Gin basket for a 5 litre still spirits reflux still

[Rod]

Some times it can be difficult to add bits to a 5 litre reflux still such as a gin basket , because there
is not much room in the head.

inspired by the following post I made a very simple " gin basket" for my reflux still

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... als+basket

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The ceramic jar I picked up at a $2 shop for 50cents , it had a stainless steel tube through a hole but it leaked
so I replaced it with a bit of copper pipe .

The small bit of copper pipe just rests in the ceramic jar and the botanicals are put around the pipe to support the tube

I ran 1 litre of neutral spirits , one drop per second , through the jar (two runs) and kept small jars of product to see what happened

It came out golden and very aromatic ,by the time I had run the full litre it was clear and not much odour or taste at all

need to dilute to 40% and see the end result , with some aging

probably need to adjust the botanicals with experience

An advantage is it does not contaminate my still that I use for neutral spirits

try some star anise and fennel next

[eternalfrost]

nice and simple. pretty cool
but i would definitely ditch that rubber o-ring thing you got there

what %abv are you pushing through your herbs?

is ther any advantage to this way as opposed to simply macerating them after the fact?
i was under the impression that hot vapors should be what is running over the botanicals (i.e. inside the still head)

[Rod]

The rubber ring is a food grade washer , actually those you find on the top of grolsh bottles . only stops a dribble , contact is minimal , would like to remove it

the alcohol going through the system was 87% to 90%

The temperature of the spirit ranged from 27°C to 35°C , mostly around 30°C

there is not enough room in the head , also keeps my neutral spirit still free of contamination between batches

advantages over maceration , ???

[punkin]

It is a maceration as far as i can see.
No different to soaking the herbs in a bottle of neutral, or passing neutral through a copper funnel containng herbs.

[Rod]

This gin basket is similar to the post above by Uncle Remus

The advantage over maceration is the spirit is warm

[eternalfrost]

my next project is going to be a pot still head for my keg.

would there be an advantage to doing the vapor in the column method? from what little ive read that is the way the 'premium' brands do it traditionally.

would it matter where its positioned in the column?
i was planning on doing just maby 6 inches tall, just enough to clear the keg edge then 15 or 45 degree slant liebig.
so could i just have a copper mesh bag sitting in the bottom of the column on top of the grate on the tri-clover connector?
my guess is it shouldnt realy matter since without reflux the vapors should be pretty chemically uniform throughout the whole space, but im totally new at pots...