My Gin Journey

[artooks]

Hi,

Today is Day 10 I had another 2 glass with tonic, the taste is developing very well, I can smell the beautiful fruiteness coming from the glass, everything going quite good, only 1 thing that is bugging me is that after these two glasses I feel like I had like 4 or 5 glasses not saying that I feel drunk, I feel like I want to sleep afterwards it is a hard thing for me to explain, I am sure about my cuts in the spirit run, I took the time and did it slow and made generous cuts did not even collect tails, if I rewind back, I did all my cuts in the spirit run, I did not do any cuts in the stripping run not even foreshots ? could it be not likely but still thinking about it, could it be the mix of this botanicals ? or I am thinking during spirit run, I wait like 40 minutes for the column to equalize, and I read in some posts that some people are against this I think it wad DAD300 he strongly believed that equalizing the still causes everything to smear during the time spent in this stage, so I would be very happy if someone could help me with those points.

I might be caused by the St. John’s Wort, which I've read shouldn't be taken with alcohol.

Thanks NZChris yes you are right after some googling I came across this article, it talks about not taking alcohol while being treated with St. Johns Wort
Well it is definitely not the same case with me doing a gin with this herb and someone not taking alcohol while being treated with St. Johns Wort.
This is the part of that article My God

You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with St. John's wort. Alcohol can increase the nervous system side effects of St. John's wort such as dizziness, drowsiness, and difficulty concentrating. Some people may also experience impairment in thinking and judgment. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions or concerns

Looking at this in a good way whenever I drink a glass of my gin I feel very relieved and finally become sleepy, the same thing happened to me again yesterday.

[NZChris]

It also interferes with a large variety of medications. I hope you didn't make a large batch. I'd be tipping it out.

[artooks]

It also interferes with a large variety of medications. I hope you didn't make a large batch. I'd be tipping it out.

I made 1.4 Gallons of it but as fas as I know this botanical is used by some people. I remember it reading in the forum.

[artooks]

One other thing that I experience is whenever I open the Jar full of Gin, I smell it, it smells great but at the same time it has a burning feeling to my nose I do not know if this will mellow in the coming weeks

[artooks]

Today is day 12 and I had 2 glasses of gin and tonic again, luckily today I did not experience that odd feeling, either I get used to it or it continued to mellow and got better, well the smell is incredibly good much better that the store bought liquors now I am preparing myself to do a second gin with more botanicals my orris root and cassia bark have arrived so I am good to go, I am thinking of doing something like a Bombay but everything in the boiler , this way I think we get more taste, I compared it with Bombay today, and there are miles between each other sorry I cannot be modest In this particular case, homemade would probably in every case is better than store bought this is the realization that I finally come.

[SaltyStaves]

Today is day 12 and I had 2 glasses of gin and tonic again, luckily today I did not experience that odd feeling, either I get used to it or it continued to mellow and got better,

Have you been drinking it with the same tonic you showed on the first page of this thread? I did a quick look at the website and was alarmed to see them mention "high quinine content" in the first paragraph...

I make my own Tonic from raw Cinchona bark. When I made my first batch, I based it on a few internet recipes. My legs felt like lead after 15 minutes of making a gin and tonic and it was my first (and only) drink that night. I did not drink it again the following night. I repeated the same gin and tonic 48 hrs later and got identical symptoms. I stopped immediately and threw all of the tonic syrup out. Quinine has a cumulative effect on the body. The more you have, the more it will build up.

I revised my recipe and have been making and enjoying my own tonic every summer for the last six years. I do not have more than two glasses in a single sitting and I do not consume it on consecutive nights. Once the warm weather goes away, I don't touch it at all.

I'm aware that the EU has very strict laws on what levels of quinine are permitted, but if I were you, I'd eliminate it completely and enjoy your gin with an alternate product and just see how it affects you. A big break from Quinine would be worth thinking about at least for the moment so you can get it out of your body.

