Gin making

[Kabundokan]

Does anyone have special gin ingredients after juniper berries, corriander and such?
And what's the best way to distill, or infuse all the herbs and spices?
I would like to know if anyone has suggestions.
I am a new distillation hobbyist. There are lots of videos of gin crafters out there but I'd like to hear from this site.

[Bushman]

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 11&t=48221

[kiwi Bruce]

Odin's easy Gin

Here we go:
- Take 1 liter of 43% neutral (made from the hearts of a BW, fractionated all bran, etc. fermentation);
- Eat a tangerine and keep the skin;
- Mildly crush 12 grams of juniper berries;
- Mildly crush 3 grams of coriander seeds;
- Add the tangerine skin, the berries and the seeds to the one liter of 43%;
- Let it macerate at room temperature for two weeks;
- After two weeks, filter out the herbs, berries, skins, whatever;
- Distill your one liter of macerated gin in a potstill, do it relatively slowly as in a spirit run;
- Discard the first 10 mls, collect the next 400 mls;
- You will end up with 400 mls at around 70 to 80%;
- Dilute to 45%;
- Give it up to 5 weeks rest in a glass demi-john;
- Drink it!

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 14&t=48594

[Kabundokan]

Thank you for replies. I'll be doing this next i have tons of vodka sitting on the shelf. This will be fun.


Keep distilling, drink moderately.

[Fraser]

There's no single best way to make gin. It all depends on what works well for you and your particular gear.

My botanical bill looks something like this:

juniper berries, coriander, grains of paradise, angelica root, fennel, star anise, dill, rose buds, cardamom pods, lavender, caraway seed, basil leaf, cinnamon bark, grapefruit and tangelo.

There's a limitless combination of botanicals you can use.

I have had very good results using vapor infusion from a neutral spirit through a carter head basket. But I've had very very good gin made by others using maceration. I would experiment with different combinations to find what you like. It's a fantastic spirit to explore. Good luck!

[Kabundokan]

I crafted my own gin already. All I have to do now is to dilute my alcohol output. And see who would like it. I like the aroma of juniper in it. Thanks for the advice.

[Saltbush Bill]

In my opinion maceration of the botanicals in neutral for 24 hours and then running the whole lot through a pot still gives more flavor than vapor infusion does. You can always cut it back with more neutral if the flavour is to strong for your liking.

[NZChris]

In my opinion maceration of the botanicals in neutral for 24 hours and then running the whole lot through a pot still gives more flavor than vapor infusion does. You can always cut it back with more neutral if the flavour is to strong for your liking.

How long do your vapor infusion runs take?

[Saltbush Bill]

Read above , I don't do vapor infusions as I don't like them, they don't bring enough flavor out. . A waste of good botanicals if you ask me.

[NZChris]

I'm getting very good results from vapor infusions by taking over four hours to distill. It may soon become my preferred method. My next planned gin has all of the botanicals in the basket and the take should be able to be diluted with four times its volume of neutral and still have more intense flavor than some expensive gins.

[Saltbush Bill]

Does anyone have special gin ingredients after juniper berries, corriander and such?

Here is a link to a list of some of the botanicals used for gin,Click on the picture of the botanical and it will tell you what that Herb or spice adds to the flavour of a gin. http://www.ginfoundry.com/botanicals/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
There are many many ingredients used, but most good gins only use a combination of 7 or 8 of these.

And what's the best way to distill, or infuse all the herbs and spices?

I don't know that there is a right way, different people prefer different methods.

[Fraser]

I'm getting very good results from vapor infusions by taking over four hours to distill. It may soon become my preferred method. My next planned gin has all of the botanicals in the basket and the take should be able to be diluted with four times its volume of neutral and still have more intense flavor than some expensive gins.

