My first Gin

[Garouda]

In Ted's fast fermenting vodka thread, Tiramisu wrote in answer to my post:"158 posts on grain neutral spirit/neutral grain spirit.
It would be nice to make some gin"
My answer was:"If you read my entire post up to the end , this is what I'm doing right now, but it's difficult to identify the right recipe for a vapour infusion gin..."
Well indeed, it's difficult to find the bulletproof recipe for a vapour infusion gin, also, some botanicals are not available down here...
On the other end, there's galangal in the garden, as well as pink pepper and various citrus trees, untreated. Could not find Sergeant Pepper though...I forgot to buy ginger, the plant I have here is too small I'm afraid.
This is what I'm going to try- base 8 litres neutral @43% ABV in a pot still with gin basket...
I'm not going to crush all these ingredients, I'm afraid the taste may be too strong. We are here to learn, aren't we?
It's 5.25pm now, so it'll be for tomorrow... Did I hear someone saying procrastinating?

image.png (7.57 KiB) Viewed 2490 times

Could not help taking a few to add to the ingredients

What an explosion of fragrances, hopefully I will find the same bouquet in the final product

[NZChris]

18g/l of juniper etc. will louche like crazy at 45% whether you run it in the boiler or a basket, so have spare neutral left over to dilute it with.

I can't think of a good reason to put star anise in a gin. I'd only be game to try it in a small experimental run.

[howie]

i have a botanical list i haven't tried yet, with the ingredients of 'Spring 44 - Old Tom Gin'
their known botanicals is supposed to be-
juniper, coriander, galangal, lemongrass,orris root & pomelo
sounds good.
if i can't get galangal or pomelo, i might substitute them with ginger and grapefruit.

i have also used anise ok in a couple of gins, but only 0.12gms/litre (or 1 x anise point)

[Saltbush Bill]

I agree with Chris.....star anise will likely be over powering.

[Garouda]

Thanks a lot, but I got the information a bit late. We got some rain last night and as it occurs too often, power shut down in the village where they have the only cell tower I can catch from here...
Here I'm on solar cells, but no internet when the phone shows:"no service" It just came back a few minutes ago...
OK, I followed your advice, disassembled the still and removed star anise and replace it by 1.4gr of lemon grass...

[Garouda]

18g/l of juniper etc. will louche like crazy at 45% whether you run it in the boiler or a basket, so have spare neutral left over to dilute it with.

I can't think of a good reason to put star anise in a gin. I'd only be game to try it in a small experimental run.

Thanks for the critics, but what do you suggest, what would be your ideal list of botanicals?

[Garouda]

i have a botanical list i haven't tried yet, with the ingredients of 'Spring 44 - Old Tom Gin'
their known botanicals is supposed to be-
juniper, coriander, galangal, lemongrass,orris root & pomelo
sounds good.
if i can't get galangal or pomelo, i might substitute them with ginger and grapefruit.
i have also used anise ok in a couple of gins, but only 0.12gms/litre (or 1 x anise point)

juniper, coriander, galangal, lemongrass,orris root & pomelo, do you use this % rule?
x = Juniper berry
x/2 = coriander
x/10 = angelica cassia, cinnamon, licorice, bitter almond, grains of paradise
x/100 = bitter & sweet orange peel, lemon peel, ginger orris root, cardamon, nutmeg, savory, chamomile

The only ingredient I can't find is orris root, I have galangal, lemon grass, pomelo in the garden, juniperus berries and coriander seeds from the shops.

[NZChris]

The only ingredient I can't find is orris root...

Don't let that hold you up, but keep it on your shopping list. I grow my own so that obtaining it isn't a problem.

