combined all of these runs in the same container.

 Spirit Run

1. Once again, assemble your Air Still as per its instructions and empty no more than 4L of the contents from the stripping run into the boiler.
2. Top up the boiler with clean drinking water if needed) ensuring the ABV of the liquid is below 40% ABV for safety reasons.
3. Once distillate starts to come out, discard the first 50mL and then collect the rest of the run in separate, numbered jars – ideally 50-100mL in each jar. This will allow you to separate the heads, hearts, and tails to create your desired Whiskey.
4. Once collected, you can optionally cover with a towel and let air for 24 hours, alternatively move to the next step to evaluate your cuts.
5. Starting in the middle of the jars, use your sense of smell and taste (a drop of distillate with a few drops of water on a spoon if you want to taste) to select which jars you wish to use. It is not uncommon to not use the first few, and last few jars (heads and tails) but a little heads and tails can often give some character to your drink.
6. You can repeat the steps above for further liquid leftover from the previous run.
7. You can collect the unused heads and tails and store in a glass demijohn to use again in future spirit runs – so you’re not wasting anything!
8. Once your final cuts are mixed together, check the ABV – depending on the cuts your ABV could be anything between 40-70% alcohol. It’s now time to oak, and age your spirit.

Follow the Oaking and Ageing instructions included the kit from page 5 onwards.