By: Jessica Bunker
In the distilling industry and in backyards around the world there are two main materials used for building stills, copper and stainless steel. Which one is preferred and or better to use to distill moonshine, essential oils and other distilled substances?
Copper conducts heat very well making it the perfect material to use in distilling unlike stainless steel and its low heat conducting capabilities. Copper also removes sulfur compounds and that is very important because you want all impurities that could ruin your products final taste and smell removed. The copper also improves the final product and enhances your mash! With stainless steel your distilling process would take more time and effort to remove sulfur and other impurities. The Distillery Network, Inc. has a new and improved way to distill with their new Flame-Flow™ Design. That saves you time and money when it comes to heating up your stills! Their stills are all Copper making for a better final product.
Copper out of the two is the more expensive choice it is also easier to bend shape and mold however you’d like. Stainless steel is a cheaper material in cost but is usually takes industrial grade equipment to form. So where you’re spending more money on copper it is much more cost effective when it comes to making the material move, bend and shape. Copper is also much easier to join together because the temperatures can be lower where it takes stainless steel a much higher temperature to be joined however there is no led with stainless steel.
Many distillers and customers have concerns when it comes to stills and the use of copper and the joining process. Most solder is led based and you need solder to join your copper pieces together. Anytime the word led pops up there is a concern that it could seep into your final product. Many distillers and “backyarders” use the lead solder because it is less expensive. However there are good companies like The Distillery Network Inc. who produce copper stills only using led free silver solder making their products all led free!
When looking at both copper and stainless steel copper takes the cake for what is preferred to make in a still. Copper is better for distilling water, spirits and essential oils. As pointed out above copper takes out sulfides, and by removing them you get a finer taste and the aroma of the final product is much more refined.
Stainless steel is the easier choice when it comes to cleaning a still. There are many products on the market you can get to clean stainless organic and with chemicals. Copper is a material that is more time consuming to clean. However there are many organic products you can use like lemon and salt, vinegar and salt, or even ketchup. All you have to do is make a paste and rub away the tarnish and shin with a dry cloth!
All in all copper stills are the way to go! They will last you a lifetime and produce a much more refined and exquisite final product. All stills produced by the Distillery Network, Inc. and 100% guaranteed, also because they are all copper they are guaranteed to give you a product that will satisfy all your distilling needs!