My gin run takes about 4 hours once I get it up to temp, give or take. I don't push it too hard. I've got some floral botanicals in my recipe, so i couldn't strictly use maceration for everything even if I wanted to (rose and lavender), since that's a poor way to extract the oils IMO for those. I've seen people macerating some of their botanicals overnight and then some of them get vapor infused the next day during the run. Or each botanical distilled separately and blended together at a later date, which is probably the best way to be the most consistent. Lots of ways, all good.

[zapata]

What do ya'll think about cucumber? Yep, I'm thinking Hendrick's, but they are vague about it, hinting that it ia processes differently than either their vapor or pot infusions. Thoughts?

[Saltbush Bill]

I hate cucumber with a passion , I cant imagine why anyone would want to put it in a otherwise perfectly good gin.
Each to their own I guess.

[NZChris]

Ha ha, I agree Bill.

I'd put peeled and gutted slices in a Carter Head and run it slow to make an essence. Then you can add it for those that like it without ruining your own preferred drop.

[zapata]

Well, they say there's just no accounting for taste Honestly I find the cucumber a barely noticeable note in Hendricks, I think it blends in quite subtlety.

And yes, my guess would have been carter head style, but I was pretty sure I read that while Hendrick's uses both maceration and carterhead, that their cucumber was added post distillation as some sort of essence. Maybe the rose is too?

[NZChris]

Search the forum. There is a post somewhere that suggests that the cucumber goes in a Carter Head.

[Saltbush Bill]

There is a post somewhere that suggests that the cucumber goes in a Carter Head.

Only one place that stuff belongs ...in the compost heap or the rubbish bin.

[NZChris]

The bit that I really don't like is the mush in the middle, but that isn't used, neither is the skin. If some kind person foists some on me, I'll think about loading up a Carter Head and making essence. From what I've read, the gins that have cucumber, only have a hint of it.

[RedwoodHillBilly]

There is a post somewhere that suggests that the cucumber goes in a Carter Head.

Only one place that stuff belongs ...in the compost heap or the rubbish bin.

What, no cucumber sandwiches, or is that only a British thing?

[NZChris]

No cucumber sandwiches for me thanks Redwood

[NZChris]

A couple of weeks ago, I put semi sun dried sliced cucumbers in the boiler and gin head and ran it. Had a taste tonight, a splash in a G&T, I should have used an eyedropper. It is nice, but I used way too much and I reckon I'll still be smelling it on my breath in the morning.

Elderberry flowers arrived from Greece today.

[MartinCash]

Elderberry flowers arrived from Greece today.

Don't you guys have elderberries growing feral in NZ? They're plentiful here in Tassie, both around urban / suburban gardens and in country hedges.

[NZChris]

I was feeling lazy. I don't actually know where there are any locally and it's very easy to click 'Buy Now'.

[MartinCash]

I'm intrigued.

They flower around October for us, so I might dry a bunch this spring to try. Being a fairly delicate floral component, would you put them in the vapour path rather than steeped?

[loGin]

Could you advise the best temperature to set for the distilling process in a pot starting from neutral base?

[Saltbush Bill]

loGin, I think you are trying to run before you have learned to walk, there is no set temperature for a pot still and you can not control the temp of the wash in the boiler.
You run a pot still by using your eyes and watching the flow leaving the still.......not by staring at a thermometer.
Might I suggest that you start you gin journey at the beginning and try running a few recipes by macerating the botanicals and then running them in the boiler. Move onto a gin basket in the future when your understanding of how your still works is better.

[loGin]

loGin, I think you are trying to run before you have learned to walk, there is no set temperature for a pot still and you can not control the temp of the wash in the boiler.
You run a pot still by using your eyes and watching the flow leaving the still.......not by staring at a thermometer.
Might I suggest that you start you gin journey at the beginning and try running a few recipes by macerating the botanicals and then running them in the boiler. Move onto a gin basket in the future when your understanding of how your still works is better.

Thank you, I didn't see this answer, this is why I asked twice. Didn't mean to disturb