Air Still
 

I have been looking into making some homemade booze. It would appear to be normal to do this when the various available fruits are more or less ripe. There are however other recipes available when you want to make some "out of season" tipple.

I wanted to buy a still and saw a nice set-up at OBI of all places but the cost was extortionate. I then looked at the possibility of buying a decent second hand still but so far had zero success.

I came across one of these : https://www.ebay.com/p/Electric-Wate...4l/13007464320
which looked interesting and seems simple enough to get going. There are tons of similar items being used and or tested on good ole U tube.
The cost is not bad for something like this as well. Its the ease of use that attracts me.

Imagine getting on the sauce while doing a run and forgetting to do something and blowing up the house with the proper copper type set-up!!!
If I can find a decent cheapish one I may go for it.

Its probably not cost effective to set up a still but what the hell.

I have a mate over towards Nagykanizsa who did a bit of his own distilling last year. Tasted rather good.

Anyone else do their own distilling? What set up do you have? Anyone have one of these air stills or know anything aboot them?

Cheers

Re: Air Still
 

What we do is to ferment the fruit (about 200 lts) and take it to a professional distiller, I reckon it is not worth the effort or cost of a home still + the hassle of getting it right. As a ratio you can expect between 4 to 9 lts per 100 lts of fruit as an outcome depending on the fruit type and the quality of the fermentation. It is not permitted to add sugar and in anyway added sugar will give a hangover whereas no sugar palinka will generally be hangover free - unless you really go OTT.

Unfortunately it is illegal to find someone in your village who does distill and offer distillation for a share or payment so I could not recommend that route.

Otherwise instead of palinka (at 50%) you could take the UK approach and just brew wine and whilst only about 12% (so you have to drink more for the same effect) it is easier and can be nicer.

Re: Air Still
 

A friend of mine whose family had a distillery in Germany was in Hungary some years ago and took part in making moonshine - he said it's not healthy, not professional if you do it yorself. He wouldn't drink that stuff!
There are many professional distilleries and as peter says it's not too expensive especially because of the law that says 50 liters are tax free. A relative of my wife alsouses this service - he has tons of apples ...

Re: Air Still
 

Not any more, they reintroduced the tax after complaints from Brussels and you are limited to 80 lts per household

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Thanks for the info, Peter!
I'm not an expert there, don't often drink pálinka or other "strong stuff".

Re: Air Still
 

Thanks for the info.

A neighbor invited me across to her house yesterday evening. I was offered a drink so being a good choir boy I could not say no. Out came a clearly second hand fanta or whatever plastic bottle full of a clear liquid.

I didnt get much of the taste after downing the first shot but it did taste good. So when the next shot glass arrived, I took a small sip first of all to try and distinguish the taste. Smooth. Tasted of cherries. Most pleasant. Not the violently strong eye watering stuff I expected, however I have been around long enough to be very wary of drinks like that as they have a tendency to sneak up on you from behind. Like it did, but at least I knew it was coming by then.

When I tried asking where the drink came from, the conversation was changed to something else. Fair enough.

I need to learn to make that stuff. NO hangover this morning. Being on fairly friendly terms with one of my other neighbors who was also present, I will ask him to get me some.
The problem is that I know he wont accept money for the drink so I need to figure out what I can give him.

Re: Air Still
 

According to our mayor, home-made pálinka is supposed to stay in the household that produced it. It is illegal to sell it or even give it away but you can drink it on their premises. This came about because a villager tried to sell me a bottle in the bus shelter in her presence!

Under updated rules, you can still make your own but need to buy a still licence from the village office for ~2000 ft and you are supposed to buy a duty-paid sticker for each bottle you distill (I think they are 1000 ft each). Of course this rule is routinely ignored!

Re: Air Still
 

Home distilling is fraught with problems unless you carefully regulate the temperature of the distillate there is always the possibility of getting some methanol coming over, which is why in the UK all suck activities are banned . peoplestill do it, and there have been a number of instances recently where home distilled spirits have been sold in the guise of legal labels, there are now a number of blind people regretting their decision of buying cheap spirits. Getting it done by professionals should be the way to go.

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It would Probably Cheaper to nip over board to Ukraine as Do to collect a Good Quality Vodka at £2.20 a Letter as I do for Friends when traveling to Thermal Spa for treatment digger47

Re: Air Still
 

I've considered making my own for a long time but it seems like a lot of hassle (and moderate expense). I've watched people make it and tried many házi pálinkas and the quality can vary considerably. I've come to the conclusion that until I'm retired and I have more time and possibly less money then I'll continue to buy it, not from the shops but from a local distillery. I currently pay 2,400ft per litre for szilva pálinka, although they have many flavours and various prices.

Re: Air Still
 

A bit OT:
An older German couple came to the Balaton, bought a holiday home in Cserszegtomaj and then decided to get into the pálinka business:
HOME - Destillerie Schmitz -
The site includes a price list.
Sorry, but no English version afaik.
We visited the premises because a German friend wanted "some really good pálinka, price doesn't matter!" and were impressed by their professionalism - but also their prices.:ohmy:

You can bring them your fruit to distill but I'm sure there are cheaper possibilities ...

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When we bought our (very cheap in the end as we played it out s locals) the gentleman we bought it from offered us his Pálinka business as he wanted to retire. HUF20 million with a HUF 4-5 million profit apparently..... So there is money to be made in it. I just don't have the first clue about distilling. Or HUF 20 million...... !

Re: Air Still
 

Found this joke in a friend's feed on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/kovacs.gyul...92449980790798
Enjoy!
Cheers!
Prost!

Re: Air Still
 

My wife's sister is with us in UK. Have just shown her the joke. Very funny.:goodpost:

Re: Air Still
 

Interesting, I have often looked at palinka in the supermarkets but it seems expensive, on a par with single malt Scotch. In my village people grow Christmas trees instead of grapes so there is not much by way of home made booze.