Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- 5 quart pot or larger
- A wok or a large glass bowl
- a juice glass
- Wine or Beer
- Ice
Step1
Set-up: Put the pot on the stove. Place the juice glass in the center of the pot. Pour the wine or beer into the pot around (not in) the juice glass. Place the wok or large glass bowl on top of the pot right side up (see diagram below). Fill the wok or bowl with ice.
Step2
Distillation: Turn the stove onto the lowest possible heat. If your stove has a low BTU burner, use that one. Set the timer for one hour.
Step3
How it works: Alcohol vaporizes at a much lower temperature than water so if your pot starts to boil, it's too hot.
If the temperature is low enough, all that will vaporize is the alcohol. The alcohol vapor will rise to the top of the pot. Because the wok or bowl is filled with ice, it will cool the vapor and cause it to condense on the bottom side of it. Gravity will cause the condensation to run down the wok or bowl until it reaches the lowest point in the center. At that point the condensed alcohol will drip into the glass.
Step4
Alcohol Removal: Remove the wok or bowl and place to the side. Remove the glass with a hot pot holder or towel. Let the alcohol cool. For best results, place the glass of warm alcohol into a ice water bath immediately after removal. If you do this it will stop the vaporization of the alcohol.
Step5
Storage: Store the alcohol in a clean, air-tight container. The alcohol is a preservative so there is no need to add anything at this point unless you are concerned that you did not follow the steps accurately. If that is the case, add a very small amount of citric acid to preserve it; lemon or lime juice works well in most cases.
Make a Still out of Common Household Items
Set-up: Put the pot on the stove. Place the juice glass in the center of the pot. Pour the wine or beer into the pot around (not in) the juice glass. Place the wok or large glass bowl on top of the pot right side up (see diagram below). Fill the wok or bowl with ice.
How it works: Alcohol vaporizes at a much lower temperature than water so if your pot starts to boil, it's too hot. 
Authority 
Comments
amylaine said
on 3/20/2008 Interesting.
neddy32 said
on 3/4/2008 thank you very much for the quick response.
i was just wondering what is the best type of wine to distill, white or red. and also, have you had what you distilled or i this just for interest. and can you distill the wine/brandy more then once.
guitarguy said
on 2/17/2008 Neddy,
All liquor contains a small amount of Methanol. You can attempt to burn it off prior as you suggested, but you will yield a little less. Just remember, there will never be any more methanol in it than what was created during fermentation. I have tried it, but if you intend to drink it, check the proof first. This has potential to make a very high proof of alcohol if monitored closely which can make you ill if drank pure. This is more of an experiment than a regular thing. I would suggest purchasing a glass condenser if you intend to make very much. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks for reading!
neddy32 said
on 2/15/2008 hey just wondering.
when you distill alcohol at a low tempature it turns to
Methanol which is at 64.7 degrees. so would i heat the alcohol up in the pot till it reaches 78.4 degrees and then add the lid and the ice and the glass. so i don't go blind. if not just tell me what you did and if you have drink en your distiled alcohol.
thanks