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Prototype compound gin

Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 11:31 pm
by Alchemist75
I've produced a variety of experimental botanical liquors but this one may be a legitimate winner....with a bit of refining, maybe.

So, I produced a small test batch using a double distilled sugar wash as the base and the juniper used was the local wild juniper Juniperus Monosperma aka one seed juniper. The juniper was wild crafted in various stages of maturity but the end flavor isn't bad at all.

In a mini thumper I placed the following:

-90 grams fresh, undried juniper berries well bruised in a mortar and pestle.
-14 grams organic dried chamomile flowers crushed
-7 grams organic spearmint
-1 gram cinnamon powdered
-2 whole star anise cloves
-400 ml apple juice
All this was shaken up and allowed to macerate

I extracted the essential oils from the resulting mixture with water steam and collected 50 ml of hydrosol. I blended this with 325 ml of my double distilled ethanol and then cut this with 375 ml of purified water. Upon cutting the clear booze turned cloudy which I was dissapointed with but I went ahead anyway. I added 10 drops of chlorophyll for color giving me a cloudy green liquor of pleasing aroma and flavor. I decided to mix it with lemon lime soda to make a mock gin and tonic and was very pleased with the flavor though I think it could have used an additional dash of fresh squeezed lime.
The essential oils don't stay in suspension as well as I would like but this is strictly aesthetic, the flavor is pretty damn good for a compound gin, stronger than what you buy in stores. Nice color as well. Perhaps I could get away with adding more ethanol to the base blend but the flavor without aging is mellow and suits my palate, maybe even more than traditional London gin. Not bad, I may refine my blend on the next go but the herbs in the mix work quite well.
Comments and suggestions welcome!