How to increase flavour profile? - Gin Distilling

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goldgin
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How to increase flavour profile? - Gin Distilling

Post by goldgin »

Hey there,

I am excited about my first trial of distilling gin! However the flavours don't seem to come out as much as I want. At least it is a marked difference than the one I made at a craft distillery (tour).

Here's what I have done - I steeped my ingredients into vodka for 24 hours (juniper berries/coriander seeds/angelica root). I then filtered out all the botanicals and put the alcohol into the boiler. The distillation comes out clear with about 70% abv.

The taste before and after diluting it down to 40% is roughly similar. Its got a sweet taste to it, but doesn't really bring out that punchy gin feeling.

At first I thought it was the recipe but I followed to the dot a recipe I found online.

Is it my method of distilling that is wrong? Should I be leaving all the botanicals inside of the boiler as well, instead of filtering it out?

Does vapour infuse increase the flavours more? Or vacuum distil?

Which distillation method would help bring out the most flavour? Or do I just need to basically increase all the ingredients I put in?

I have a small still - 5L, of which I put in 1L of vodka. Here's the recipe I used:

20g of juniper berries
10g of coriander seeds
0.2g of angelica root

Many thanks!
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fizzix
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Re: How to increase flavour profile? - Gin Distilling

Post by fizzix »

Check out Odin's Gin and take note that the botanical maceration is two weeks, compared to your 24-hours.
That is the most glaring difference and likely ALL the difference.
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: How to increase flavour profile? - Gin Distilling

Post by Saltbush Bill »

goldgin wrote:Should I be leaving all the botanicals inside of the boiler as well, instead of filtering it out?
Yes crushing / grinding the botanicals and leaving them in the alcohol while distilling will give much more flavour.
goldgin wrote:Does vapour infuse increase the flavours more? Or vacuum distil?
Vapour infusion makes for a less robust flavour profile in my opinion. If you want one of the "Modern" wishy washy Gins go that way.
If you want something with a ton of flavour and a good hit of Juniper use maceration and a pot still.
I have never vacuum distilled so don't know the answer to you other question.
Edit
fizzix wrote:botanical maceration is two weeks, compared to your 24-hours.
That is the most glaring difference and likely ALL the difference.
24 hours in 45%abv is oodles of time if you use enough botanicals and grind them.
goldgin
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Re: How to increase flavour profile? - Gin Distilling

Post by goldgin »

Sorry I do have 1 more question. If my pot still is 5L, and I am putting 1L of vodka mixed with botanicals, should I fill another just say 3 to 3.5L with water?

Will the dilution lower the flavour profile?

Many thanks.
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still_stirrin
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Re: How to increase flavour profile? - Gin Distilling

Post by still_stirrin »

goldgin wrote:Sorry I do have 1 more question. If my pot still is 5L, and I am putting 1L of vodka mixed with botanicals, should I fill another just say 3 to 3.5L with water?
No. put more of the base spirit in and up the botanicals proportionally. Scale it up.

I make 2 liters at a time in my 16 quart stock pot potstill. I put the botanicals in the boiler and stuff the citrus in the vapor path. The gin is fabulous. I call it, “Speakeasy”, a Prohibition-style gin, ie - bootlegger made.

A 5 liter boiler should make you a couple of liters of gin. Why not ? I also refer you to Odin’s EZ gin for not only the recipe, but also the process. He describes “how to” collect the spirit and exactly “what to keep” and discard. Read it a couple of times.
goldgin wrote:Will the dilution lower the flavour profile?.
Yes, it will dilute the flavor of the spirit as well as the proof off still. You don’t want, or need to do that. Again....read Odin’s recipe...it’s in the Tried & True Recipe forum.
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goldgin
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Re: How to increase flavour profile? - Gin Distilling

Post by goldgin »

Many many thanks for this. I am reading and re-reading Odin's EZ gin recipe. What if the base spirit is a higher percentage ABV like 95%? Would diluting it down to 40% initially to macerate with botanicals make more sense? Or just straight up use the higher ABV alcohol as base spirit? Which would produce a stronger flavor? (Seeing as you say adding water dilutes it if using vodka as base).

Many thanks again for answering my questions.
goldgin
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Re: How to increase flavour profile? - Gin Distilling

Post by goldgin »

goldgin wrote:Many many thanks for this. I am reading and re-reading Odin's EZ gin recipe. What if the base spirit is a higher percentage ABV like 95%? Would diluting it down to 40% initially to macerate with botanicals make more sense? Or just straight up use the higher ABV alcohol as base spirit? Which would produce a stronger flavor? (Seeing as you say adding water dilutes it if using vodka as base).

Many thanks again for answering my questions.
Alright I'm going to take a punch at answering my own question, sorry I was too concerned about getting a more intense flavour and completely ignoring safety issues. 95% ABV would be too flammable in case something were to happen. Just did a quick research and looks like people on the forum are saying to stay with <= 40% from a safety perspective. So even if you do have a 90s ABV, dilute it down.
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still_stirrin
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Re: How to increase flavour profile? - Gin Distilling

Post by still_stirrin »

goldgin wrote:What if the base spirit is a higher percentage ABV like 95%? Would diluting it down to 40% initially to macerate with botanicals make more sense? Or just straight up use the higher ABV alcohol as base spirit? Which would produce a stronger flavor?
Aside from the safety concern with trying to boil higher proof spirits, you would extract the essence from the botanicals and citrus at different rates. It would dissolve more of the sharp, tannic oils from the components, causing more astringency in the finished product. Even at 43%ABV, you’ll get a lot of flavor from the ingredients especially the Angellica root. It is very easy to get that out of balance with the juniper.

If you want (need) more berry flavor and aroma, try increasing the juniper by 10% or so.

I would advise (as Odin has recommended) to keep the macerating base spirit between 40-45%ABV, nothing higher.
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My stock pot gin still: stock pot potstill
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still_stirrin
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Re: How to increase flavour profile? - Gin Distilling

Post by still_stirrin »

In this article, referencing maceration of herbs for absinthe, the distillery adds the botanicals at a high proof (85%ABV) for an initial period of maceration, and then dilutes to a lower proof for distillation.

https://www.absinthes.com/en/absinthe-e ... tillation/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

The high proof base extracts the essences at a fast rate and pulls most of the desired character from the ingredients. But that is done on a commercial scale where economy is fundamental. We hobbiests do not have the tax man to consider with everything that goes into our stills. We can buffer the extremes in our processes.

So, I’d suggest staying close to Odin’s recipe and process until you have complete control of your skills with both: recipe formulation and distillation.

Incidently, the X/n formula for recipe formulation is very much a standard method (to help keep constituents in balance). You can find it explained on the internet...search for Zymurgy Bob’s Gin.
ss
My LM/VM & Potstill: My build thread
My Cadco hotplate modification thread: Hotplate Build
My stock pot gin still: stock pot potstill
My 5-grain Bourbon recipe: Special K
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