Description:

Before the Air Still Pro was developed, home distillers would need specific still types to create different spirits, otherwise risk compromising on quality. Pot stills are best used to make dark spirits such as whiskey, rum, and brandy. Reflux stills are best used to make light spirits (such as vodka & gin) and can produce very clean spirit in the 90% Alcohol By Volume (ABV) purity range. These traditional stills require more storage space, are very hands on, low-tech and often use hundreds of litres of water per distillation for cooling the condensers.

Introducing the Air Still Pro, the first of its kind hybrid benchtop still that can distil in pot still mode or reflux mode. The project adopted a user centred design approach that informed development across 5 years of in-house R&D. The product was refined with 8 operational prototypes to ensure it met the needs of our existing users and those of potential new customers. Testing was done locally in New Zealand and overseas to ensure the still could operate efficiently in different environments and conditions with various distillers and styles.

Three key elements were highlighted by our user testing and consumer database surveys:
• Improve ease of use as this was the primary reason for purchasing the Air Still.
• Enhance safety features to reduce concerns over safety when operating a still.
• Optimise the quality of the spirit produced by a tabletop still.

The innovation lies in the still’s self-cooling reflux column, paired with the air-cooled helical condenser. Not previously thought possible in such a small benchtop still without water cooling, the Air Still Pro can produce spirit in the 90% ABV purity range which is comparable to traditional large, water-cooled reflux columns. Another key feature is its ability to detect when the alcohol has been distilled out of the boiler in reflux mode and automatically end the distillation, removing the guess work for new distillers. It also features a unique automatic foreshots collection vial which captures and isolates the first 30ml of impurities (foreshots) into a glass vial, a process traditionally done manually, further improving the safety and quality of the spirit produced. It has a removable botanicals basket in the head of the column, making it perfect for crafting gins and other flavoured spirits in pot still mode. In the event of any unexpected temperature fluctuations or if the boiler overheats it has intelligent automatic safety shut off features, further solidifying its position as an innovative hybrid benchtop still.

Existing Air Still users can upgrade by purchasing the Air Still Pro Head Unit individually which is compatible with the original Air Still boiler.