Just bumping this, as I've run into a bit of a roadblock. I'm north of the border, and around here there is virtually no experience with small distilleries, or indeed distilleries of any kind.
A couple of folks have mentioned (or at least implied) that explosiveproof electrical fixtures can be dispensed with if they are located at a sufficient distance from the potential vapor source (ie, the still). Is that part of the national electrical code, or is that a local-jurisdiction modification? In Canada, we share a great deal with the US/International code, but so far both engineers I've spoken with are pretty convinced that it doesn't matter how far away from the still the fixtures might be, they *have* to be explosiveproof. Again, I have found zero local resources who have experience dealing with distillery setup, this is new ground for the community.
If I have to go all-XP, fine, I will, I'm not exactly safety-opposed! But this is a very small facility and I'd rather spend the money elsewhere, if possible.