london dry gin
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square_bear
london dry gin
Does anyone have a recipe for gin. The one I'd like to copy is "Bombay Sapphire". Supposedly 10 different botanicals are suspended in a copper basket over the spirit as its distilling. Wouldn't that give you spirit with oils?? Anyhow it sure smells good (like aftershave) and the wife reckons it tastes good too.
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John Q.
Those oils are what gives it the flavor. Also, not all makers actually use a gin basket these days.
I made a nice gin with this recipe. I only make a liter at a time, because I have a very small pot still. You can scale the recipe up if you need to.
1 liter 85% spirit
20g juniper berries
8g coriander seed
1g angelica root
.2g cardamom (about 4 seeds)
1g cinnamon
1g licorice root
.5g ginger
.5 nutmeg
3g bitter orange peel
the fresh peel off two grapefruits
Grind all the dry ingredients finely. Combine all the ingredients with the spirit and allow to macerate for 24 hours.
Dump it all, along with an additional .5 liter of pure spring water into your still. Preferably use a double boiler for gentle, even heat.
Distill until you've collected 1 liter of distillate. Dilute to drinking strength (or not, as you choose), and don't be surprised if it clouds a little; this recipe is rich in oils.
Drink.
I made a nice gin with this recipe. I only make a liter at a time, because I have a very small pot still. You can scale the recipe up if you need to.
1 liter 85% spirit
20g juniper berries
8g coriander seed
1g angelica root
.2g cardamom (about 4 seeds)
1g cinnamon
1g licorice root
.5g ginger
.5 nutmeg
3g bitter orange peel
the fresh peel off two grapefruits
Grind all the dry ingredients finely. Combine all the ingredients with the spirit and allow to macerate for 24 hours.
Dump it all, along with an additional .5 liter of pure spring water into your still. Preferably use a double boiler for gentle, even heat.
Distill until you've collected 1 liter of distillate. Dilute to drinking strength (or not, as you choose), and don't be surprised if it clouds a little; this recipe is rich in oils.
Drink.
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square_bear
John, that sounds pretty good to me. I too, have only a small still (5litre total capacity) but it is a reflux type. Would I use the same method with my still? My spirit would be at 85% or more.
Also some of the ingredients might be a bit hard to source. Is there a substitute for Juniper berries or what type of flavor do they impart?
Also some of the ingredients might be a bit hard to source. Is there a substitute for Juniper berries or what type of flavor do they impart?
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rectifier
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Bombay is one of the only gins made with a basket, I believe. It's also the best gin that I know, with a very clean taste. Coincidence? Probably not.
I would use a basket if trying to emulate Bombay Sapphire (which I intend to do soon enough).
The juniper berries are the source of... well, gin flavor. I believe they are easy enough to find at some kind of health food store.
I would use a basket if trying to emulate Bombay Sapphire (which I intend to do soon enough).
The juniper berries are the source of... well, gin flavor. I believe they are easy enough to find at some kind of health food store.
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John Q.
Bombay does use a basket. There are a few others that do as well, but most don't anymore. Tanqueray is pretty much considered the definitive London dry gin, and I believe they don't. I'm not against using a basket, I just think it's a pain in the ass. YMMV.
You'll want to run as a pot still if you can. Rectification will strip out most, or all, of the flavor.
Start with 85% spirit. Higher % won't dissolve enough of the proper water soluble constituents, lower % won't dissolve enough of the more resinous and oily parts.
Juniper can be had from almost any herb store and is readily available online, as are all the other ingredients. Bitter orange can be gotten from many home brew stores. It's what Curacao, Triple Sec and Cointreau are made from, btw.
Good luck!
You'll want to run as a pot still if you can. Rectification will strip out most, or all, of the flavor.
Start with 85% spirit. Higher % won't dissolve enough of the proper water soluble constituents, lower % won't dissolve enough of the more resinous and oily parts.
Juniper can be had from almost any herb store and is readily available online, as are all the other ingredients. Bitter orange can be gotten from many home brew stores. It's what Curacao, Triple Sec and Cointreau are made from, btw.
Good luck!
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mbanu
Using a basket is cheaper because you can reuse your botanicals, but the end spirit isn't quite so strongly flavored.
You can substitute for almost anything *except* juniper. No juniper = no gin. There's got to be at least a little in there, or it won't taste like gin at all. Might not be bad, but it won't be gin, whatever it is.
You can substitute for almost anything *except* juniper. No juniper = no gin. There's got to be at least a little in there, or it won't taste like gin at all. Might not be bad, but it won't be gin, whatever it is.
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Fourway
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I actually hate sapphire, it tastes like old lady perfume and poor rectification to me.
The only factory gins I can abide are Boodles and Plymouth.
one of the UK legal definitions of london dry gin is that it must be a re-distillation of already rectified spirit. so you are off to a good start if you begin with the cleanest spirit you know how to make.
all gins have juniper like the man said.
most gins have orris root.
after that you can use pretty much anything you want.
do keep in mind that this is yet another process that can lay a perma-stink on your equipment, dedicating a pot or at least a condenser to the job may save you tons of scrubbing and rinsing and dissapointment.
The only factory gins I can abide are Boodles and Plymouth.
one of the UK legal definitions of london dry gin is that it must be a re-distillation of already rectified spirit. so you are off to a good start if you begin with the cleanest spirit you know how to make.
all gins have juniper like the man said.
most gins have orris root.
after that you can use pretty much anything you want.
do keep in mind that this is yet another process that can lay a perma-stink on your equipment, dedicating a pot or at least a condenser to the job may save you tons of scrubbing and rinsing and dissapointment.
