Home Distillation of Alcohol (Homemade Alcohol to Drink)
Purchasing a Still
Check out the photos of stills for sale page.
The real big problem is the cost of postage/delivery. It costs about US$100
to send a still from NZ to the States/Europe and vice versa, so it pays to buy locally.
Shops
You can easily buy a still for around NZ$340 (US$160), however the better
ones are up around NZ$600 (US$250).
If you're in New Zealand, give my mate Pete Sayers a call at
the Brewers Barn, 291 Dee St, Invercargill, or phone/fax on
(64-3) 214-1202. Pete is really helpful, and sells a large range of different stills.
Freight within NZ will be free, and he can knock down stills into several packages
for inconspicous delivery overseas. All credit cards taken. Tell him I sent ya.
New ! Pete has finally got email :
brubarn@xtra.co.nz, and
can email you some brochures about his stills.
If you're in Melbourne, Australia, try any winemaking shop.
Australian Winemakers - Cellar Plus at 106 Peel St, North Melbourne, Vic 3051,
(just across the road from the Vic markets, beside la Porcetta's)
ph (61-3) 9328-1881 or fax (61-3) 9328-1975 stock books, yeasts, essences, and a limited
range of small copper pot stills. Celeste is pretty clued up about it all too.
On the Net
Net Sites include :
Outterson, LLC (US) still & equipment supplier
Fermtech & Still Spirits (New Zealand)- also flavours & yeasts.
Spirits Unlimited (New Zealand)- still manufacturer.
Aqua Vitae (New Zealand)- homebrew shop.
Ray Toms Moonshine Supplies (New Zealand) - homebrew shop.
Brewers World (New Zealand) - lists suppliers of the Fermtech & Still Spirits goodies.
Desti Lab Stainless Alcohol Still/Water Purifier
Winesupply - US based still makers
Floragenics - small glass stills
See the photo page - Stills for Sale.
If you are going to buy off the Web, and try and import back to your own country, have
a good chat with the supplier first about how they can help. Obvious things would be
like removing any identifying logos or stickers (eg having "Home Still" inscribed on it
would be a hard thing for Customs to avoid), and having it split up into various different boxes etc
posted on different days. Even so, you still might have a limited sucess rate at getting
it all delivered to you without interception. And you're the one taking the legal risks (not the
exporter).
Importing a Still into the United States
(By A. Nonymous) How to import a still into the US:
- Find a commercial supplier in NZ (Pete at the Brewer's Barn is an honest man
and would be my first choice -no, he doesn't know I'm saying this) who will
ship the tower and the body of the still in separate packages at least 7 days
apart.
- Pay by credit card over the phone (you might have to stay up late
depending on the timezone) - you must NEVER mention the word STILL over the
phone - it is a WATER PURIFIER only!!! The US government records all overseas
phone calls and holds them in records (on tape) for three years (this is
called "evidence for the prosecution") - so the talk must be strictly legal
sounding. The credit card is not yours, it's a friends who you repay and buy
dinner for the favor.
- Ask the supplier to put water purifier on the customs
documents and to remove all stickers identifying the still as a still. The 2
packages are shipped to 2 separate addresses with fake names on them (these
names must not be the names of anyone living at the address, or the credit
card holder), and the boxes should have "leave at door-no signature required"
written on them. If a signature is given, this is an incriminating paper
trail (not good).
- This means 3 names are needed:
1. the card holder (real name of the holder-but not you and not billed to your address).
2. the fake name on the tower going to another friends house.
3. the fake name on the body going to yet another friends house.
- Nothing should be shipped to the holder of the
credit card or to the actual owner of the stills house, nor should anything
be shipped under these names.
- The phone call placing the order should be at
a payphone with a prepaid calling card, which was paid for in cash.
- Should someone come asking about the still and the person it was shipped to (since
there is no signature) your friend denies any knowledge- It will appear as
if someone unknown shipped something to your friends house and picked it up
before he knew it was ever there (plausible deniability) The card holder is
in the clear. Why? the US has no authority in NZ, and when asked about it,
the NZ supplier will say "push off, yank, it's none of your business" And
besides all the credit card holder bought was a water purifier, right?
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    email: ackland@thenet.net.nz