Grainfather gin

[Guineafowl]

I’ve done my first proper run of gin with this, but would appreciate comments for improvement. I have searched the forum, and it has been helpful, but each setup is different, so I’ll describe mine:

I brew all-grain beer with the Grainfather, so much of the kit I have is easily repurposed. It has the alembic pot attachment and botanicals basket.

Wash: 23L dextrose solution, fermented to c.14% ABV with Turbo yeast, carbon, then clarifiers.

1. Stripping run down to 20%. All distillate collected (6L).
2. Spirit run to 40%, foreshots and tails discarded.
3. Spirit run with botanicals, collected to 20%.

Each wash was diluted to 40%.

For run 3, I loaded the following into the botanicals basket:
Coriander 50g
Angelica 10g
Cassia 10g
Liquorice 10g
G of Paradise 10g
Cubeb 10g
Lemon peel 1g
Orris 1g

Because it wouldn’t fit, I tipped the Juniper (100g) into the wash. The element is hidden, so there was no scorching. I also use the power control feature to slow down the process.

What I have is a very nice, clean spirit, but it’s not gin. The predominant flavour is cinnamon (cassia). So I have some questions:

1. Are the proportions/amounts reasonable (trying for Bombay Sapphire)? It’s hard to find a starting point recipe for my specific setup.
2. Should I bruise or macerate the ingredients?
3. The cassia is a bit overbearing - can I damp it down, or will it mellow over time (it seems to have done overnight).
4. There is very little juniper flavour - will this increase, or could I run it through again with just juniper? The cassia has an anaesthetic quality, like cloves, so might be suppressing the other flavours.

And, in general, should I reserve judgement for a week or two?

Many thanks

[Guineafowl]

Everyone likes pics, so here’s the setup. The fermenter is making Beavertown’s Gamma Ray. On the right, out of shot, is my beer fridge, set up with gas lines and taps on the front, and set to 10*C cellar temperature.

[NZChris]

The quality of botanicals will vary from country to country, garden to garden and with the seasons, so start somewhere, keep good records, then adjust your botanical bill and running protocol for each run. You'll soon be making good product.

High abv Turbo wash isn't something I've ever used. I'm sure you can find a better neutral method in the Tried and True section of this forum.

[Saltbush Bill]

Cassia comes through very strong toward the end of a gin run, collect the run in jars as if you are going to make cuts on a spirit run.
By doing this you will learn which botanicals come over at what stage of the run.
Finish your run earlier and discard the last jar or two that are cassia predominant.

[still_stirrin]

Do you like the “taste” of rubber? If not, lose the silicone hose from your product spout. We have a rule here regarding plastics and high proof alcohol. You’ll find it in the “mandatory reading”.
ss

[TittaD]

In some (there are different versions) of the x=juniper guidlines, the cassia is in the x/10 and cinnamon in the x/100 category. I have never tried any of them but to me they taste too similar to justify a x10 difference.
Most recepies people post here that they actually are making have very litle cassia in them so I just wonder if x/10 is a good guideline?

[TittaD]

Cassia comes through very strong toward the end of a gin run, collect the run in jars as if you are going to make cuts on a spirit run.
By doing this you will learn which botanicals come over at what stage of the run.
Finish your run earlier and discard the last jar or two that are cassia predominant.

Interesting! Does cassia have any tasty parts that comes over earlier that would justify cutting the later part out compared to just lower the amount?

[Saltbush Bill]

Lowering the amount of Cassia used wont achieve the same result imo.
Collecting in one jar/ bottle as you have so far wont teach you to understand how the different botanicals come through at different stages of the distillation.

[Tummydoc]

You could always omit cassia on your next run, and add back some of your current bottle as a cassia gin essence to titrate to taste.

[Guineafowl]

Cassia comes through very strong toward the end of a gin run, collect the run in jars as if you are going to make cuts on a spirit run.
By doing this you will learn which botanicals come over at what stage of the run.
Finish your run earlier and discard the last jar or two that are cassia predominant.

That’s interesting, because I tried some early on (say, 1/5 of the way through) and it was almost undrinkably cinnamon-y.

Others are suggesting taking cuts, and that’s what I’ll try next time, but eventually I want to get the recipe bang on so it comes out right all in one go.

[Guineafowl]

Do you like the “taste” of rubber? If not, lose the silicone hose from your product spout. We have a rule here regarding plastics and high proof alcohol. You’ll find it in the “mandatory reading”.
ss

Yes, I did see that, but wasn’t sure if silicone qualified as plastic or rubber. It was supplied as part of the still kit. I can swap it for a copper spout.

[SaltyStaves]

Cinnamon/Cassia extraction is heavily dependent on ABV. Its true of most plant material that has water/alcohol soluble tannins.

Mascerate it separately and find out what works for you.