[howie]

i have a botanical list i haven't tried yet, with the ingredients of 'Spring 44 - Old Tom Gin'
their known botanicals is supposed to be-
juniper, coriander, galangal, lemongrass,orris root & pomelo
sounds good.
if i can't get galangal or pomelo, i might substitute them with ginger and grapefruit.
i have also used anise ok in a couple of gins, but only 0.12gms/litre (or 1 x anise point)

juniper, coriander, galangal, lemongrass,orris root & pomelo, do you use this % rule?
x = Juniper berry
x/2 = coriander
x/10 = angelica cassia, cinnamon, licorice, bitter almond, grains of paradise
x/100 = bitter & sweet orange peel, lemon peel, ginger orris root, cardamon, nutmeg, savory, chamomile

The only ingredient I can't find is orris root, I have galangal, lemon grass, pomelo in the garden, juniperus berries and coriander seeds from the shops.

yes, i use that % rule, now i have started to tweak it.
i have put anise in the x/100 section because it's so strong, but might double it to x/50 next time, see what happens.
i've mainly done several 1l experimental runs at the moment, using the OEG method and several recipes.
i'm only just building up a stock, as i was drinking it as fast as i made it

[Garouda]

All botanicals in a muslin, with a copper wire to keep everything in place

I have put anise in the x/100 section because it's so strong, but might double it to x/50 next time, see what happens.
I've mainly done several 1l experimental runs at the moment, using the OEG method and several recipes.
I'm only just building up a stock, as I was drinking it as fast as I made it

Thanks for all those hints. BTW what is the OEG method? Another question, what is your initial juniper berries weight? I took 18g/litre without any problem of milky clouds or whatsoever.
At first sight my gin seems to be interesting, I need to leave it for a couple of days before making any judgment.

No comment, it works...

[still_stirrin]

I have put anise in the x/100 section because it's so strong, but might double it to x/50 next time, see what happens.
I've mainly done several 1l experimental runs at the moment, using the OEG method and several recipes.
I'm only just building up a stock, as I was drinking it as fast as I made it

....what is the OEG method? https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 4#p7092919[/]

....what is your initial juniper berries weight? <— see OEG’s in the T&T forum linked above.

I took 18g/litre without any problem of milky clouds or whatsoever. At first sight my gin seems to be interesting, I need to leave it for a couple of days before making any judgment.

[Garouda]

I removed everything to make it clearer!

Thanks a lot! I went through so many pages, as you can see, I've been a member for so many years. Sometimes we are overwhelmed by information... Not always the right one. And some people aren't very precise, a strip of this, a pinch of that... I have a laboratory scale and will always communicate real values.
I like this KISS recipe, Juniper, Coriander and citrus. Eat a tangerine and keep the skin;- Mildly crush 12 grams of juniper berries;
- Mildly crush 3 grams of coriander seeds;
Actually this is what I did not understand from other recipes, low citrus...On the other hand, at first sight my gin isn't that bad at all, wait and see...
The only discrepancy relates to the method, I built a Gin Basket, and it works, so I'm carrying on using it!
The weather is becoming hot here, so no vodka or Whisky, which was my third project, until December... But only rum I have one fermented batch done, the second one will start tomorrow morning. Stripping run of the first batch, tomorrow...

[Bushman]

OEG stands for Odin’s Easy Gin.

[Garouda]

OEG stands for Odin’s Easy Gin.

Thanks mate!

[howie]

[/quote]
Thanks for all those hints. BTW what is the OEG method? Another question, what is your initial juniper berries weight? I took 18g/litre without any problem of milky clouds or whatsoever.
At first sight my gin seems to be interesting, I need to leave it for a couple of days before making any judgment.gin basket in place.png
[/quote]
assuming you've read the OEG thread pointed out by SS, Odin advises 12gm/L in his method.
i upped the last run to 15gm, but that's only 1 week old, too early to judge.
all my recent gins have louched around 45-50%, but i put everything in the boiler which extracts more.(or nearly everything you put in, i think)
apparently you shouldn't have louching because it looks like you are using vapour infusion method.
i really don't care about drinking louched gin and if my mates don't like it, they know what to do.
just out of interest, after you've finished the run, have a chew on the botanicals.
it would be interesting to see if there's any taste left in them.

[Rrmuf]

Hi, I highly recommend reading up on Odin's Easy Gin and go through the discussion around it.
Furthermore, the table you use for calibrating the amounts of botanicals is pretty good to start with. The only thing I found a bit off was Cassia (too strong) but those were early days so I think i did something else wrong.
Good luck.

