Odin's Easy Gin

[Sk8brew]

From the 3rd post.

Yes, with herbs in the boiler goes faster. I didn't put it in, since most have an electrical elelement, but if you can heat indirectly, macerate for just 12 to 24 hours and distill with herbs in the boiler. It will get you over a bit more taste compared to maceration (2 weeks) and filtration.

Odin.

Lots of people have done this with success. The main fedback is don't put the citrus in the boiler, put it in the vapor path. So, my question is do you still macerate it with the herbs?

[RC Al]

Yes you do

[NZChris]

I do many methods with citrus and none of them make bad gin.

I've done;
In the boiler with minutes of maceration.
In the boiler with hours of maceration.
In the basket after maceration.
In the basket without maceration.
Dried.
Fresh.
Carter Head, which is of course, with no maceration.
And probably some others I forgot to mention.

I can't tell you a 'best' method, because I haven't found it yet.

I have tasted two bad home distilled gins, one mine, and they both used 'out there' botanicals that are not recommended anywhere in this forum.

[Bushman]

NZ that is why I am not sure when I broiled my citrus it made a any difference.

[howie]

just a quick question to confirm scalability from page 1
1 litre ------ 10mls discard/400mls collect.
is the collect volume scalable?
ie 5 litres---------10mls discard/2l collect

[MartinCash]

Yes, that's right. 10 mL discard only up to 10 L of macerate.

[howie]

Yes, that's right. 10 mL discard only up to 10 L of macerate.

thanks, but i was asking about the collect volume, not the discard volume.
it says to collect to exactly 400ml (give or take a dribble) from 1 litre.
so for 5 litres of neutral, do we collect 2 litres (5 x 400mls) exactly (or thereabouts), before the earthy 'tails' come through.

[Tummydoc]

Yes 2 liters will be ballpark, but trust your senses. I find i can push a little beyond 400ml per liter and still be fine. You'd probably be fine collecting 2200 mls. I also like a citrus forward gin and often add back the first 10cc. You'll have more louche from the citrus oils, but that doesn't bother me.

[NZChris]

Yes, that's right. 10 mL discard only up to 10 L of macerate.

thanks, but i was asking about the collect volume, not the discard volume.
it says to collect to exactly 400ml (give or take a dribble) from 1 litre.
so for 5 litres of neutral, do we collect 2 litres (5 x 400mls) exactly (or thereabouts), before the earthy 'tails' come through.

If you've cleaned up the neutral properly, there shouldn't be any earthy tails to come through even if you don't stop at the 400ml point.

[howie]

Yes 2 liters will be ballpark, but trust your senses. I find i can push a little beyond 400ml per liter and still be fine. You'd probably be fine collecting 2200 mls. I also like a citrus forward gin and often add back the first 10cc. You'll have more louche from the citrus oils, but that doesn't bother me.

thanks.
so my plan now is (if i do a 2 litre run), after the 10mls, collect in my usual novice 250mls up to 2 litres.
then collect in 50 or 100mls after that and see if i can detect the changes.
are the end of run changes very pronounced or sneak up very gradually?
i'll probably make pretty harsh cuts on my 1st try TBH.

[NZChris]

Try using Odin's method before you invent Howie's Slightly More Difficult Gin.

After Odin's recommended cutoff point, collect in small increments and decide if you want to add them.

[howie]

Try using Odin's method before you invent Howie's Slightly More Difficult Gin.

After Odin's recommended cutoff point, collect in small increments and decide if you want to add them.

ha ha, ok.
i've seen that some people have later regretted adding stuff from after the cut-off.
the 1st one will be by the book. cheers

[senornz]

- After two weeks, filter out the herbs, berries, skins, whatever;
- Distill your one liter of macerated gin in a potstill, do it relatively slowly as in a spirit run;

This must be a newbie question: Before putting in the still, how much do you dilute the macerated gin? I understand the safety reasons to dilute everything under 40%, but does the percentage under 40% matter?

My first inclination would be to dilute down to the same strength as a fermented wash at 10-15%, but are there some benefits to having it a bit more concentrated?

Second question:

I make gin in my LM in potstill mode all the time

(from this post)https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 1#p7506342

I have the Alcoengine LM Reflux still. It has 2 flow control devices - 0.6mm and 1.0mm. The 1.0mm flow is much faster, but I'm still getting over 90% alcohol, so I don't think that counts as pot still mode.

Is it possible to get the gin flavour through using this setup? Or will I need to get the pot still head as well? (I wonder if it is possible to somehow remove the flow control of the reflux head for a flavour run...)

[Tummydoc]

Your eyes clearly haven't bleed enough. It's all in this post, back at the beginning.

[Yummyrum]

Yes you need to run this through a Pot still . Sounds like your 1mm restrictor is still causing to much reflux to return down your packed column . So you can remove the packing ( however you will need to carefully reinstall it again afterwards) or you could run without any restrictor if thats possible then all the condensed reflux will come out as product .

You could buy the pot head but they are a ripoff price for what they are .

[senornz]

Your eyes clearly haven't bleed enough. It's all in this post, back at the beginning.

Lolz. You are right, the answer is in the second page!

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=48594&hilit=odins#p7096014

If you lower abv from 45 to 30% prior to distilling, that's no problem. You will get a softer, less dry product. Diluting a bit further shouldn't cause problems as long as you distill slowly.

