Discussion – Spirits, Essential Oils, Vinegar

For so far as I know, are there huge differences:

With a reflux you'll get almost tasteless alcohol, whereas the typical pot still products are very tasteful.

That's right. I have a pot still and a reflux. You can use the reflux only for nearly tasteless alcohol and add essences and the end. With the pot still the flavour of the fruit comes into the destillat.

But don't forget to separate the foreshot. When using a pot still is the foreshot recognition a little bit tricky. With a reflux is this much easier. Everything beneath 79°C steam temperature is foreshot.

Reflux still will give more control allow the separation of fluids of diffrent boiling points.
I use a reflux for rum. My rum is widely liked. I use my taste buds and a little experience that I gained in the first few years of distilling. I taste the output and decide what I want to keep and what to discard. You can use a reflux like a pot but you can't use a pot in reflux. it's to do with the curve at which you cut off your discarded fluids. You can make it steap with a reflux. gradual with a pot. Hope this helps. It's trial and error. If you like jack daniels. then store it with Oak.