What is a whisky still?

A whisky still is purposefully designed to achieve optimal reflux during the whisky production process. Reflux refers to the volume of water vapor that returns to the still during distillation, ensuring that the alcohol content in the final product remains as high as possible. These stills boast a distinctive shape engineered to maximize contact between the alcohol vapor and copper, thereby producing the purest distillate achievable. Commonly known as Pot Stills, they are integral to the whisky-making process.

Pot stills serve as a type of distillation apparatus utilized for distilling spirits such as whisky or brandy. In contemporary applications, they are not typically employed for producing rectified spirit due to their relatively less efficient separation of congeners from ethanol compared to alternative methods like continuous stripping stills or column stills. Pot stills function on a batch distillation principle and are traditionally crafted from stainless steel and copper. Their design varies in shape and size, tailored to the desired quantity and style of spirit.

Spirits distilled in pot stills typically reach alcohol by volume (ABV) levels ranging between 60 and 80 percent after undergoing multiple distillation cycles. This lower ABV concentration ensures that spirits distilled in pot stills retain more of the flavors from the initial wort or wash compared to those produced at higher ABV levels using stripping or column stills.

In compliance with European regulations and various trade agreements, cognac, as well as any Irish or Scotch whisky labelled as malt whisky, must undergo distillation using a pot still.