STOVETOP STILL.

• Author: Sullum, Jacob
• Position: OBJECT

Several years ago, I bought a simple stovetop still from Amazon. I would tell you what I did with it, but I don't want to implicate myself in a federal felony.

The still is a gasket-sealed pot attached to metal tubes that run through a cooling chamber filled with ice. Heated at the right temperature, it separates and concentrates a liquid mixture's more volatile elements. Theoretically, the process can be used to turn fermented beverages such as wine, cider, or yeast-exposed sugar water into distilled spirits.

You should never do that, however, because home distilling, unlike home brewing and winemaking, is still prohibited by federal law. Flouting that law, the Treasury Department's regulators warn, "can expose you to Federal...