BadAl

Does anyone have a good supplier for botanicals such as Juniper and even others like wormwood, both types for absinthe, annis, star annis. I can get locally in New Zealand but quality is poor and it is expensive as buying from spice suppliers here. I want to go direct to the source. Many thanks all. Cheers Al

I have a 80L Hoga still with column and have just taken possession of a 1000l Hoga still with column. Armindo responds to email very quickly but I wish he would have better pdfs of his products with FAQs list as I am sure everyone is asking him the same info. Mine has CIP on the pot and column, it set up for steam rather than direct heated and has a agitator attached. Quality is artisanal not German precession but then cost reflects this. I am yet to run it as I it has literally arrived a week or two ago. In the process of setting up micro-distillery with a friend, who has a 1000L Hoga pot still for whisky only. It was delayed a couple of months but that was fine, it has not held anything up. My next still will be another Hoga, possibly within the next 6 months!

Anyone else have any experience or guidance around this? Thanks for your help.

Hi Nick, Thanks for your thoughts, especially on the other processes that it could be used to heat. I have found a site with some great info, see link below, it will take some reading and calculations but like you say I need to be sure before I order anything. I did some rough calcs from other info I had found on the site and got a very similar value to your 350Kg/hour but will verify using the info from the link below. I still hope to hear from others out there who may have some experience in this regard. Thanks again. Al http://www.spiraxsarco.com/resources/steam-engineering-tutorials/steam-engineering-principles-and-heat-transfer.asp

Hi All, I am about to take on a 1000L Copper Pot still which can be direct heated or indirect heated using steam. I am wondering if anyone has any experience with Steam generators/boilers especially in terms of sizing? I know it is going to be fairly mathematical i.e. 1000L Still, filled about 2/3 full, call it 700L of wash, need to raise the temp from 20 degrees C to 80 Degrees C in say 1 to 2 hours, therefore need X kg/hr of steam to do this. As it is all copper I guess there is a heat transfer coefficient for that but how it all fits together... I am looking to get a rough idea as to the size I should be looking to source. I live in New Zealand so not the easiest thing to find new our second hand, so if importing it I need to know I have spec'd it correctly. Any help, thoughts greatly appreciated. Cheers Al

Hi I am Alan. I have been distilling in New Zealand for coming on three years now in a small 80 litre Hoga Copper pot still. I use this for making Brandy, Palinka, Rum and Vodka. I also have a column that fits on top used for making fantastic Grappa. I am in the process of setting up a Micro Distillery on the Island I live on. I have a 1000L Hoga Still on its way. Intending to make Vodka, Gin and Absinthe initially, dispersed with Whiskey and rum, to be set down for aging while the previouse three keep cash flow going. New Zealand only has a population of 4 million so I am looking at doing a few different products, done in small amounts and done well and aiming at top end of the market. Time will tell if I achieve this goal. My current Grappa's are all single vinyard, single varietal and are fantastic. Looking to experiment with Calvados as well this year. I have spent the last few years reading anything and everything I can lay my hands on concerning distilling and brewing and applying this theory to my distilling. I am looking forward to learning how my new baby handles and all her peculiarities(damn, need a spell check on this). I am doing things slowly and in my own time, with no outside investors and on a shoe string, every penny I earn goes into research, yes books and alcohol, and equipment. Lately I have been thinking I need to review my business plan and make it a bit more professional and possibly look for investors but well the sun is shinning, the beach is 2 minutes away and I would rather be distilling than stuck behind a PC again like may day job... Anyway I look forward to contributing more and appreciate all the advice I have already read on this form and hope it continue when I ask a dumb question. Kind Regards Alan

Not sure if the same but see link below. The wormwood society also has similar copies for download. http://www.oxygenee.com/absinthe/books4.html

If not already at 185-190%, run it through a good reflux still and then sell it to people in your area making perfumes. They use it as a base and need it at as high a % as possible. Most towns have an alternatice crowd selling perfumes from natural essential oils they have extracted themselves, at local markets and need a regular supply. The rest, stick it in ya car sounds like a great idea but more exact info on it would be great.