Flavoring Gin without boiling

[still_chillin]

Howdy all,

I've been wanting to make some gin with hops and fir needles in the botanical bill. Knowing that hop oil can be a real problem to clean out of a still, I asked around about alternative methods.

I'm told that you can hang the botanicals in a bag above the neutrals in a fermenter for a while and the neutrals will pick up the flavor and aroma. I'm skeptical and would like to know if anyone has tried this.

Please let me know what you think.

[NZChris]

I use a stainless stand or screen rather than a bag. Trapping a stalk with the cork works for suspending sprigs.

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

That's how limoncello is made. Check this out

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=70109

[brat]

Am actually going to embark of the same adventure. And this method seems interesting. How long should I keep the hops suspended? I think I it would be a lot slower in extracting the essence this way.

[still_chillin]

I'm going to start with a test in a mason jar.

I'm thinking I'll put all botanicals in a cloth sack and leave plenty of head space. Reason for cloth sack (wrapped several times) is that I would like the aroma to come through, but I don't want evaporation to drip back down and cloud the gin. I'm hoping the cloth sack will absorb any drips before they make it back down to the bottom.

Also, starting with a small test will allow me to dial in botanical quantities before trying a larger batch.