"a woman who drives you to drink is hard to find, most of them will make you drive yourself."
anon--
anon--
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The Chemist
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Fourway
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Most gin yeah, but really good gin can be great.The Chemist wrote:Fourway wrote:I actually hate sapphire, it tastes like old lady perfume and poor rectification to me.Isn't that what Gin IS?
Good to "see" you FW
thanks Chemist
"a woman who drives you to drink is hard to find, most of them will make you drive yourself."
anon--
anon--
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square_bear
Most of the ingredients are on the way via the health food shop. A copper scubber can be "unrolled" to make a serviceable copper basket. My boiler is one-piece and hard to clean so the "perma stink" is a worry. Might have to borrow a mate's pot still for this one. Gotta go fishin' for a week so will try after that and let you know. Thanks for all the good input.
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Guest
I'm planning a gin run tomorrow, I'm not that fond of sapphire - far too light. I prefer Plymouth.
For 1l I'm trying 18g Juniper berries, 9g corriander, 2g cassia, 2g liquorice, 2g grains of paradise, 2g cubebs.
As for cleaning the still, I save all the foreshots from the pot still and use them for cleaning after something strongly flavoured. I scrub the pot out and squirt a load down the condenser before distilling a bit of neutral spirit though - I've made lavender oil in the still one day and used it the next for apple eau de vie without any carry over.
Watershed
For 1l I'm trying 18g Juniper berries, 9g corriander, 2g cassia, 2g liquorice, 2g grains of paradise, 2g cubebs.
As for cleaning the still, I save all the foreshots from the pot still and use them for cleaning after something strongly flavoured. I scrub the pot out and squirt a load down the condenser before distilling a bit of neutral spirit though - I've made lavender oil in the still one day and used it the next for apple eau de vie without any carry over.
Watershed
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Uncle Remus
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This is what I did ....a previous post:
Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 5:57 pm Post subject: First try making gin.
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It turned out excellent! Started with 2 gallons of once distilled turbo wash, it averaged about 85% av. We stuck a stainless steel screen below the condensor and above the reflux and output valves. On this screen we put 2 tblsp of fresh juniper berries, 1 tsp corriander seed, 1 tsp anise seed and a couple of pieces of lemon rind. I couldn't find other ingredients such an angelica root and orris root so we just run it with what we had.
The first gallon came out green looking and a little cloudy. I guess from the oils in the herbs. The second gallon was clear, it had a slight yellowish tinge to it. We dumped the first gallon back in the still and let it run through again, still running through the herbs. This time it came out clear. We mixed the 2 gallons together they were 90-95% av and watered them down to 45%.
The final product is a very nice drink. I've never been much of a gin drinker myself, but I could learn to like it quite easily. My wife drinks gin and she loves it, she says it has a more refreshing taste than store bought gin. Maybe this is due to using fresh juniper berries rather than dried ones. I'm sure commercial distillers would not use fresh berries.
Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 5:57 pm Post subject: First try making gin.
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It turned out excellent! Started with 2 gallons of once distilled turbo wash, it averaged about 85% av. We stuck a stainless steel screen below the condensor and above the reflux and output valves. On this screen we put 2 tblsp of fresh juniper berries, 1 tsp corriander seed, 1 tsp anise seed and a couple of pieces of lemon rind. I couldn't find other ingredients such an angelica root and orris root so we just run it with what we had.
The first gallon came out green looking and a little cloudy. I guess from the oils in the herbs. The second gallon was clear, it had a slight yellowish tinge to it. We dumped the first gallon back in the still and let it run through again, still running through the herbs. This time it came out clear. We mixed the 2 gallons together they were 90-95% av and watered them down to 45%.
The final product is a very nice drink. I've never been much of a gin drinker myself, but I could learn to like it quite easily. My wife drinks gin and she loves it, she says it has a more refreshing taste than store bought gin. Maybe this is due to using fresh juniper berries rather than dried ones. I'm sure commercial distillers would not use fresh berries.
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day and drink beer.
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Watershed
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Slight cock up with mine -
took 1l of 70% spirit, added 8g Juniper berries, 9g corriander, 2g cassia, 2g liquorice, 2g grains of paradise, 2g cubebs all freshly ground in a mortar and pestle. I wasn't happy with the balance - the cassia dominated it too much so I added a further 2g juniper, 2g liquorice and 1g cubebs and a postage stamp sized piece of orange peel which made the mix smell a bit more like gin.
Macerated 1h and distilled off with the spices still in the wash.
Discarded the first 20ml as it was cloudy, collected until the fresh distillate reached 50% - after that there was too much cassia flavour.
the result was 80% and highly scented, I've diluted it to 55% with spring water. Made a g&T using 25ml of the spirit plus 50ml tonic and it's cloudy as hell and way too strong. Comparing it to a bottle of Plymouth I'd say I need to dilute it at least fourfold with neutral spirit.
The balance is right though.
took 1l of 70% spirit, added 8g Juniper berries, 9g corriander, 2g cassia, 2g liquorice, 2g grains of paradise, 2g cubebs all freshly ground in a mortar and pestle. I wasn't happy with the balance - the cassia dominated it too much so I added a further 2g juniper, 2g liquorice and 1g cubebs and a postage stamp sized piece of orange peel which made the mix smell a bit more like gin.
Macerated 1h and distilled off with the spices still in the wash.
Discarded the first 20ml as it was cloudy, collected until the fresh distillate reached 50% - after that there was too much cassia flavour.
the result was 80% and highly scented, I've diluted it to 55% with spring water. Made a g&T using 25ml of the spirit plus 50ml tonic and it's cloudy as hell and way too strong. Comparing it to a bottle of Plymouth I'd say I need to dilute it at least fourfold with neutral spirit.
The balance is right though.