[artooks]

Today is day 12 and I had 2 glasses of gin and tonic again, luckily today I did not experience that odd feeling, either I get used to it or it continued to mellow and got better,

Have you been drinking it with the same tonic you showed on the first page of this thread? I did a quick look at the website and was alarmed to see them mention "high quinine content" in the first paragraph...

I make my own Tonic from raw Cinchona bark. When I made my first batch, I based it on a few internet recipes. My legs felt like lead after 15 minutes of making a gin and tonic and it was my first (and only) drink that night. I did not drink it again the following night. I repeated the same gin and tonic 48 hrs later and got identical symptoms. I stopped immediately and threw all of the tonic syrup out. Quinine has a cumulative effect on the body. The more you have, the more it will build up.

I revised my recipe and have been making and enjoying my own tonic every summer for the last six years. I do not have more than two glasses in a single sitting and I do not consume it on consecutive nights. Once the warm weather goes away, I don't touch it at all.

I'm aware that the EU has very strict laws on what levels of quinine are permitted, but if I were you, I'd eliminate it completely and enjoy your gin with an alternate product and just see how it affects you. A big break from Quinine would be worth thinking about at least for the moment so you can get it out of your body.

Hi,

Yes I have been drinking with the same tonic, well I also made my own tonic but did not like the taste, I will give the recipe below, if you could share your recipe I would be more than happy, this is the one that I made:

https://pinchandswirl.com/homemade-toni ... and-tonic/

Thanks again.

[SaltyStaves]

Hi,

Yes I have been drinking with the same tonic, well I also made my own tonic but did not like the taste, I will give the recipe below, if you could share your recipe I would be more than happy, this is the one that I made:

https://pinchandswirl.com/homemade-toni ... and-tonic/

Thanks again.

I essentially use the same recipe, but my percentage of bark is smaller 14g in 2 cups of water vs their 28g in 3 cups of water.

I don't expect you'd have much trouble with that recipe as it is (its not like some of the others out there that are downright dangerous), but frequency and amounts consumed could lead to mild Cinchonism.

[artooks]

Hi,

Yes I have been drinking with the same tonic, well I also made my own tonic but did not like the taste, I will give the recipe below, if you could share your recipe I would be more than happy, this is the one that I made:

https://pinchandswirl.com/homemade-toni ... and-tonic/

Thanks again.

I essentially use the same recipe, but my percentage of bark is smaller 14g in 2 cups of water vs their 28g in 3 cups of water.

I don't expect you'd have much trouble with that recipe as it is (its not like some of the others out there that are downright dangerous), but frequency and amounts consumed could lead to mild Cinchonism.

Thanks,

Well I did this, normally I drink gin § tonic like this 4 oz gin and 7 oz tonic with ice, but with this tonic syrup this I could not create the taste that I want maybe it is the soda water that I used it was not like the tonics that I drink so what is your ratio can you please tell me ? I end up using too much syrup because that taste was not there.

[SaltyStaves]

2 oz gin (45%ABV) 1 oz tonic syrup, ice and soda water.

[artooks]

2 oz gin (45%ABV) 1 oz tonic syrup, ice and soda water.

Thanks do you add soda water the same amount as gin so 2 oz gin 2 oz soda and do you also find the taste different from store bought tonic ?

[SaltyStaves]

Usually a little more soda water than gin. 2 to 3 times as much.
Most commercial tonics I find too sweet and not bitter/sour enough for my taste.

[artooks]

Usually a little more soda water than gin. 2 to 3 times as much.
Most commercial tonics I find too sweet and not bitter/sour enough for my taste.

I see I also drink 1 part gin 2 part soda that's how I like it, ın some recipes they use soda stream but that is unnecessary and too much time consuming I guess syrup + soda water is the way to go.

[artooks]

Hi Everyone,

After almost finishing my first batch its time, to do a new gin recipe, I always liked bombay but, wanted to change a few ingredients and the way it is distilled, so as you know, bombay is a gin which is distilled with vapor infusion technique, I could have done that but since I wanted to get all the aroma of the ingredients I opted for everything in boiler, my recipe is as follows, again I followed Zymurgy Bob's formula.

For 1 litre of %43 Neutral.

