Distilling Vodka in a Carter-Head Still

The Carter-head still, a rare type of still, is present in only a handful of distilleries worldwide. At The Borders Distillery , we produce vodka using this special Carter-Head still! You’ll be surprised to discover how our Scottish vodka is made differently from Russian vodkas.

History of the Carter-Head Still

The Carter brothers created the Carter-head still in the 19^th century. Initially, they worked under Aeneas Coffey, the man who became famous for creating the Coffey still. Currently, only a handful of Carter-head stills are in operation. I did a quick online search and found that Bombay Sapphire (England), Reyka Vodka (Iceland), Hendrick’s Gin (Produced in Girvan, Scotland) and Hunnington’s Distillery (Australia) all use a Carter-Head still.

Charging the Carter-Head Still

To make our Puffing Billy vodka, we charge 2,000L of new make spirit into the bottom of the still. This base spirit is around 60% alcohol, and has already gone through two distillations. The first distillation in a wash still and a second distillation in a spirit still.

When people think about vodka, the first thing that comes to mind is usually Russia or potatoes. While potatoes are traditionally used for vodka, what makes our vodka special is that we use malted barley. In fact, the spirit that goes into the Carter-Head still is the same spirit that we put into oak casks to mature into Scotch whisky.

At our distillery we make whisky, vodka, and gin. The process to make all three products is the same up until it reaches our spirit holding tanks. All three products begin in the mash tun with malted barley and water. The liquid from the mash is drained off into a washback and yeast is added to it. After fermentation is complete, it will go through a wash still distillation and then a second distillation in the spirit stills. After this second distillation the spirit is around 72% alcohol and it will go into a holding tank. This is where the process for all three products starts to differ. When we are aiming to make Scotch, we dilute the spirit and place it into oak casks to mature. However, if we want to make vodka or gin, we transfer the diluted spirit into our Carter-head still.

When people try our gin or vodka, some people, those with excellent palates, will say that it reminds them of whisky. This is perfectly right since much of the production process is the same for all three. The malt gives our vodka a special Scottish flair.

The First Distillation

Anyhow, once we’ve filled the still with our new make spirit, we will heat it up. This still has a special surprise inside, it is filled with copper coils. The alcoholic vapour will rise up and come into contact with these copper coils, condense, and the liquid will drop back down. It will keep doing this until only the purest vapours reach the top. This contact with the copper coils will help strip away any impurities or undesirable flavours in the spirit. As well, this part of the still is surrounded by a water jacket, meaning that there is cold water surrounding the outside of the still. This cold water helps with reflux.

Once the alcoholic vapour reaches the top, it will travel to a section of the still where four copper baskets sit. We’ll do the first distillation in the Carter-head still and the baskets inside will hold nothing inside. Then we will do two additional distillations in the Carter-head still. However, this time the baskets will have activated charcoal inside.

Second Distillation with Activated Charcoal

Activated charcoal is carbon that has been heated to a very high temperature until very small pores develop inside. It acts to filter out any impurities in the alcoholic vapour. Once the alcoholic vapour passes through the activated charcoal it will next travel into the condenser. The condenser has many tubes sitting inside it that have cold water running through them. The water will cool down the alcoholic vapour turning it back into a liquid. The alcohol will then travel down and collect in the spirit tank below. Then, we will add product water to dilute the vodka down to the correct alcoholic strength and bottle it.

Process Summary

In total, it took five distillations to create our Puffing Billy Vodka. First in the wash stills, a second in our spirit stills, and then once in the Carter-Head still with the baskets empty. Then there were another two distillations inside the Carter-Head still with activated charcoal in the baskets. Whew, what a process! Now you know what makes our Puffing Billy Vodka so special. Not only do we use a rare still, we also use malted barley which imparts a subtle whisky flavor.

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