The split between inexpensive neutral spirits and expensive character-led ones comes from a difference in equipment. A column still and a pot still are not two ways of doing the same job at different scales.
A pot still works in batches
A pot still is filled, heated, run and emptied, and each cycle produces a distillate that usually needs a second or third run to reach usable strength.
Between runs the still must be cleaned and recharged, so a substantial share of the working day produces nothing.
Every batch also requires the distiller to decide where to cut between the heads, the useful heart and the tails, which is skilled work that cannot be left to run itself.
A column still runs continuously
Wash enters part-way up a tall column and vapour rises through a series of plates, each acting as a further distillation stage.
Compounds separate by boiling point along the height of the column and can be drawn off continuously at the level where the desired fraction concentrates.
There is no batch cycle and no downtime, so output is limited by throughput rather than by how many runs fit into a day.
The output is cleaner by design
Many stages of separation strip most congeners, producing a spirit that is high in strength and low in character.
That is exactly what is wanted for products whose flavour comes from elsewhere, such as botanicals added afterwards or a mixer in the glass.
It is not what is wanted where the base spirit's own character is the point, which is why pot distillation persists at the flavour-led end.
The cost difference is structural
Continuous operation spreads fixed costs across a far larger volume, and the labour per litre falls sharply.
Raw material choice widens as well, since any fermentable starch or sugar produces a similar neutral output once the column has stripped it.
These two effects together are why neutral spirit is among the cheapest alcohol to produce and why the categories built on it compete on brand rather than on production cost.
Hybrid approaches occupy the middle
Many distilleries run a pot still with a short column attached, or run a column at a lower number of plates to retain some character.
Others distil different components separately and blend, using column spirit for lightness and pot spirit for weight.
The choice is a position on a scale between character and consistency, and the price of the finished bottle tracks that position more closely than it tracks any other single factor.