Multi shot gin

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Popeye
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Multi shot gin

Post by Popeye »

Hi! Does anyone has a good technique to make a multi shot gin, distilling botanicals separately?

I was thinking in make concentrates of:
-Base gin: juniper, coriander, angelica
-Citrus spirit: lemon and orange peel
-Spicy spirit: mix of peppers
-Others..

-Do you think it's a good idea to make them concentrate and then dilute with neutral?
-I'm only using fixatives in base gin, are the others going to loose flavor if I store them for a time?
-How do you recommend to do the blends? I was thinking in just make bottles with different percentages and then taste which one I like more.

Any idea or comment is good for me! Thanks!!
OtisT
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Re: Multi shot gin

Post by OtisT »

Hi Popeye. I suggest you start by checking out some of the posts by NZChris on gin. I think he refers to that process as creating gin essence. Use the google search on HD to search for “nzchris gin” and go from there.
Otis’ Pot and Thumper, Dimroth Condenser: Pot-n-Thumper/Dimroth
Learning to Toast: Toasting Wood
Polishing Spirits with Fruitwood: Fruitwood
Badmotivator’s Barrels: Badmo Barrels
ginfitz
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Re: Multi shot gin

Post by ginfitz »

There is a very interesting podcast that I suggest you listen to:
Clara Robbins does this:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/c ... 0487145500
Around 50:00 she explains the process.
I distilled 20 isolates and it was very educational. But some of them I will probably never use (like coffee, rosehips and lavender which I dislike but which some people have used). I think it's great to make a base gin with juniper, coriander, angelica (but not so much angelica as too over power the gin) and orris root. Then once you've distilled that to your taste, you can add isolates like lemongrass, lemon and other citrus peels, cassia, chamomile, cardamon, etc., etc., etc.
For me personally, I really I like adding lemongrass and the lemon peel isolates but part of this is because I grow both of them and use my own. I also grow coffee and do not like that in my gin.
So I think distilling isolates is a great exercise!
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Twisted Brick
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Re: Multi shot gin

Post by Twisted Brick »

Great podcast, ginfitz, tanks for sharing. Very informative to learn that Clara macerates individual botanicals at 50gm per liter of 140pf neutral for 24hrs and then once distilled (in glass) she proofs down to 50abv to conduct her tests. After listening to her methods, it totally makes sense to test this way - way less hit-or-miss.
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Popeye
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Re: Multi shot gin

Post by Popeye »

Thanks ginfitz!
In your experience what do you think it's the best way to blend? Maybe adding one by one to base gin or preparing/tasting different options and then adjusting amount and type of botanical?

I've already started to prepare my isolates, sharing results here when done!
ginfitz
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Re: Multi shot gin

Post by ginfitz »

When I first started blending, I added the isolates to a base gin of juniper and coriander. The problem is measuring the amounts because you have to be really, really precise. I wasn’t precise enough to get an exact recipe that I could scale up scientifically but I got a handle on the ingredients that I like in a gin. Now I normally make a one shot gin with 8 to 10 botanicals and, if I feel it lacks something, tweak it afterwards with an isolate or two.

For example, several weeks ago I distilled an isolate from 2 kilos of wildflower honey mixed with 1.7L of 40% neutral. It preserved the floral notes of the honey without the sweetness though it is slightly bitter. I added some to tweak a one shot gin I’d made the month before and, at least to my taste, it improved it.

Another thing I’ve played around with is using a small gin basket (a Stilldragon GB4) to make the floral isolates like lavender, chamomile, elderberry. I thought that maybe the the floral notes would carry over better. For those, I put 50 grams in the gin basket and then 1.75L of 40% neutral in a 3 gallon boiler. For all the other isolates I simply put 50 grams of the botanical in the boiler together with 1.75L of 40% neutral. And then, copying Clara, after distillation I dilute down to 50%.

I have also experimented with small scale cold or vacuum distillation to make isolates. It worked great for cucumber but not as well for some local fruits like mango, papaya, and guanabana (soursop). I cobbled together my system (which is not a rotovap) from a SS 3 gallon boiler, and a bunch of SS tubing and parts, vacuum pump, a couple of aquarium pumps, a Bain Marie and a cooler filled with ice.
Popeye
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Re: Multi shot gin

Post by Popeye »

Thanks for sharing, probably that's a good way to make better spirits and for sure I'll do it.

I've got a silly question I think.. what about cuts when distilling isolates? Do you think it's necessary to do them or simply collect all the distillate until 40-50% ABV(obviously except first ml).
ginfitz
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Re: Multi shot gin

Post by ginfitz »

I go down to below 20% when things start to really slow down. Even 10% or even less, depending on the smell. I'm not an expert so take what you think is right as all of this is according to your own taste. All I can say is that it's a really fun exercise and the payoff is when you drink your own gin!
ginfitz
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Re: Multi shot gin

Post by ginfitz »

Sorry, don't know if I answered your question correctly. Because I start with 40% neutral alcohol in the boiler, I end up with an isolate well above 50% which I then dilute down to 50%. I stop distilling only when I've recovered almost all of the alcohol or when I don't like the smell. So I don't really do cuts.
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NZChris
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Re: Multi shot gin

Post by NZChris »

My base gin for these types of experiments is five times the botanical bill. I've never tried using single strength gin, as I don't think it would give enough room to move when adding other distillates. You must have a very desirable neutral for diluting your final selection to your preferred flavor intensity.

I always use a weight of botanicals at least five times the needed strength and record the weight of botanical per liter of finished essence so that I can reverse engineer the gin after settling on a blend.

Proofing down before blending sounds like a bad idea. All of my essences are stored as they were when they came off the still.
B_Stilling
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Re: Multi shot gin

Post by B_Stilling »

NZChris wrote: Fri May 13, 2022 10:40 pm Proofing down before blending sounds like a bad idea. All of my essences are stored as they were when they came off the still.
Alcohol keeps flavor better than water so this seems like the smart thing to do. Also saves space I guess!
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