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Thanks Rubel
Its on the list for this spring together with burdock.
Cheers

Hi Rubel

Been collecting these polypodium roots. I dried them and tried them out last week.
I am a bit disappointed.
Taste is kind of licorice, bit sweet but somewhat dies when drying and distilling.

Will have to try with fresh ones

BTW Manc You find here a full list of botanicals ever added to gin (found the list on this forum btw) The list is long and contains the weirdest things like frankincense, poppy seeds, pine, beebalm, myrrth, grounded mummy, dried leprechaum testicles, but no burdock yet :-) https://theginisin.com/bot...

Thanks all for info Will put Burdock root on the list to test in summer (with the polypodium vulgare, also recommended on this forum) BTW, as useless trivia, a guy seems to have invented velcro after his dog got stuffed with burdock flowers. (the only thing I invented after these seeds stuck in my c...

Hi

How does burdock root taste ?

A lot grows around here but as far as I know, never used as foodsource

I read about the blackcurrant leaves, but we have to wait some months for them. I am surprised that the kernels are macerated and distilled: is there not too much cyanide in them? Good ideas though, I will keep them in mind. :thumbup: Blackcurrant leaves or twigs can be harvested in any season. Eve...

BTW Patxaran (basque) is sloe macerated in anis alcohol. (distilled with aniseed)

Never tasted it but its on my list for next visit of the pyrenees.

Thanks, What's the end product taste like? I thought about some kind of ferment, but two things stopped me: 1. I was worried that the high alcohol content in the sloes would retard the yeast. 2. It's already gin/vodka/brandy hearts in there, taking them back down to a must seems a little wasteful? ...

My question is: What on earth am I going to do with the alcohol-infused sloes when I'm done? Howdy Bearpig After maceration I sieve and dump all the infused sloe in a fermentation vessel. For 1kg of infused sloe I add 1kg of sugar and water and some blackcurrant leaves. I ferment the whole thing. Y...

When I need some Polypodium Vulgare or Sisselrot=Sweet root as we call it, I just go out in my garden and pick some. It grows wild and everywhere on stony ground in Scandinavia. I usually make a tincture of fresh chopped roots that I let steep for 3-4 days. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polypodiu...

Don't forget the root of Polypodium Vulgare, that's the licorice of the North. Different than the others and it also contains a sweetening compound that can really make something nice with less sugar. The plant is a common fern that grows wild north of the alps. Hi Rubelstrudel Plant grows here but...

So you pay thousands of dollars for a truly exceptional scotch... Cheers No. I don't :lol: I pay hours of labor for a truely exceptional whiskey. And it's so rare, only one person in the world has ever had it... Hear hear ! Such bottle deserves a wax sealed cap and a fine crystal glass when poured ...

And to end the year and open a discussion on rare and very expensive drinks Third of rare scotch are fake https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-46566703" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow So you pay thousands of dollars for a truly exce...

...On youtube you find people making the wax with glue sticks and a color crayon...Works very well but when drying, they shrink and crack. So I was hoping somebody here could give me some tips Well then, do you think possibly Youtube could have lead you astray??? If you’ve tried to follow “the tube...

It’s a personal preference, I have used the clear bands and I don’t think they are cheesy at all. Especially in todays bottling when so many things in the stores that you buy are shrink wrapped. But again you are giving them as a gift and you want them to look the best you think they can. Hi Bushma...

I also like using shrink bands and I personally don’t think it detracts from the presentation. I actually get a lot of compliments specifically on them. I have been using the red ones. Because these were made for wine bottles, I typically have to cut about 1/4” off the bottom before shrinking, or t...

We used to hand dip all the bottle tops at the winery, talking days of just dipping the tops of bottles into a molten hot pan of wax. Well we don't do that anymore and our wine still sell :D be safe OVZ Hi Oldvine I presume this was commercial synthetic wax (beads) and not some wax you made yoursel...

Hello Bushman Thanks for reply but shrink bands have kind of a cheap look. What I look for is indeed these bottle sealing wax beads as proposed by Jonnys spirit. Looks great and gives the bottle that little extra. However, I want to melt my own . On youtube you find people making the wax with glue s...

Hi All and best solstice wishes to all. Will have one on your health. Slainte ! With the season, one tend to offer a few bottles to dearest friends. I try for best visual effect by sealing the bottles with a wax cap like this guy here is doing with nightmare big monster bottles. https://www.youtube....

Hi Anise or pimpinella anisum (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anise" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow) is totally different in taste from the liquorice or Glycyrrhiza glabra. Different plants and taste. Around the Mediterranean most nations produce a an...

Relax on the woodstove

Headset on max with

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWGE9Gi0bB0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

And enjoying an elegant glass of this brew at minus 20

Life is sweet

Don't go crazy with the anise though, it can be as overpowering as the hops!

I know !
Massive aniseed is even kind of hallucinogenic
Kind of inducing weird dreams.
Know this from Saudia where anis was the only flavour available.

Yes ! I rerun the batch twice while generously cutting tails and heads During the second run I mixed with equal quantity neutral spirit and added a gin basket with juniper and star anise Result is absolutely fantastic. :-) Cant duplicate it though but certainly confirms that hops are the way to go.

You would want to be very selective in your hops to start off with, second don't throw it into the boiler. You need a gin basket so you aren't extracting the super bitter essence. Put them in and then take them out. Thanks I grow my own organic hops and hand select only perfect bells. I tried to fe...

Sorry to hear of your loss, Nabatean. I've distilled beer made with just 85 grams of hops and it was a flavor mess that I gave up trying to fix. You may have to just chalk this one up as what not to do. Thanks Fizzix Will do a rerun anyway and cut as many as possible tails and heads. But have the s...

Hop season in Europe. (we are October) I harvested the fantastic hop bells (humulus lupus) They are kind of greasy when fresh and smell delicious. I boiled them down and added the Hops Tea to the distillate. Hoping to end with a discreet bitter flavour in the aftertaste What it did was making the fu...

Hi there Its hop season in Europe and yes : made the error to dump a load of fresh hops in the still. I had a few liter of excellent prune alcohol and wanted to enrich the taste with a discreet hop flavour. Should have used only a few buds instead of a kg. The taste of the output is extreme bitter. ...

Blackcurrant creme with champagne (or white wine) is considered in France one of the best aperitives. Named after Felix Kir. The antonym being Picon vin Blanc (Picon with white wine) favoured by the brutes living in the north of France and yet to be civilised. If you ferment blackcurrant, dont use b...

Not my first, but with a different method. Usually I put the anise and orange peel (I like mine with a bit of citrus) in neutral for a couple of weeks, take it down to about 40pr and distill. I wanted to get on with this run, so I just boiled the anise and orange peel for about an hour, strained an...

Got tons of help here, so glad to share my pine/liquorice recipe. No good name for the drink yet so calling it Topolino The drink. Its a clear, slightly amber eau de vie. The pine is sweet, not too pungent. The liquorice is in the aftertaste. There are juniper berries which have been passed in the v...