The Distiller's Archive, Online Distillation Reference Library

The reference library for anyone who owns a copper alembic, or is about to.

The Distiller's Archive is the library we wished existed when we sold our first still: what to do on the first evening, how to keep the condenser cold, how much plant goes in the pot, what the dial should read, what yield to expect, and what the law says where you live. Twelve parts, one payment, and it opens in your CopperHolic account the moment you order.

What you get

• First Five Runs, a guided start you read right on the page: the citric wash, the water run, your first hydrosol, your first oil, then cleaning and patina. Written for the evening the box arrives.
• Video tutorial, your first run on screen: assembly, the seal, the cooling water and the drip, narrated step by step.
• Cooling Water Guide, three ways to run the condenser: a still bath with ice, a slow feed from the tap, or a small pump and a bucket of iced water. With a hose diagram, a pump buying guide and fixes for a warm distillate.
• Run Calculator, a live tool in your library. Pick the mode, the plant and your still size, and get charge weight, water, run time, expected yield and cost per run. 9 modes × 42 plants × 3 still sizes.
• The Codex, your complete owner's manual. Ten chapters: still anatomy, first run, care and patina, workspace setup, the eight modes of distillation, reading the run, troubleshooting, kitchen-to-market, glossary, and an owner's registry.
• Plant Codex, 42 botanical datasheets. Binomial, family, yield range, hydrosol ratio, tincture ratio, seasonal window, troubleshooting, peer-reviewed source.
• Recipe Cards, 36 cards: 10 hydrosols, 8 essential oils, 2 distilled waters, 8 spirits and eaux-de-vie with a gin bill builder, 1 zero-proof juniper distillate, 2 tinctures, 1 perfume, 3 culinary waters and 1 linen water.
• US Legal Primer, federal law (26 USC 5601, FDA, MoCRA 2022, DSHEA) plus a dedicated page for every US state.
• International Legal Primer, UK, Ireland, EU, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Japan.
• Batch Log, 30 print-ready run sheets plus a CSV template for digital record-keeping.
• Temperature & Azeotrope Reference, boiling points, azeotropes, steam-distillation head temperatures, altitude correction tables.
• Start-Here Guide, your 30-minute path from unboxing to first run.

Sourced, not guessed

Every boiling point from the CRC Handbook 102e and NIST WebBook. Every yield range from peer-reviewed literature (Lawrence, Tisserand & Young, Guenther, ISO standards). Every legal citation to the statute itself. Ranges where ranges are honest, because single numbers lie.

Works with your still

Scaled tables and calculator presets for the CopperHolic 5 L, 5-gallon and 10-gallon alembics. Own a different pot still or alembic? The manual, plant data, recipes and legal primers apply to any of them, and the calculator takes a custom size.

What it covers

Essential oils · Hydrosols · Distilled water · Spirits & eaux-de-vie · Tinctures · Perfumes / eaux-de-cologne · Culinary waters

How you get it

Nothing ships and nothing is emailed. After you order, sign in to your CopperHolic account with the email you used at checkout and open copperholic.com/pages/distillers-archive. First Five Runs, the Cooling Water guide, the video tutorial and the Run Calculator live on the page. The eight reference volumes are print-ready PDFs that open in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer, so you can read them online, save them, or print a copy for the workbench.

Who this is for

• Owners of a copper alembic still (any maker, any size)
• Aspiring distillers who want the real answers before buying a still
• Herbalists, perfumers, culinary creators, spirit-curious hobbyists
• Anyone who prefers a reference they own to a website they rent

Version & updates

First issued April 2026. Expanded in September 2026 with First Five Runs, and in October 2026 with the Cooling Water guide, a video tutorial and sixteen new recipe cards. When we add plants, recipes or revise the law, your library is updated at no extra cost. What you open from your account is always the current edition.

Please note: this is a digital product, and it is non-refundable once access has been granted, which happens as soon as your order is placed. Distilling ethanol is illegal without a permit in most jurisdictions. The Legal Primers tell you what the rules are where you live, but nothing in this product is a licence to break them.