Different types of stills

[RGRUTKO]

Hello,
I own a T500 and am getting read to to try it for the first time in a few days, once my basic sugar wash is ready to go. I understand the I should be able to get pretty clear and pure spirits from the T500, and look forward to seeing it work.
In the future, if I wanted to distill some different kinds of flavors, like whiskey or rum, would it be better to use a different kind of condenser, like a pot still? I am afraid that the T500 will strip away too much of the flavor, and there would be no reason to put anything through it except a simple sugar wash?

Thanks in advance.

[YHB]

RGRUTKO - Welcome, glad that you have joined us.

I do not own a T500 but have read much about them in this forum, if you read the threads I am sure that you will find the answers you are looking for.

It appears to me from my reading here that the T500 is a good device for achieving the purpose that it was designed for i.e. producing consistently good neutral spirits of a high %ABV, this process as you say will strip the flavour from the product.

Go with what you have got and enjoy the T500, like me, you have a lot of learning to do before you need to start thinking about running other types of stills.

The is wealth of information on the web, if you cannot find anything specific that you are looking for, then please ask. There are some very friendly people here that I am sure will help.

Once again welcome and I hope you enjoy this forum as much as I do.

[Jimmy]

I agree - the T500 is good but it is a one trick pony as it comes out of the box - it can be adapted by using the boiler with a different 'head' on the top, but really your first job is to make some decent neutral spirit, although it's easy to make passable booze with a T500, a little skill will allow you to make great stuff and you can then experiment with flavouring and aging - you'd be surprised at what you can get if you age neutral spirit with charred oak and a few raisins, etc.

But back to the original point - the T500 is no use for running as a potstill, and isn't very good if you try to 'detune' it because it gets too hot and the plastic bits start to melt. Stick to how it's supposed to run and enjoy it, then think about more later - there's guys on here who can show you the way to move on with the T500 or even build your own still entirely which you might want to do once you know where your existing setup lets you down.

[RGRUTKO]

Yes - and thank you both! I agree - there is so much information around, I am reading as much as I can and have quite a bit to learn.

[Capt-Cudellez]

One exception being you can use the T500 with a molasses wash, and produce a nice white rum.