[Garouda]

Hi, I highly recommend reading up on Odin's Easy Gin and go through the discussion around it.
Furthermore, the table you use for calibrating the amounts of botanicals is pretty good to start with. The only thing I found a bit off was Cassia (too strong) but those were early days so I think i did something else wrong.
Good luck.

Thanks a lot! Indeed, when I started the distillation and collected the first samples, I got the feeling that using cinnamon was a mistake, Cassia, is something I can hardly find here. When I blended the different bottles this morning, I felt I got something special, but not a Gordon's Gin...Which in fact was almost my target though. I'm from Belgium, and in my country, it's either Gin Tonic, or Gin Orange, myself I was fan of Negroni, but this is out of scope where I live now...

[Garouda]

Thanks for all those hints. BTW what is the OEG method? Another question, what is your initial juniper berries weight? I took 18g/litre without any problem of milky clouds or whatsoever.
At first sight my gin seems to be interesting, I need to leave it for a couple of days before making any judgment.gin basket in place.png
[/quote]
assuming you've read the OEG thread pointed out by SS, Odin advises 12gm/L in his method.
i upped the last run to 15gm, but that's only 1 week old, too early to judge.
all my recent gins have louched around 45-50%, but i put everything in the boiler which extracts more.(or nearly everything you put in, i think)
apparently you shouldn't have louching because it looks like you are using vapour infusion method.
i really don't care about drinking louched gin and if my mates don't like it, they know what to do.
just out of interest, after you've finished the run, have a chew on the botanicals.
it would be interesting to see if there's any taste left in them.
[/quote]
Well, I dismantled the still this afternoon without cleaning the gin basket. My next priority is to have the still ready for a rum stripping run tomorrow. For your information, I noticed that the last drops coming out of the condenser got a nice pine fragrance and I collected one litre @ 0% just to bring down the ABV while adding some flavour... No louching at all in my case! Indeed, it was vapour infusion. I'm happy with the result. For all the people who are interested in this hobby, I need to tell you that I've been reading books, designing stills for many years before making it for real…

[Garouda]

18g/l of juniper etc. will louche like crazy at 45% whether you run it in the boiler or a basket, so have spare neutral left over to dilute it with.

Well, I'm afraid you're wrong...

[NZChris]

I guess my basket is more efficient at extracting flavor than yours.

[Rrmuf]

Likewise, using maceration for botanicals, my distillate @45% ABV will louch with even 15g / l. NB. There are other botanicals in the mix as well.
BL: I agree with NZChris that it is a good idea to have some neutral at the ready to handle the louching if you consider that problematic.

[Garouda]

I wish I could share some with all those who helped me with their comments on this thread One bottle is gone, the other one on the table does not have a very long life expectation, fortunately some others are waiting...

I eventually sipped my gin, and it's more than OK...
I guess the reason why I did not get any louching is that I did not crunch the botanicals.
On the other hand, most of the threads here admit some 30-35 grs. botanicals/litre neutral.

[Garouda]

it looks like you are using vapour infusion method.
i really don't care about drinking louched gin and if my mates don't like it, they know what to do.
just out of interest, after you've finished the run, have a chew on the botanicals.
it would be interesting to see if there's any taste left in them.

Indeed, I used a gin basket in the vapour path.
Like you I wouldn't care about louched gin, I'm a pastis drinker (maceration only so far).

At the end of my spirit run, noticing there was still a juniper like flavour in the output, I carried on extracting as much flavour as possible, even when the alcohol was already gone. When I opened my boiler, it was almost empty...

I followed your advice and chewed some remaining botanicals, indeed, there was still taste in it.

[Wozza]

Likewise, using maceration for botanicals, my distillate @45% ABV will louch with even 15g / l. NB. There are other botanicals in the mix as well.
BL: I agree with NZChris that it is a good idea to have some neutral at the ready to handle the louching if you consider that problematic.

Just to throw my 2c in...I'm up to 15g/litre juniper (and the same bill for fresh citrus peel). Lightly crushed and macerate in 43%. Strain and take 450ml/litre after the first cloudy 10-20ml. I cut to 43%. No louching so far (except in my micro stove top still when everything went into the boiler).