I was over relying on the search, but not finding the answer looking for "dilute"

[Will Stilltry]

Hi all,
As a potential newcomer to the art of distilling my own gin, I have spent many months reading and researching how and what I need to go about it, including reading most of this thread, as I identified OEG as my potential first attempt. My interest was initially kickstarted some while back after attending 'gin making experiences' at two different small craft gin distilleries, long before I really had much idea of what was involved.
I now realise that the procedure we were told to follow at both places was almost exactly the same method shown in the OP of this thread - you were allocated a small pot still charged with 1ltr of diluted neutral spirit to which you added your own choice of botanicals from the large selection available and then run it through the still (but obviously without any maceration time). You collecting 400ml of distillate which was then diluted back to 40ish % ABV to give you a full bottle of you own gin.
The other main difference that left me a little confused and hoping that someone here can explain, was that at one distillery we had the concept of 'cuts' explained to us and told to discard the first 10-20ml of distillate (exactly as in the OP) and at the other, told that it was not necessary as cuts were made when the neutral spirit was originally produced.

Whilst I appreciate it is probably not worth losing sleep over, I am curious to know why the difference!!

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Will

[NZChris]

Whilst I appreciate it is probably not worth losing sleep over, I am curious to know why the difference!!

Personal preference. If you want to know why they do what they do, you have to ask them.

When I'm making OEG, I take a 10ml foreshot, but I don't always take one for my other gins. For them, I taste the foreshot and if I think it's ok, I include it. Without taking one, there is a greater chance of clouding when proofed, but that is easily fixed.

[Will Stilltry]

Thanks for reply.

I actually did ask and as normal, (for a potentially inexperienced novice worried about safety & doing things correctly) I did not get a satisfactory explanation and hence the reason why I have asked on this forum.
After reading loads of info about making cuts to safely remove potentially harmful substances produced in the distillation process, it is confusing when you are then told it is not required.

[NZChris]

It's got nothing to do with safety. I add my OEG foreshots to 100ml taken after the cut off point, add some neutral and simple syrup to make a liqueur and never let anyone else taste it.

[Tummydoc]

You're making OEG from the hearts of a neutral that has already been cut. The first 15-20 cc of the OEG run have concentrated citrus oils. They aren't dangerous, but are only soluble in concentrated alcohol. So if you include them and dilute to 40% your gin will turn cloudy as they come out of solution. If you want crystal clear gin, separate that first portion. I don't mind the cloudiness ( louche) and like a citrus forward gin so i often blend that portion back into my gin.

[Will Stilltry]

You're making OEG from the hearts of a neutral that has already been cut. The first 15-20 cc of the OEG run have concentrated citrus oils. They aren't dangerous, but are only soluble in concentrated alcohol. So if you include them and dilute to 40% your gin will turn cloudy as they come out of solution. If you want crystal clear gin, separate that first portion. I don't mind the cloudiness ( louche) and like a citrus forward gin so i often blend that portion back into my gin.

Thanks for this explanation.
I just thought it strange that two different distilleries using exactly the same procedure had differing opinions about whether or not to take this small cut from the first part of the distillation run and if so, a reason for doing it.

[B_Stilling]

You're making OEG from the hearts of a neutral that has already been cut. The first 15-20 cc of the OEG run have concentrated citrus oils. They aren't dangerous, but are only soluble in concentrated alcohol. So if you include them and dilute to 40% your gin will turn cloudy as they come out of solution. If you want crystal clear gin, separate that first portion. I don't mind the cloudiness ( louche) and like a citrus forward gin so i often blend that portion back into my gin.

Eating the tangerine as we speak while I consider the option. Great info

[B_Stilling]

So what do people typically do with their 'leftovers'? I am sipping the first 10mls mixed with the stuff that came after the 400ml cut and that stuff has some nice flavor in it and good ethanol in there too. Has anyone tried taking a second cut and using that to dilute the macerated wash of the next run?

[NZChris]

I get it out of the system. If I was commercial, I might try to find something profitable to do with it, but I'm not, so I cobble something together that is drinkable and enjoyable enough for me in my own shed, but it's never something I would let a visitor sample or leave in my drinks cabinet. I call it Distiller's Treat. Today's version is blended with two year old oaked brandy from our grapes and sweetened with simple syrup, 35% ABV, 20% sugar. It might be very nice in a couple of years, but it will probably be gone in a month because it's so yummy.

[Bushman]

I can’t remember who it was I am thinking Rubber Duck that was talking about serving his off whiskey to friends that wanted it with seven up and his good stuff for drinking on ice or neat.

[howie]

i did a spirit run with FFV on my upgraded rig, got some of the best neutral i've ever tasted.
took 1.2l of the heart of hearts for jar 1, and 1.2l (600mls from each side of H of H) for jar 2.
macerated jars with 'by the book' botanicals for OEG.
jar 2 ran yesterday, jar 1 today, both taste very nice (as in fingerlicking good)
both now stored away at 45% ABV, but i will need a time lock safe to keep me from testing them very soon.
stopped collecting at exactly 400mls per litre.
from the taste off the still, i would have stopped jar 2 slightly earlier and maybe took a little more off jar 1.
however, time will tell.
i hope there will be some left for xmas
obviously i will do some responsible tasting to monitor the development in the next 5 weeks

[NZChris]

Newly made OEG doesn't taste bad, so rather than wait, I make enough that there is still some left after 5 weeks.

[freshwaterjellyfish]

I made some sweet potato vodka compliments of George from barely and hops. Gonna get some clamato and try a few Caesars w the wifey tomorrow; the rest im gonna turn to gin. I just so happen to have all those ingredients you mention.
Thanks again Odin!

[B_Stilling]

Newly made OEG doesn't taste bad, so rather than wait, I make enough that there is still some left after 5 weeks.

Maybe this is where the leftover first 10mls and the cuts after the 400ml collected come in; get us trough the resting period