You have the possibility and will to make a copper alembic with little material and knowledge. To create the alembic you will need a pressure cooker as well as plastic buckets and a copper coil to act as a cooler.

As you know, many alembic models exist and certain of them are very complex to create artisanally.

 

For all those wishing to create neutral alchohols, it is preferable to create a reflux alembic or an alembic with splitting. In the idea of the creation of aromatized alcohols such as whiskeys or fruit alcohols, you can also choose a traditional or Charentais alembic.

A true alembic amateur will surely choose the three alembic models.

 In my opinion, start with a traditional alembic if it is your first. 

All of the information indicated has been used by New Zealand amateurs, we cannot guarantee the result because the outcome of your creation depends on your skill and know-how.

 Do not forget that in some countries it is forbidden to possess or to make one, if that is the case, do not under any circumstance create your alembic.

 

To start and create your home-made alembic, here are the first instructtions.

- you need all of the necessary tools

- you need all of the neccessary material

- do your plan and have it at hand
- if you have never done any welding, practice first.

The real question is : how do you make an alembic ?

 

Building a copper alembic is done in three parts.

Your alembic will be composed of 3 parts :

- the boiler : it is the heater in which we are going to heat and boil the wort to distill.

- the column : it is the copper tube in which the vapours of alcohol ascent towards the condensator.
3 types of columns exist : simple, with reflux or with splitting.

- the condensor : it is there where the vapours condense into liquid alcohol. Two types exist: coil or tube to tube.

 

Concerning materials :

 
With the aim of an optimal production, the contact between alcohol vapours and the alcohol must be avoided especially with materials such as plastic, rubber and any other synthetic material.

Little tip, in the creation of a home-made alembic, privilege materials: stainless steel, copper, tin welding and silver, cork, paper and flour paste for the joints.

To finish :

- the boiler can be entirely constructed separately from the rest

- the condensor as well, possibility of an independant construction

- the boiler column liaison, similarly, independently

- the column of a pot as well

- the column of a reflux cannot be created separately from the condensor because it requires a great precision in aligment of the cooling tubes with the water entries of the condensor.

 

You now have all the advice to create an artisanal copper alembic.