Well technology is all around us, for good or bad. I attended the Madison class looking for validity in the Istills place in the industry. Well as a traditional distiller I can say that the theoretical and practical aspects of distillation have not been altered by the addition of a ROBOT, the ease and consistency of producing and replicating product seems to have been achieved. This by no means should imply it will make you a distiller overnight there are too many other phases of distilling such as mashing, fermenting, blending and marketing to name a few the ROBOT can not do for you, however it does free up much needed time to delegate to these chores. I was told a quote, wont tell you who told me or who was being quoted but it went like this. " somewhere between the romance of distilling and profitability you will find the Istill." Well yes as well any other system, experience and Knowledge to need accompany the Istill as any other, the one factor following this still is ease, consistency and a real time management tool. For anyone entering the industry the Istill and its technology should be explored and considered, however there will always be the need for romance in distilling for many of us. This is the classical art form we were born into, The Istill for the future distillers could create a whole new modern/futuristic art form. I have always been a non conformist/ traditionalist and proud to be one. The Istill is just one of the many new innovations out there to explore and drive the industry into bottles never seen before. Honestly, Matt