A question about minimum amounts in still

[Lukehghs]

Hi I am about to make odins easy gin and was wondering is it safe to only have 2 litres of 40 percent alcohol in a 50 litre pot still? Should I add more water to it or will that affect the flavour?

[still_stirrin]

How do you heat it?

Two liters in a 50 liter pot sounds “dry”. If you dilute below the 40-43%ABV as specified in the recipe, the product will come out a lower proof and your botanicals extraction will be different too, although the juniper oils will still come over early in the run.

It sure seems like you need a smaller gin still for making gin, especially if you’re only making 2 liters at a time.

Indeed, that’s the way I do it...2 liters at a time. And I built a special still for this purpose. I made a boiler from a 16 liter stock pot with a small potstill head and a shotgun product condenser. Since the stock pot will have the botanicals in it, I heat the boiler with a modified 1.5kW hotplate. I put the citrus in the short riser coming out of the stock pot. Works a treat.
ss

[Lukehghs]

Thanks mate. I will be making larger batches in the future. I just had two litres left over from a sugar wash I put through my reflux still so thought have a go at it.

[zapata]

a small dedicated gin still is also great for not having to clean gin flavor out of your normal still, that stuff lingers!

[Lukehghs]

Ahh ok, didn’t know that. Although I do have another keg so I might have to have one especially for gin. Thanks for that.

[Yummyrum]

Only real problem is covering the element if its electric . But if your on gas no worries ... but remember its a small amount you are distilling and you want that gas turned right down . Once it starts coming out the spout tweak it for a very thin , almost broken stream . With only two liters in the boiler it will be a very quick run so needs to be run slowly

[Lukehghs]

I just finished running it. Didn’t mention before but I’m using gas to heat. All went well I thought at first but then when I diluted it down it turned very cloudy. I had a rum last week that did the same so do you think it’s the water I’m using? I got told on here from a few that it was most likely going too deep into the tails, but would that be the case for a recipe like this? I didn’t have it running very fast, I tried to have it coming out so it was around three drops per second. Was more at some points. I collected about 700 ml from the two litres I put in but the last 200 ml while watching the drips go into the jar it seemed to look different. I’m not sure how to explain it but the drop would hit the surface and then I could see lines of it going down through the rest of the jar.

[Yummyrum]

Yeah you should run into jars and collect in small amounts ... about 100-150 mls per jar . You will see the cloudy jars as the avb starts to drop . With Gin , it has a lot of oils in it that louche when diluted .... thats what its kinda ment to do same as Ozzo does a similar thing .
So getting back to the collected jars , you should discard the one that's cloudy and the one before that . I haven't done a lot of Gin but I find those last few jars before the cloudy one are a little too Cinamin flavoured for me so I cut them out .
This should result in a clear Gin when diluted to about 45%ABV .

[still_stirrin]

If you’ve actually read Odin’s EZ gin recipe, it uses only neutral hearts to macerate. That means, there is no “fores & heads” in the still. Also, no “tails” per se. When collecting, Odin recommends discarding the first 10ml (not foreshots) and discarding as this will be the heaviest oils from the juniper. Sure, it’ll smell great but it will also contain the oils which will cloud (louche) your gin.

Next, his recipe collects the next 800ml per liter of boiler charge (1600ml for a 2 liter charge). This will give you the good clear distillate at around 90 proof. What’s left in the boiler will be the “gin tails”, a smelly mess of mostly water and botanical “sludge”. I typically dump it out and scrub the boiler right away. I also, thoroughly rinse the still head after the run to clean out the oils and crud clinging to the walls of the potstill.

In the end, you’ll get roughly 800ml per liter of base neutral at around 90 to 100 proof. It should be clear at this purity, but may louche when diluted to 40%ABV or so. As Odin says, “that just means you captured more of the juniper oils” which will give you more flavor in the gin. Appearance is secondary to flavor, I’d suppose.

When running a gin, I don’t collect in small jars. I collect in 1 liter jars so I can measure the 800ml collection rate. When you make the recipe according to his guidelines, the gin is very predictable and scaleable. And because you use only clean hearts, there is no heads or tails to contend with.
ss

[ShineRunner]

Just to clarify SS, I know you know Odin’s recipe and I’m sure you mistyped..

You should collect 400mL per liter of original maceration. 800 mL for a 2L charge.

Also, Odin recommends tempering with 45% (or whatever your target ABV is) neutral until the louche goes away. I find that the flavor profile is off if it’s cloudy. Something about oils not being in solution or something.

SR

[still_stirrin]

Just to clarify SS, I know you know Odin’s recipe and I’m sure you mistyped..

You should collect 400mL per liter of original maceration. 800 mL for a 2L charge.

Also, Odin recommends tempering with 45% (or whatever your target ABV is) neutral until the louche goes away. I find that the flavor profile is off if it’s cloudy. Something about oils not being in solution or something.

SR

Good catch ShineRunner. My mistake, and thanks for the correction.

Odin’s recipe is so predictable that it’s hard to screw it up. And it makes a damn nice gin. I like to pour it straight over ice cubes with a lime slice. Wonderful summer cooler.
ss

[MoonBreath]

The overall (bare) minimum would be 1/4 and I wouldn't charge anything less than 1/2 full kettle...You can get by with it tho, just risk quality and scorch ifn not spotless clean.
Kettles with electric elements need to always be minimum 4" BELOW the volume line AFTER end of run (finished).
Kettles with staggered elements should always be full at start imo.

I apologize for the misunderstanding .
Yes..40abv/80proof

[Lukehghs]

I used neutral spirit which made in my turbo 500 still and it was 40 percent after I diluted it. I discarded a bit over ten ml and only collected just over 700 ml as I noticed the drips change when they hit the spirit in the jar which I assume was oils. I collected in 400 ml jars and noticed that the second jar when shaken took a lot longer to clear than the first jar did. It smells like gin so I might just see how goes and hopefully improve next time.. with more than two litres lol