Thread: Legal distiller now

Regarding stills, through my wife's family in Orange I got to know a number of years back a grand old gentleman from Latvia who had fought the Germans, swapped sides fought the Russians and when the time came swapped back to fight the Germans, he told me the only reason he lived was he could speak German and Russian and several other useful languages so each side kept him alive as an interpreter, he as a very interesting man with many interesting story's about WW2 and what he saw.

Anyway he used to have his still running every time any locally grown fruit was plentiful.

The drink he produced in gallons was known as white lady. It was truly evil and could melt paint, God knows what it was doing to your guts.

How ever old Joe drank it day after day and he lived to a grand old age. Me I would have one glass each time I saw him so as not to offend him. Not sure I would have lasted two glasses if he had ever pushed the point. ...

Cool, when I was in NZ a few months ago, I had a bottle of cherry schnapps that a friend of my Mum's had distilled...and she couldn't drink it, too powerful for her. So I gladly drank it...a bit at a time, it was just the shot on a cold winters night! Always been interested in a still, used to do homebrew beer.

Is a still illegal in Aus?

Originally Posted by carlschmid2002

Is a still illegal in Aus?

I don't think so, but I'll stand corrected - It's something I've always wanted to try.

Edit - found this pretty quickly, but not sure if it's the be all and end all - https://nationalhomebrew.com.au/spirits-topics/legal - so you make a still for distilling essential oils, if other ingredients find there way in....

It's only illegal if you get caught right?

And there's always varying degrees of legality - it depends on how the local law enforcement sees it. 33" tyres are illegal on most vehicles, but a there's many here that run them happily and have no issues with the law.

Personally, I would think if you're using a still to make stuff for yourself, no one would really care (unless you blew it up)

Originally Posted by Homestar

I don't think so, but I'll stand corrected - It's something I've always wanted to try.

Edit - found this pretty quickly, but not sure if it's the be all and end all - https://nationalhomebrew.com.au/spirits-topics/legal

It's only illegal if you get caught right?

And there's always varying degrees of legality - it depends on how the local law enforcement sees it. 33" tyres are illegal on most vehicles, but a there's many here that run them happily and have no issues with the law.

Personally, I would think if you're using a still to make stuff for yourself, no one would really care (unless you blew it up)

Me too!

Home distilling is legal in WA.
Have tasted some very nice and powerful Black Sambucca,and some very ordinary Jim Beam copy,so ordinary it even froze in the freezer.
I'm lucky if I buy a bottle of spirits a year,and the odd pre-mix can so not my cup of tea.AT THE MOMENT.
Andrew

It may pay to read this:
https://www.ato.gov.au/business/exci...-distillation/

Originally Posted by loneranger

It may pay to read this:
https://www.ato.gov.au/business/exci...-distillation/

Yeah, but who ever listens to the ATO...?