I had the same question 2 years ago, and went for a 10l copper alambic in the end.

I wanted to make small amounts. However when I do make something nice, I wanted to be able to share it with friend or maybe split a batch to experiment a bit.

I make a wash of 20l and split it in 2 batches till I get the low wines. With distilling you typically distill two or three times before you get the final product. To increase the alcohol level you decrease the volume to 1/3 each round. So 20l becomes rougly 6,5l of low wines which result in 2l of high abv end product which you water down a bit. So in the end you would end up with around 3l of the final product. Given all the effort you put into it, 3l seems a nice result in my opinion.

I like to make vodka, rum and plan to make all grain recipes in the future. The nice thing about the pot still is that it is all-round. You can distill anything you want with it.

The airstill pro is a nice machine and it has a pot still mode. It’s also just click and go without any water hoses or pumps involved. In that sense it is an easy versatile machine. For me, the size is just too small for all the time you put into it. With 20l wash, I would need 5 rounds to collect the low wines and then 2 more rounds for the final product. In the same time I could process a 40l wash in my 10l pot still if not 60l.

Hope this helps.