Still SUPREMA, 5 Liters, retrofittable for essential oil distillation and rectification

SUPREMA still (2 or 5 liters) – flexible, high-quality, expandable

The SUPREMA is made for anyone who wants to produce flavorful distillates, spirits, hydrosols, or essential oils at home with a compact, high-quality copper still. You can choose between 2 and 5 liters of still pot capacity and later expand the system with selected parts from the SUPREMA-Flexi product line. This means you are not just buying a still for today, but a system that grows with your ideas.

• Flexible instead of fixed: The still pot is interchangeable (2 or 5 liters). In addition, the extension part and the dome condenser from the LEONARDO® Flexi as well as the rectifying column also fit. This allows the SUPREMA to be configured depending on the intended use for aromatic schnapps, spirits, essential oils, hydrosols, or high-proof alcohol.
• Solid copper for better distillates: The system is made of high-quality, solid copper. Copper offers clear advantages, especially during distillation:
  • In stone-fruit brandies, problematic compounds such as cyanide or ethyl carbamate (EC) are reliably reduced through contact with copper.
  • In starch-containing mashes, for example for whisky, noticeable sulfur compounds in the distillate are avoided.
  • Essential oils and hydrosols from copper stills usually appear fuller, rounder, and richer in aroma.
  • The excellent thermal conductivity ensures quick response to temperature changes in water, oil, or sand baths.
• Developed by us, manufactured exclusively for us: The SUPREMA was optimized by us from a process-engineering perspective and is manufactured exclusively for us. The result is a well-designed, robust system created for aroma, ease of use, and expandability.
  

  

  

  

• Can be used on almost any heat source: Electric hot plate, ceramic hob, gas, alcohol burner, or open fire are all possible. Water, oil, or sand bath also works. Suitable adapter plates for induction cooktops are available from specialist retailers.
• Reliable cooling: The included coil condenser consists of an approximately 1 m long spiral copper tube in a copper container for 2.6 liters of cooling water. With the included silicone hose (1 m), you can connect a water line or a small recirculation pump (not included). If no running water is available, the cooling water can simply be replaced or supplemented with ice cubes.
• Ready to use right away: The system comes with detailed operating instructions so you can start distilling immediately without unnecessary guesswork.
• Compact, solid, easy to handle:
  Length: approx. 64 cm
  Width: base diameter (measurement for stovetop): 17.5 cm; diameter with handles: 26 cm
  Height without thermometer, 2-liters version: 28.5 cm; 5-liters version: 36.5 cm
  Height with condenser: approx. 45 cm
  2-liters SUPREMA
  Still pot capacity: 2 liters
  Botanicals fill volume (steam space): 2.7 liters
  Head volume without lyne arm: 2.2 liters
  Total weight: 3.6 kg

  5-liters SUPREMA
  Still pot capacity: 5 liters
  Botanicals fill volume (steam space): 3.7 liters
  Head volume without lyne arm: 2.2 liters
  Total weight: 4.0 kg

• More aroma through thoughtful design: The particularly wide transition to the head, the immediate routing of the vapor to cooling, and the downward-sloping lyne arm ensure that significantly more aroma and flavor compounds are carried over than with many common schnapps stills. This produces especially aromatic, flavorful distillates from mashes, beer, wine, liqueurs, infusions, spirits, and herbal extracts.

2-liters or 5-liters pot?

The quick decision guide: 2 liters are ideal for experimenting and for small batches. 5 liters are worthwhile if you regularly process larger quantities or want to repeat successful recipes on a larger scale.

• 2 liters: The compact size is ideal for beginners, recipe tests, and flavorful small batches. One distillation run takes about 35 to 45 minutes. Depending on the alcohol content, you will obtain about 250 to 1200 ml of distillate. Perfect for testing your own spirit recipes or for mash quantities of up to about 10 liters per variety.
• 5 liters: The larger version makes sense if you process more than 20 liters of mash per fruit variety or want to reproduce especially successful 2-liters recipes in larger quantities. Depending on the alcohol content of the mash, about 1 to 4 liters of high-proof schnapps per run are possible.
• Important for the result: A still pot should be filled to at least three quarters for every run. If the fill level is too low, you lose yield, aroma, and flavor.
• Please note: Different regulations may apply depending on the country for ownership, registration, and use. Before using it, check the currently applicable rules in your country.

