Distillation of alcohol is an integral step in the production of spirits and other beverages, such as beer. Distillation requires specialized equipment, including stills, boiling pots, condensers and receiving flasks; during distillation vapors extracted from mixture are then extracted individually and collected according to chemical properties; these fractions then find their way back into another container where they eventually lead to producing premium quality beverages with higher alcohol concentration.

Distillation begins by creating the base material (mash), such as grains, fruit or root vegetables. This step is essential because it allows yeast to access any sugars present within the material to convert them to alcohol and begin fermenting it into alcohol. Once prepared, fermentation can commence immediately.

Once fermenting mash has been mixed with water and heated to a boil, it is then distilled using heat and vacuum distillation. Distillers use this process to extract alcohol vapors from the mixture which are condensed back down into alcohol along with any additional liquid components known as “fractions”.

After repeal of prohibition was overturned, laws that established three-tier and state control distribution systems treated distilleries like industrial factories rather than the small producers of artisan spirits they are. Such laws limited small-scale distillers’ ability to self-distribute themselves which hindered growth potential and limited product availability.