* 16 grams of juniper berries
* 8 grams of coriander seeds
* 0.16 grams of dried bitter orange peel
* 1.6 grams of Angelica Root
* 0.16 grams Orris Root
* 1.6 grams Grains of Paradise
* 1.6 grams Cubeb Berries
* 1.6 grams Cassia Bark
* 1.6 grams Pistachio
* 1.6 grams Liquorice

Total Herbs per litre: 33.92 grams

This time I used Shady's Sugar Shine for my base as a neutral, must say it is very pure, I really liked it, I was left with 3350 ml @ 94.5 ABV from my spirit run I diluted this to %43 ABV by adding 4012 ml water so my total volume was 7,362 ml @ %43 ABV I calculated the botanicals in reference to this volume and I crushed Juniper berries, Coriander Seeds slightly with mortar and pestle, I then also crushed Cubeb berries an Grains of Paradise slightly also, I hope it does not give a bitter taste but we will find out. I added all the rest to the Jar and macerated for 20 Hrs, today is my gin run I poured everything in the boiler and as of now it is heating up, hope it will be a good gin.

[artooks]

[Saltbush Bill]

My guess is that it will be very nice gin.....Ive never used Pistachio in gin and we cant get Bitter Orange in this country as far as I know.
The only thing I can offer is that you collect in small jars, small quantities, when the output from the still goes cloudy its time to stop.......do not add the cloudy jar or a the 2-3 clear jars before that to the final product......that is where any bitterness will be.

[artooks]

My guess is that it will be very nice gin.....Ive never used Pistachio in gin and we cant get Bitter Orange in this country as far as I know.
The only thing I can offer is that you collect in small jars, small quantities, when the output from the still goes cloudy its time to stop.......do not add the cloudy jar or a the 2-3 clear jars before that to the final product......that is where any bitterness will be.

Thanks for the tip Saltbush Bill here in Turkey pistachio is widely available, we also use it in many sweets like "baklava" since I liked its taste I wanted to give it a go, I remember one time I saw a gin recipe made with rose petals, pistachio corriander and Juniper but cannot remember where I have found it, but its worth a try also I am following odins collection rates 400 ml for 1 liter this collection rate I have check does not dive into the tails which is the oily Rooty part as you mentioned but I always collect in small jars I will follow the last 2-3 jars in terms of taste, lets see.

[artooks]

Already distilled 400 ml the smell is awesome.

[artooks]

Hi,

After 5.5 hrs, gin distillation has finished, I collected in small jars at the end and I could definately distinguish the nutty flavor at the end but even that part alone was smelling great, I mixed all the collected jars in one big jar and mixed them well, and tasted it just as is, the smell is really wonderful, how to describe it with one word "floral" so I checked the total ABV which is %88, calculated the dilution water, and keep them in room temperature till tomorrow morning, so that both the water and gin temperature will equalize, reason being, one time I diluted with a slightly cold water and the gin went cloudy after that I use this technique to overcome that problem.

[artooks]

The temperatures balanced so I decided to dilute the gin, now it will rest for 5 weeks last time, when I completed 5 weeks I started with 5,500 ml and left with 3,500 ml I think the waiting is the hardest part.

[artooks]

This is what is left in the boiler, even this smells very nice but I get a strong nutty flavor.

[artooks]

Hi,

After a few hours later, my gin louched slightly, it shows that I have got too much taste in the gin and as of writing I am sipping my new gin and must say it is very nice I wonder how it will turn out in 5 weeks.

[artooks]

Hi,

To overcome my slightly louching problem, I bottled my gin with paper filters and then I put them in my fermentation chamber and adjusted heat to 93°F when I got up this morning all the slight touching was gone, so I was really happy not that it really mattered but I really like to see my gin crystal clear.

[NZChris]

I wish you good luck, But I've had a bottle of gin sitting on a window sill for the best part of a year, cloudy on cold mornings, then clear when the day warmed up.

https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 2#p7618935

[artooks]

I wish you good luck, But I've had a bottle of gin sitting on a window sill for the best part of a year, cloudy on cold mornings, then clear when the day warmed up.

https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 2#p7618935

Thanks NZChris, yes the cloudiness has something to do with heat I wonder how it will turn out once I take them out from the fermenter chamber.

