Even to this day the majority of distilleries that are making whiskey prefer copper pot stills to any other metal. Why are distilleries using copper even though its a such an expensive metal.  Part of the reason is to keep the tradition alive but copper as a metal has many positive characteristics that make it the preferred metal when making stills.

Stills can be made from aluminum, iron, glass, brass, steel even clay.  Most alcohol stills that are used today are made out of either stainless steel or copper.  Both are very good conductors of heat and both metals won’t put any bad chemicals into your final spirit. However, copper has one important advantage over all the other metals when distilling.  It has been used for so many years because copper actually reacts with alcohol on a molecular level making the final spirit taste better.  Copper tends to react with sulfur, an awful smelling element that is created naturally by yeast while fermenting.  When distilling the sulfer comes in contact with the copper, it binds together to make hydrogen sulfide and isobutyl mercaptans which then forms copper sulfate.  The copper sulfate then will stick itself to the copper making it necessary to scrub and clean the still thoroughly after each use. This cleaning makes it all the better since its better to have the rotten egg smell going down your sink rather than ending up in the nose of your next bourbon.