Choosing a home distilling kit in Australia-the complete buyer’s guide 2026

Author: Mike Rodgers-wilson   Date Posted:14 July 2026 

This guide compares the kits we actually stock, with real prices, and tells you who each one suits. We've been selling this gear from Melbourne since 1968, so we have heard every question you might be about to ask!

Picking your first still can be a big  decision. Every kit on this page turns a fermented wash into clean spirit, so you are not choosing between good and bad, you're  choosing between benchtop convenience and serious batch size. This guide compares the kits we actually stock, with real prices, and tells you straight who each one suits. We've been selling this gear from Melbourne since 1968, so we have heard every question you might be about to ask!

The short answer

• Best first still: Air Still Complete Distillery Kit, $489.95. Benchtop, air cooled, no hoses. The gentlest way in.
• Best overall: Air Still Pro Complete Distillery Kit, $855.00. Easy like the Air Still, with the capacity and control to grow into.
• Best for serious spirit runs: Turbo 500 Stainless Steel Still Kit, $599.00, or the Complete Kit with EZ Filter at $815.00. The benchmark for clean, high volume spirit.
• The full producer setup: Turbo 500 with Alembic Pot Still and Filter Pro System, $1,850.00. One boiler, two personalities: clean neutral spirit and characterful whisky or rum runs.

Compare the kits at a glance

Kit	Price	Style	Cooling	Best for
Air Still Complete Distillery Kit	$489.95	Benchtop pot still	Air cooled, no hoses	First timers who want spirit on the bench this weekend
Air Still Pro Complete Distillery Kit	$855.00	Benchtop, pot and reflux modes	Air cooled, no hoses	Most people. Room to grow without a plumbing project
Turbo 500 Stainless Steel Still Kit	$599.00	Reflux column, 25L boiler	Water cooled	Volume and purity. The serious hobbyist standard
Turbo 500 Complete Kit + EZ Filter	$815.00	Reflux column, 25L boiler	Water cooled	Everything for T500 spirit including filtering, in one box
T500 + Alembic Pot Still & Filter Pro	$1,850.00	Reflux + copper alembic	Water cooled	Producers who want neutral spirit AND whisky, rum or gin character

 

Start here: which path are you on?

There are really two ways into home distilling, and knowing which one you are on makes the choice easy.

The benchtop path (Air Still family). Air cooled, compact, no water hookup, nothing to plumb. You ferment a wash, sit the still on the bench, press go. Batches are smaller, but you will be running it the day it arrives. If the phrase "no hoses" appeals to you, this is your path.

The serious hobbyist path (Turbo 500 family). A 25L boiler and a water cooled column that produces exceptionally clean spirit in real volume. It wants a tap and a bit of bench commitment, and it rewards you with the best cost per bottle in the hobby. Most people who start here never need another system, they just add attachments.

Air Still Complete Distillery Kit: the best first still

$489.95. View it here: www.australianhomebrewing.com.au/air-still-complete-distillery-kit

The Air Still is the kettle of the distilling world, and we mean that as the highest compliment. Air cooled, benchtop sized, no hoses or water connection. The complete kit gives you the still plus the fermentation and finishing gear to go from sugar to sippable without a second order.

Who it suits: anyone who wants to prove to themselves they can do this before committing serious money. It is also the still we recommend for small kitchens and apartments. If you outgrow it, the fermenting gear carries over, and a well kept Air Still holds its value.

Air Still Pro Complete Distillery Kit: the best overall

$855.00. View it here: www.australianhomebrewing.com.au/air-still-pro-complete-distillery-kit

The Air Still Pro is what happens when the easiest still in the hobby grows up. It keeps everything people love about the original, air cooled and benchtop friendly, and adds selectable pot and reflux distillation modes. Run it in reflux mode for clean neutral spirit for essences, or pot mode when you want character to carry through. One appliance, both jobs.

Who it suits: honestly, most people reading this. It is the kit we point to when someone says "I want to do this properly but I am not plumbing a column into the laundry." Reviews consistently call out how easy it is to get a great result, and that matches what our customers tell us in the shop.

