To cut or not to cut when making a flavoured vodka or gin.

[jayka]

If I use a good neutral where I have already removed heads and tails to make a flavoured vodka or gin from a maceration do I still need to take cuts or can I just run it into one BAP. Maybe just taking off the first and last bit?

[jonnys_spirit]

It’s a good practice to fraction it out and make decisive cuts. It helps me learn where different botanicals and flavors come over.

OEG recipe encourages a small fores cut then capturing a specified amount and I still fraction it for my own edification and make a cut somewhere.

Cheers!
-j

[Saltbush Bill]

As jonny has said ......a small fores cut at the beginning is of benefit regardless, also collecting into small jars allows you to learn other things ......what botanical flavours come through at different times is one........mixing very small samples from these same jars 50/50 with water will also teach you a lot about the whys , whens and hows of louching.

[Yummyrum]

Been a while since I done it but like Salty said , theres a lot to be learned from taking small amounts . Especially the few jars before the Louch .

[NZChris]

Running into a lineup of jars might be educational, but it isn't necessary for making good gin.

I don't always discard the foreshot. Depending on what type of gin I'm making, sometimes I smell it then add it back.

I have, rarely, taken off a couple of small samples at the end of a run to learn if that particular gin will benefit from them. If it does, my notes for my next batch will reflect that so that I don't have to check again.

[jayka]

Ok cool thanks guys

[Saltbush Bill]

Running into a lineup of jars might be educational, but it isn't necessary for making good gin.

It may not be necessary for you Chris......but try to bear in mind that most people who ask these questions havnt made gin before.
Using jars to collect the run has many benefits that I can think of........another is that you have more control over where you end the run and how much of the earthy late end flavours you might want to blend into or use in your gin.

[NZChris]

It shouldn't be made to sound like it's more difficult than it really is though, Bill. It's not like you will ever have to leave out a jar from the middle of a run.

It's very difficult to make bad gin, see Odin's Easy Gin for example, done on volume alone. To make bad gin, you have to do something like using a mismatched botanical or poor base spirit. Running too long might make it cloudy and maybe more bitter, but it won't turn the run into bad gin that you won't enjoy unless you take it to an extreme.

[Saltbush Bill]

It shouldn't be made to sound like it's more difficult than it really is though

That coming from someone who seems to specialize in making things seem harder than they really are

It's very difficult to make bad gin, see Odin's Easy Gin for example, done on volume alone.

Not everyone chooses to stick to making Odins Gin.....some people wander down other paths....including some that are new to gin making.
Working on volume alone is fool proof for beginners , but ultimately you wont learn much that way.

Running too long might make it cloudy and maybe more bitter, but it won't turn the run into bad gin

We all have an opinion and you are welcome to yours Chris.

[NZChris]

It shouldn't be made to sound like it's more difficult than it really is though

That coming from someone who seems to specialize in making things seem harder than they really are

It's very difficult to make bad gin, see Odin's Easy Gin for example, done on volume alone.

Not everyone chooses to stick to making Odins Gin.....some people wander down other paths....including some that are new to gin making.
Working on volume alone is fool proof for beginners , but ultimately you wont learn much that way.

Running too long might make it cloudy and maybe more bitter, but it won't turn the run into bad gin

We all have an opinion and you are welcome to yours Chris.

I covered all of that here https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 8#p7675892