Illuminating the Industry: How Do Our Whisky Stills Work?

North Point Distillery's Wash Still for production of Dalclagie Single Malt Scotch Whisky

At the heart of every spirit we make at North Point sits a small collection of copper stills, each with its own role, personality, and purpose. In our distillery, those four stills are Nettie, Gertie, Stroma and Audrey. 

If you have ever visited a craft distillery in Scotland, you might recognise the general look or shape of these copper ladies, but what makes our setup a little different, however, is how they’re powered and how we use them.

Unlike many traditional spirit producers that rely heavily on gas or oil (either to directly fire the still or to generate steam that flows into the still itself), our stills are electrically fired. To be honest, it is a bit of a no-brainer for us! Using the renewable energy that is generated just a stone’s throw from our site has always made sense.The electrical elements in each of our stills allow us to heat the copper pots with precision while significantly reducing our environmental impact, proof that traditional craft and modern sustainability can go hand in hand.

Head Distiller, Greg, with Spirit Still, Gertie (and Sandie/y Stroma in the background); photo by Angus Mackay

So, how does it all work?

Whilst Sandie(y) Stroma and Audrey will be covered in their own blog (so look out for that in the future…) the whisky distillation process begins in Nettie, our wash still. Nettie is the largest of the four copper pot stills at North Point Distillery and the largest investment we have made into our plant and equipment to date. The fermented liquid (Whisky wash) is gradually heated over the course of a morning, with those electrical elements converting water into steam on the outside of the pot. Because alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature than water (around 78°c), around mid-morning, the spirit rises from the pot as vapour and enters the ‘lyne arm’ via the neck of the still. 

The distinctive ‘onion-shaped’ neck on our stills and large surface area promote substantial reflux. Reflux is the distillers’ way of describing recirculation: as the vapour rises, a proportion of it condenses on the inside of the neck, returning to the pot where it is boiled again. This reflux increases copper contact, with copper acting as a catalyst to encourage a multitude of chemical reactions within the still. This design, and the desired angle of the lyne arm has also been specifically selected to produce a full-bodied but balanced distillate. 

Returned back to liquid form by a double, shell-and-tube condenser, this first run strips the liquid down into what we call “low wines”, a no-cut distillate around 22% alcohol by volume (ABV).

From here, the spirit moves to Gertie, our spirit still. The distillation process is repeated here, but with far greater precision and intervention. At the crack of dawn, around 1,000 bulk litres of low wines (two distillations' worth) are added to the previous distillation’s feints and Gertie is fired up on the early shift.

Our Head Distiller, Greg, will tell you that this is where the real artistry happens: the intensive and manual process where our distillers carefully separate the run into heads, hearts, and feints. With vapour rising from the same style of copper neck, and an identical lyne arm to her sister still, Nettie, the spirit is collected at less than half the rate of the Wash Still. This ‘low and slow’ operation takes almost a full working day and can take even longer during the winter.

Temperature dial on Spirit Still, Gertie's condenser

Despite the many visual indicators, dials and digital readouts on our distillation equipment, this process (at least at North Point Distillery) is only ever done to taste: no pre-determined cutpoints or yield targets – a process that ensures only the hearts that meet our distinct profile for Dalclagie Single Malt Scotch Whisky are collected.At around 69-71% ABV, the distillate is batched and analysed (by taste, of course), before being diluted to 65% ABV (cask strength) and filled into oak barrels for maturation.

Every drop of Dalclagie Single Malt is shaped by the way these two copper ladies work together. Quietly but purposely transforming thousands of bulk litres of raw material into something quite remarkable. If you would like to learn more about the distillation process, or come and see Nettie and Gertie for yourself, why not book one of our award-winning tours?

https://www.northpointdistillery.com/distillery-tours

Tours of North Point Distillery are bookable through the distillery website, please check the calendar for availability.

-- Struan Mackie, Co-Founder of North Point Distillery