Distilling Homemade Vodka

Homemade vodka can be very time consuming and a little labor intensive but the end results are well worth the effort

If you make your own vodka you will not only be able to benefit from great tasting vodka but you'll also notice the difference in your hip pocket.


Unfortunately, preparing homemade vodka does take patience and you must be careful to follow the recipe precisely.


Vodka that has been poorly prepared can potentially be harmful to your health so it is important that you perhaps attempt making your own homemade beer or homemade wine first to see how your efforts turn out before you learn how to make vodka.

Let's make some homemade vodka!

Step One: Distilling Unit
Making vodka requires a home still. While it is possible to make your own still from various items around the home, it may be safer to purchase a home still from an online store. You can also find the parts you need in a home-brew store or the specialist section in a hardware store.

Your home still should be comprised of four primary parts. You will require a heat source and a boiling chamber as well as water cooling pipes and the collection bottle that will collect your distilled vodka.



Step Two: Sterilization
It is vital you sterilize all your equipment prior to beginning your distilling. Any foreign objects or imperfections in your still during this process will change the flavor of your final vodka product to the point that it can become quite bitter.

While bleach and water is sufficient to sanitize your equipment, it's also fine to use products that will sterilize baby bottles and end up with better results.

 

Step Three: Create Mash
Vodka is created from a carbohydrate source. This can be sugar, molasses, potatoes, wheat, or grains. Your object is to turn these carbohydrates or complex sugars into alcohol. Mashing different carbohydrates requires differing mashing techniques. The option you use will depend heavily on the specific recipe and base ingredient you've chosen to make your vodka.

During the mashing process, you will require distilled water to add to the mash and some base ingredients will require varying temperatures to give you the desired end result. It's important to follow your specific recipe precisely at this point.



Step Four: Distillation
Pour your mash into your boiling chamber over a heat source. You'll find that the alcohol in your mash will begin to evaporate. The evaporated portion will collect in the water cooling tubes and drip down into your collection bottle. Your vodka should come through clear and pure but it will take more than one distillation. It's vital that you sterilize your boiling chamber again prior to putting your vodka through a second distillation.

This part of the distillation needs to be watched carefully, as vodka needs to be distilled more than once. Ideally, you should discard the first 50 milliliters of distillation as it clears the bad methanol in your mix. Allow the remainder of your mash to distill until you reach the last 50 milliliters of mash, which should also be discarded.



Step Five: Filtration
The final process required during your homemade vodka distillation process is filtration, which reduces the roughness of your final vodka mix. Store bought vodka may go through approximately seven filtration processes through carbon before being bottled which is why it may taste so smooth.

You should filter your homemade vodka through activated carbon. This means pouring your distilled mash through a funnel that has a cotton ball at the bottom to trap sediments. Your filtration system also needs to have a level of activated carbon at the bottom of the funnel so that your vodka is being filtered properly.

Pour your filtered vodka directly into a bottle. If the result is not clear, then filter a second time until your homemade vodka is a clear liquid.



Step Six: Dilution
Freshly distilled vodka is amazingly strong so it's important to dilute your vodka distillate. The usual distillation ratio is 3 parts vodka to 4 parts water, although you may dilute your homemade brew to taste. Even though it may be tempting to leave your freshly brewed vodka at full distillation alcohol volume levels, it will be undrinkable, so this dilution process is important. Always be sure to use distilled or purified water for this part of the process.

While it may seem that distilling your own homemade vodka may be a little more difficult than your regular homemade beer or homemade wine, the end result is worth your patience and perseverance.



If you've made your own homemade vodka already or if you've used our recipe to make your own vodka, we'd appreciate reading your comments and your feedback. Please also feel free to show us how to make drinks we would love to hear from you!