If you already own gear and just want the unit, the Air Still Pro on its own is $749.00: www.australianhomebrewing.com.au/still-spirits-air-still-pro

Turbo 500: the serious hobbyist standard

Stainless Steel Still Kit $599.00: www.australianhomebrewing.com.au/still-spirits-turbo-500-stainless-steel-still-kit

Complete Distillery Kit with filter Pro  $815.00: www.australianhomebrewing.com.au/turbo-500-complete-distillery-kit-stainless-steel-filter-pro

The T500 has been the benchmark home reflux still in Australia and New Zealand for years, and for good reason. The 25L boiler and water cooled column pull off remarkably clean spirit at a volume the benchtop units cannot match. If you are making essences based spirits regularly, the cost per bottle is where the T500 quietly wins.

It does want a water connection for the condenser, and it takes up more room. That is the trade. In exchange you get the system the serious hobby community standardised on, with every part, seal and upgrade available off the shelf (we stock the lot, from copper saddles to flow controllers).

Who it suits: brewers who already know they love this hobby, anyone making spirits for the cupboard rather than the curiosity, and gin makers who want a botanical basket in the vapour path.

Going all in: the Ultimate T500 + Alembic copper system + Filter Pro

$2190 View it here: www.australianhomebrewing.com.au/still-spirits-copper-turbo-500-distillery-kit-t500

One boiler, two stills. The reflux column gives you clean neutral spirit for essences, and the copper alembic dome gives you traditional pot still character for whisky, rum and gin runs. Copper in the vapour path does real work on sulphur compounds, which is why every commercial whisky distillery you have ever toured is full of it. This is the full producer setup, and it is the one we would buy with someone else’s money.

What your kit actually makes

Every kit here produces spirit from a simple sugar wash using Turbo yeast. From there, the Still Spirits Top Shelf essence range turns that clean spirit into bourbon, whisky, rum, gin, vodka and liqueurs at a fraction of bottleshop prices. Browse the full essence wall here: www.australianhomebrewing.com.au/spirits/essences/

Gin fans: the T500 and Alembic take a botanical basket ($76.90) for real botanical gin in the vapour path: . On the benchtop path, the Air Still has an infusement basket for the same trick in miniature.

What else you will need

• Fermentation consumables: Turbo yeast, Turbo Carbon and Turbo Clear per wash. Grab them as Air Still fermentation kits or the 10 pack of Turbo Pure for T500 washes.
• Filtering: carbon cartridges for Air Stills (from $10.99 for 10), or the EZ Filter system bundled in the T500 Complete Kit.
• Testing: an alcometer ($22.90) so you know exactly what you made.

All of it lives under our distilling equipment range: www.australianhomebrewing.com.au/spirits/equipment/

The legal bit, briefly

In Australia, owning a still is legal, but distilling alcohol requires an excise manufacturer licence from the ATO, and there is no personal use licence. The equipment on this page is sold on its capability: water distillation, essential oils, and spirit production where you hold the appropriate licence. For the full picture, including how the excise system works, read our complete guide: https://www.australianhomebrewing.com.au/learning-blog/spirits/home-distilling-in-australia-the-complete-guide/

Frequently asked questions

Air Still or Turbo 500: which should I buy?

If you want to start this weekend with zero setup, Air Still family. If you want volume, purity and the best long run cost per bottle, T500. The Air Still Pro sits deliberately in the middle: benchtop easy with reflux mode capability.

Do I need a water connection?

Not for the Air Still or Air Still Pro. They are air cooled, which is the whole trick. The Turbo 500 uses a water cooled condenser, so it wants to live near a tap.

What should I make first?

A simple sugar wash with Turbo yeast, run through your still, carbon filtered, then a Top Shelf essence. It is the fastest route to something you will genuinely enjoy, and it teaches you the whole process end to end.

Are the complete kits worth it over the bare still?

Almost always. The complete kits bundle the fermenter, filter and testing gear you will otherwise buy in your second order anyway, and the bundle pricing is kinder than buying piecemeal.

Can I make gin with these kits?

Yes. Botanical basket on the T500 or Alembic for vapour infused gin, infusement basket on the Air Still, or the easy route: a clean neutral run plus a gin essence or botanicals steep.

Why buy from Australian Home Brewing?

We have been in this hobby since 1968, we answer the phone, and you can walk into our Melbourne store on a Saturday morning and talk to someone who has actually run every still on this page.