Post: #1

Does anyone make their own booze, particularly spirits? Has anyone made their own reflux still and had success with it?

I'd be very interested to hear from anyone who has made their own spirits, and infused/aged them. If people prefer to talk about it over PM I quite understand. I in no way condone any activity which may be illegal in your jurisdiction

Post: #2

I would recommend starting with beer, you can pick up starter kits and tons of recipes online. At most you would be spending ~$500, that gets you everything you need. I have a friend that does this for a hobby and its actually decent beer, better then all the bottom shelf stuff like bud lite. You could even turn it into a career if you make stuff people like.

Homebrew Guide and Full kit with keg

Distilling is just way too sketchy imo, but you can buy a copper still online. I would be worried they would track that stuff though.

Homeblending whiskey kit

Post: #3

Obviously worth researching for your particular jurisdiction, but I seem to recall reading that distilling wood alcohol, i.e. making your own turpentine, is legal in just about all the places that distilling your own booze isn't. Perhaps the technique is similar enough it would be a cheap(er) way to practice?

Post: #4

Yes, pretty much everyone does it if you live in a village here.

We make rakija, which is a famous Balkan distilled drink; Serbs are biggest manufacturers of it, but pretty much everyone can make it with right equipment. My dad and I commonly make it from leftover squashed grapes. Note that I don't know English term but I will quickly clarify:

After you pick the grapes form vineyard, squash them and put them with sugar into the barrel, you begin fermentation where from the sweet juice alcohol gradually emerges and juice loses its sweetness. After some time you put the wine into the stainless steel barrel but you are left with huge amount of leftover squashed grapes at the bottom of previous barrel. These grapes are loaded with alcohol and sugars and are good choice to make rakija.

Other choices:
- pears
- apples
- plums

With these fruits, process is more simple and you can make practically immediately rakija after you pick them from trees. But when my dad and I make it from grapes, we are killing two birds with one stone. On one hand we have wine, and on the other hand we don't have to take waste from grapes and dump it somewhere. We just convert it to something drinkable. Afterwards you are left with just very dry waste that is easy to dispose of.

This is how my rig looks like. This is not my picture but funny enough it is same model of both parts as I have.



I will be happy to answer questions.

Post: #5

On a small level, Scandinavian countries sell home distillation kits, that look a little like kettles, as I recall. I understand they produce effectively. Getting your distillation wrong can cause unpleasant health problems.

I think numerous Eastern European countries sell equipment suitable for something between home use and full container loads.

I've worked in the drinks business, commercial side, for different products.

Its not advisable to try and evade customs laws in places like Britain/N West Europe (ie high excise rates) commercially.