[Saltbush Bill]

In my opinion its not only heat related, most of the gin I make louches if diluted to less than 43%-45%.......given time it usually clears, but not 100% of the time.

[artooks]

In my opinion its not only heat related, most of the gin I make louches if diluted to less than 43%-45%.......given time it usually clears, but not 100% of the time.

You are right but also this is a similar case with "raki" a Turkish based anise spirit, I also have a recipe that I shared a few years ago, it is like ouzo but not the same, anyway this spirit has got too much anise oils and you also need the pre tails in order to receive more oils, and if you dilute it, it goes cloudy at 38 ABV, so basically the main reason is the oils that we get from the botanicals at the start and at the end, making a big head cut would do it but the the gin will include less aroma, as I said before, for me it is not that important, of course I like the crystal clear spirit but that taste profile is much more important. I guess doing vapor infusion this situation will not happen due to less taste transfer.

[Terrenum]

Seems like we are on a similar journey, and in parallel! Just finished a spirit run of my latest gin recipe.
Here is mine:

For each liter @ 40%
Maceration 72 hrs. approx 32g per L of botanicals
15g Juniper
7.5g coriander
0,9g Angelica root
0.9g Orris root
1/2 of fresh lime peel
1/3 of fresh lemon peel
1g dried roses
0.6g cassia
1 almond
2 points of star anise

Versus OEG, mine seemed all over the place right of the still and very heavy on citrus. It's been resting for a few days now. the smells seem to be clashing and not clearly defined. I feel it needs time vs OEG that could be enjoyed right away. OEG smells faded rather quickly however and this is one reason I wanted to be more aggressive with the amount of botanicals. I think mine will be a very nice gin down the road. I also have a bit of louching problem and can't go under 45% ABV.

I also did split the run in smaller jars and it was pretty amazing to smell the difference, the first being so citrus forward and the last one being nutty and spicy form cassia/almond.
Let's share our progress from here.
Cheers

[NZChris]

I guess doing vapor infusion this situation will not happen due to less taste transfer.

I can make cloudy gin with neutral in the boiler and all of the botanicals in a Carter Head.

[Garouda]

Thanks a lot for all these details. Yesterday, I finished my first spirit run based on Ted's FFV. It ended up with 8 litres neutral at 95% ABV. Target 50% to make Pastis, 50% for a Gin run.
I'm going to use my pot still setting, the one I used for stripping runs with a gin basket between the column and the product condenser.
This is the recipe I intend to follow, some ingredients from the original recipe have been replaced by what I can find down here.
Between brackets are ingredients I will skip
My apologies to the recipe owner, I think it was posted by bt1 as a modified version of OD's recipe...
Botanicals
60g dried juniper berries.
(4 almonds)
(3-5 strips of orange peel-I need to check whether I can find some in the garden, the season is over)
3-5 strips of (lemon) lime peel- I have a nicely perfumed variety of lemon, but no fruit on the tree at this time of the year...
2 strips Kefir lime peel
(3/4 teaspoon full of angelica root)
(3/4 teaspoon full of Orris root)
(1/2 star anise) I'm going to use liquorice instead
1/2 teaspoon full of ground coriander
Cinnamon bark 1/2 a scroll.
3/4 teaspoon full of ground ginger- I'm going to use fresh ginger from the garden
3 black pepper corns - and pink pepper corns if I can find them back...
1/4 teaspoon dill tips- they call it Laotian parsley here, not the same size, but the same taste.
3 whole cloves
(6) 3 grains of (paradise) cardamom.
I may add some citrus fruit blossom... and/or rose buds...
I will of course weigh all the ingredients in order to stay in a range of 25-30g/l@40%ABV botanicals. Pastis will be made in a second step, so in case of a too strong taste, I'll be able to add some neutral.
Ingredients will be crushed well with a pestle and mortar and added to a bag in the gin basket.
All comments are more than welcome.