Common Ingredients in Gin

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Bushman
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Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by Bushman »

Lately we have had a lot of interest in Gin. Some of us are copying other recipes and others are trying to come up with ingredients without understanding what they impart into our alcohol. So I put together some of the more common ingredients found in different gins and copied from Google the flavor profile of each. Hope this helps some of our members in deciding what to add to their recipe. Also the amount of each has been described in other gin threads so if you decide to use some of the following herbs make sure you use the suggested portions.

Common Gin Ingredients

Angelica root:
earthy flavour. It's a little bitter and a little herbal, and is reminiscent of wormwood. The herbal tones carry through to the nose, with a faintly nettle-like smell. The flavour of angelica can sometimes be mistaken for that of juniper berries – though the two are quite separate.

Coriander: It is described to taste as a citrusy flavor with a slight sweetness and a hint of earthiness reminiscent of curry.

Grains of paradise: You'll find flavors of ginger, cardamom, citrus, coriander, nutmeg, and juniper in each little seed.

Bay leaf: minty flavor (somewhere between spearmint and menthol) develops, with subtle hints of black pepper and Christmas tree pine. They add a subtle bitterness.

Cubeb: described as agreeable and aromatic and the taste as pungent, acrid, slightly bitter and persistent. It has been described as tasting like allspice, or like a cross between allspice and black pepper.

Juniper berry: tart and sharp, with a resinous, piney flavor and hints of citrus.

Cardamom: citrusy, minty, spicy, and herbal all at the same time, and it's highly fragrant.

Fennel: sweet, perfumy, licorice flavor.

Lavender: described with terms like “herbal,” “astringent” and “earthy.”

Citrus peel: floral and citrus notes.

Ginger: slightly peppery and sweet, with a pungent and spicy aroma.

Orris root: earthy, dusty sweetness that falls somewhere in the middle of grass and hay.
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by howie »

not forgetting....

liquorice root powder: It has a bittersweet, sugary, and an earthy taste mixed with woody flavours that help gin become a standout spirit. 30 times sweeter than sugar by weight. adds smoothness and mouthfeel.

orris root : also a fixative, helps to keep aromas in the gin

angelica root : also a bonding agent
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by Dathhu »

Thanks Bushman, gives me a little more food for thought for my next gin run!

Maybe just a hint of bay leaf sounds interesting...
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by Dathhu »

Between Angelica and Orris root, what does everyone else like? Or a combo of both?

Haven't tried Orris yet, seeing it mentioned a lot though...
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by Single Malt Yinzer »

Orris and Angelica are considered fixatives. You probably should use one or both in your mix. Fixatives help maintain the aromatic and flavor compounds in the spirit. https://distilling.com/distillermagazin ... ve-effect/
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by Saltbush Bill »

A quote from https://www.ginfoundry.com/botanicals/
"That said, there is no science to back claims that orris has a fixative quality once distilled and to date, the understood chemistry of molecules and papers submitted on the subject have only opened up more questions than they have resolved."

For what its worth Ive always used Orris in my gin.
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by MartinCash »

Here's an explanatory page on the Gin Foundry site with some decent profiles for the more common botanicals: https://www.ginfoundry.com/botanicals/
Thanks MC , that's the link I meant to put up....edited my link.
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

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Dathhu wrote: Wed Jan 27, 2021 9:34 am Between Angelica and Orris root, what does everyone else like? Or a combo of both?

Haven't tried Orris yet, seeing it mentioned a lot though...
I have always used both.

With Angelica, I not only use the root, but sometime choose to use the seeds as well, treating them as different ingredients. The seeds are more floral.
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by Yummyrum »

Bushy , you listed them in alphabetical order .

That threw me .

I’m no Gin expert ... but for me Gin is about the Juniper and I would have listed that first .... maybe closely followed by Coriander. ... but does that give bias to Gin
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

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I find 1:1 ratio of cardamom and lavender changes the aroma from 'lavender' to 'interesting'. Makes for a very pleasant aroma!
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by Bushman »

Yummyrum wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 3:26 am Bushy , you listed them in alphabetical order .

That threw me .

I’m no Gin expert ... but for me Gin is about the Juniper and I would have listed that first .... maybe closely followed by Coriander. ... but does that give bias to Gin
I had the same thought when posting it. I actually took it off a gin chart that had the common ingredients alphabetical but I agree probably should have been listed like most commonly shown in order of amounts.
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by Neozilian »

Found this online... might be a help
“The gin and tonic has saved more Englishmen's lives than all the doctors in the Empire” - Sir Winston Churchil
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by Saltbush Bill »

The ingredient weights per 1L of 40% looks way out of wack to me.

file:///C:/Users/61478/AppData/Local/Temp/Botanical%20Grouping%20Guide-Courtesy%20of%20the%20Shakespeare%20Distillery.pdf

