Photos – Traditional Soldered Copper Alquitar Stills
The Alquitar still is considered to be much older than the alembic and although it was introduced by the Moors into the Iberian Peninsula it was first used by the Orientals. It is preferred by many in Portugal and Spain for distilling superior quality beverages due to its longer distillation period.
For this reason many distillers would not replace their Alquitar with any other pot still. Due to its peculiar design, it requires up less space than a conventional alembic. The bowl shaped condenser sits atop the vapour chamber. The rising vapours that are collected in the vapour chamber come into contact with the cold surface of the condenser and are cooled back into a liquid state before exiting through the spout. These models may be used for the distillation of alcoholic spirits, as usual in the Iberian Peninsula, essential oils, medicinal herbal extracts, perfumes, rosewater or whatever your imagination might come up with.
Click in the image thumbnail to open in full size. To save the image, click in the right button of the mouse and select “Save Picture As …”.