Whether you’re expanding your distillery or starting up a brand-new operation, you know just how important it is to have the right still in place for your work. Especially if you’re just getting your distillery off the ground, you’ll need to consider some important questions when determining what kind of still you’ll get.

With this in mind, here are some things to consider when ordering a new still or other distillery equipment in Eugene, OR:

• Type of spirits: What type of spirits do you plan to make in your still? Depending on the liquor you want to make, you might need some different equipment. Common choices include whiskey, bourbon, gin, brandy, vodka and absinthe.
• Amount: How much of your spirits do you want to make? If you’re just getting started out, you’re likely to have a smaller operation. Consider proof gallons or barrels per day, week, month or year as part of your selection process.
• Your current operation: Consider what you already have in terms of equipment, and what you’re doing at your facility. Are you distilling or just brewing? Is this your first distillery, or do you have another operation elsewhere? Is your goal just to get started up, or is this part of an expansion? You should also consider how feasible future expansion will be, and how soon that could potentially occur.
• Work hours: For some people, a distillery starts off as being a part-time operation before it turns into more of a full-time venture. Therefore, you also need to factor in how much you want to work. How many days per week do you plan on distilling, and how many shifts will the work happen in? This will tie in to how much booze you want to distill in a given time period.
• Whiskey and bourbon: There are some additional requirements that exist for bourbon and whiskey that don’t exist for other types of liquors at distilleries. If you plan to make bourbon or whiskey at your facility, you should consider how many barrels per day you want to make. A 1,000-gallon pot still is capable of making about two barrels per day. If you want to make more than two barrels per day, you should consider a continuous column still instead of a batch pot still, but with one to two barrels per day, a batch pot still should be more than sufficient.
• Potential tours: Will you be allowing guests inside to tour your facility? It’s become quite popular around the country for distilleries to offer tours that showcase their operations and how they make their liquor. Usually there are some liquor samples involved as well. If this is something you’re interested in, you might also want to consider the aesthetics of the still you choose.

For more information about the things you’ll need to consider when purchasing a new still for your distillery, we encourage you to reach out to American Refrigeration Inc. about our distillery equipment in Eugene, OR. We look forward to answering your questions.