Distilling schnapps with the SUPREMA system

• More enjoyment in the glass: The distillate usually has significantly more alcohol than drinking strength. For safe dilution, we recommend the Measuring Kit – Alcohol, which is also available here in the shop.
• More flavor, less effort: Thanks to the burn protection included, which we developed in 1998, you do not need to filter the mash before distilling. Unfiltered mashes generally provide more yield and more flavor, without the sluggish response of a jacketed kettle.
• Ideal for spirits, gin, and creative recipes: The aroma basket, also developed by us in 1998, enables the gentle production of spirits. Fruits, herbs, spices, or juniper are not boiled in alcohol. This helps avoid bitter substances and dull aromas. This is a major advantage, especially for raspberry spirit, ouzo, raki, jenever, gin, or absinthe. The aromatic compounds are captured especially cleanly by steam extraction or percolation.
• Simple gin is possible too: For a straightforward gin base, various essential oils are dissolved in neutral alcohol. You can produce both yourself with the SUPREMA.
• Clean separation of heads and tails: The thermometer enables precise separation. What matters is measuring at the highest point of the vapor before it has been cooled, because there the temperature correlates reliably with the alcohol content of the distillate regardless of the system design.
• Double distillation made easy: For double distillation, the 5-liters pot is suitable for the stripping run, while the 2-liters pot is suitable for the spirit run.
• More knowledge, better results: In our book “The Artisan’s Guide to Crafting Distilled Spirits” you will find many tips, instructions, and around 100 recipes for brandies, spirits, and infusions. The “Moonshine Recipes” includes over 300 recipes for anyone who wants to try even more.

Coil condenser or dome condenser?

• For alcohol distillation, the coil condenser is the first choice: It is included in the delivery, cools very strongly, and reliably covers all areas of alcohol distillation.
• For essential oils and hydrosols, the dome condenser is often the better addition: With the coil condenser, very small amounts of oil can remain in the cooling coil. With oil-rich plants such as lavender, this is usually negligible; with the 5-liters pot, around 15 to 20 ml of oil yield are possible here. With plants that produce only a small yield, however, the dome condenser can be decisive because the oil flows into the receiver without loss and the inside of the condenser is very easy to clean by hand.

Distilling essential oils and hydrosols with the SUPREMA

• Both still pot sizes are excellent for hydrosols: Which size is a better fit depends mainly on how much plant material you have. To obtain essential oils, you usually need significantly more plant material. For that, the 5-liters pot is the better choice.
• Gentle steam distillation instead of cooking to mush: The aroma basket, developed by us in 1998, keeps blossoms, seeds, roots, or herbs out of the water. The material to be distilled is steamed from bottom to top, which benefits high-quality oils and intense hydrosols.
• Plenty of room for plant material: As can be seen in the pictures, the extension tubes for the steamer basket are longer on the 5-liters pot than on the 2-liters version. If the shorter tubes from the 2-liters pot are fitted to the 5-liters pot instead of the longer ones, this results in a steam space volume of 5.2 liters.
• Deliberately no automatic oil separator: This avoids unnecessary oil losses in the device. In addition, some oils are heavier than water and therefore cannot be separated reliably this way. For high-quality results, the mixture of hydrolate and essential oil should be stored for a few weeks before separation anyway. Strongly milky, intense hydrosols also make automatic separators impractical.
• With dome condenser for maximum yield: If instead of the coil condenser you use the dome condenser from the LEONARDO® Flexi, you will achieve the maximum possible yield when producing essential oils and especially intense hydrosols. In addition, you avoid carryover of distillate residues between alcohol distillation and plant distillation. Detailed information can be found here: How to Make Essential Oils?.
• Practical knowledge for better results: In our book “The Essential Oil Maker’s Handbook – A Practical Guide” you will find many tips and instructions on the suitable plant part, the optimal harvest time, and the best processing method for over 140 plants. In addition, there are over 50 basic recipes for using essential oils and hydrosols.