A common questions I get is “how do I make the joints on my still air tight?”  My answer for you is to use a flour and water paste called lute, to effectively seal your joints so that alcohol vapor doesn’t escape.  The way that it works is you slather your dough onto any part of your still that is not air tight.  After about 30 minutes you will notice that your lute is now hardened and looks and smells like bread.  By baking the “bread” on your still it will create a sufficient barrier to seal the cracks.  It is very low tech and doesn’t look pretty, but it has been used by moonshiners for centuries because it works!  Make sure that you lute your joints promptly after you start heating your still because when the lute is not fully cooked it can leak causing “explosive problems”.

Ingredients:

around 1/2 cup of water

around 1 cup of flour

Add more flour or water as needed to create a nice sticky consistency.

(What it looks like before it bakes onto the still)