Juniper 25-30 to 1L that sure will taste like juniper....half that amount is usual and gives heaps of flavor.
Coriander Seed 2-5g to 1 L most gin recipes recommend half the weight of the Juniper. Seems very very low.
Orris Root 1/4 teaspoon to 1L ?......that's a tea spoon in every 4L.......orris is usually used very sparingly ...0.1 or 0.2 of a gram to the L.
Just my opinion and a couple of examples of why I think its not right.
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by Archee72 »

All good advice, thanks everyone especially Bushman :thumbup:
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by Bushman »

Saltbush your link is not working!
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Its the same link that Neozillion posted above bushy.....not sure what went wrong there.
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by Bushman »

I can’t open his pdf with my iPad. I guess I will try it on my home PC.
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

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Saltbush, agreed the bill seems wrong. But its broken down in a flavor wheel with tasting notes that makes it easier to build a gin profile. For the growth why dont we put together a similar sheet for all to use? I’m willing to build it if some of the senior guys can help with all the different botanicals and tasting notes
“The gin and tonic has saved more Englishmen's lives than all the doctors in the Empire” - Sir Winston Churchil
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

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Neozilian wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 9:25 pm For the growth why don't we put together a similar sheet for all to use? I’m willing to build it if some of the senior guys can help with all the different botanicals and tasting notes
Nice of you to offer to build one but as above in Chris's post its already been done......from memory there are a few versions of that wheel kicking around the net all put out by different Gin Geeks.
They pretty much all say the same things.
I'm not sure that we could do any better than what is already out there.
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by NZChris »

There are also wheels for rum and whiskey.
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by Neozilian »

NZChris wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 10:56 pm You might find this useful.
https://www.ginfoundry.com/gin-news/gin-tasting-wheel/
Thanks for this, been looking for something like this for a while. Added to my recipe development program :thumbup:
“The gin and tonic has saved more Englishmen's lives than all the doctors in the Empire” - Sir Winston Churchil
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

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Saltbush Bill wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 11:18 pm
Neozilian wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 9:25 pm For the growth why don't we put together a similar sheet for all to use? I’m willing to build it if some of the senior guys can help with all the different botanicals and tasting notes
Nice of you to offer to build one but as above in Chris's post its already been done......from memory there are a few versions of that wheel kicking around the net all put out by different Gin Geeks.
They pretty much all say the same things.
I'm not sure that we could do any better than what is already out there.
No problem... Head hurting from all the information already :ebiggrin:
“The gin and tonic has saved more Englishmen's lives than all the doctors in the Empire” - Sir Winston Churchil
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by Bushman »

NZChris wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 10:56 pm You might find this useful.
https://www.ginfoundry.com/gin-news/gin-tasting-wheel/
Forgot about the gin wheel on the forum when I made this thread. The idea came from several new members post wondering about what ingredients to include
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by StillOnFire »

I found that where you buy your coriander seed from will make a huge difference. The coriander I bought from the grocery store didn't have much flavor, and using half the weight of Juniper was perfect. When I switched to coriander I purchased from the Indian grocer, it completely ruined the gin with overpowering coriander flavor. It was sweet, cloying, and floral. The Indian grocer coriander had way more flavor than coriander from the regular grocery store. So for fresh, flavorful coriander, I would use the dosage suggested in the PDF, for grocery store corinder use the X/2 guide. Once you find an amount that works for you, don't change the source of your spices without a trial run.
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

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StillOnFire wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:28 pm I found that where you buy your coriander seed from will make a huge difference. The coriander I bought from the grocery store didn't have much flavor, and using half the weight of Juniper was perfect. When I switched to coriander I purchased from the Indian grocer, it completely ruined the gin with overpowering coriander flavor. It was sweet, cloying, and floral. The Indian grocer coriander had way more flavor than coriander from the regular grocery store. So for fresh, flavorful coriander, I would use the dosage suggested in the PDF, for grocery store corinder use the X/2 guide. Once you find an amount that works for you, don't change the source of your spices without a trial run.
I have been buying through Amazon without any problem. I buy it in packages not the glass bottles.
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Re: Common Ingredients in Gin

Post by Rrmuf »

Bushman wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 6:29 am
StillOnFire wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:28 pm I found that where you buy your coriander seed from will make a huge difference. The coriander I bought from the grocery store didn't have much flavor, and using half the weight of Juniper was perfect. When I switched to coriander I purchased from the Indian grocer, it completely ruined the gin with overpowering coriander flavor. It was sweet, cloying, and floral. The Indian grocer coriander had way more flavor than coriander from the regular grocery store. So for fresh, flavorful coriander, I would use the dosage suggested in the PDF, for grocery store corinder use the X/2 guide. Once you find an amount that works for you, don't change the source of your spices without a trial run.
I have been buying through Amazon without any problem. I buy it in packages not the glass bottles.
Same here.
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