Spicey gin

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tchib
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Spicey gin

Post by tchib »

So i want to make a new gin. I'm pretty happy with my London dry recipe but I want to make a few variant kinds. Namely spice themed. Who has some good suggestions for spice combination? I'm thinking a peppery one, a bitter anise one and a more old world spice one... Very undecided and would like an input from you fine people.
I'm not ruling out fruit and floral variants either but I'd need to be convinced
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NZChris
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by NZChris »

Use a small still and make a lot of small batches with it.
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by howie »

as chris says, a small gin still is great for experiments
coincidentally i did my first spicy test run 12 days ago.
i try to use that X x 10, X x 100 formula for the botanicals for starting a new recipe.
so the 1L run was...
juniper 20gm
coriander 10gm
angelica 2 gm
cinnamon 2gm
tumeric 0.2gm
cardoman 0.2gm
fenugreek 0.2gm
fennel 0.2gm
orris 0.2gm
peppercorns 0.2gm
anise 0.2gm
ginger 0.37gm (hand slipped :) )
cloves 0.2gm
cumin 0.2gm
allspice 0.2gm
smells ok, tastes interesting, i will give it another few weeks before i start changing it.
i did a first test run of 'green tea gin' last week, so far, the jury's out on that one.
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tchib
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by tchib »

Wow, a real spice box! Yes I should invest in a mini still I think 😂
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by Oatmeal »

I just started learning to make gin, starting with OEG. Second run I added 1 crushed cardamom pod. Too much cardamom. Third run 2g of pink peppercorns . That turned out nice, if a bit pink peppery! Made this weeks g&t with 3/4 pink peppercorn and 1/4 cardamom gin, and it was delicious...

In sum gin is a land of contrasts.

Please post your delicious recipie when you get it nailed down :wink:
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by Andrew_90 »

tchib wrote: Sat Feb 12, 2022 11:38 pm So i want to make a new gin. I'm pretty happy with my London dry recipe but I want to make a few variant kinds. Namely spice themed. Who has some good suggestions for spice combination? I'm thinking a peppery one, a bitter anise one and a more old world spice one... Very undecided and would like an input from you fine people.
I'm not ruling out fruit and floral variants either but I'd need to be convinced
Care to share your London Dry recipe? I am struggling.
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by Pin »

Hi I’m trying to make a London dry gin would you share you recipe
Thanks
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tchib
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by tchib »

So sorry not to have seen this sooner. I meddled with London dry many times before I landed on my golden ratio.
10 part juniper
2.5 part coriander seed, whole
1part fresh lime (any strong citrus will do) only the top layer of skin.
.5 part pepper
.15 part cardimum
.15 part star anise

I'm upping the citrus and replacing the pepper with cubeb berries soon, will report. :ewink:
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tchib
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by tchib »

Pin wrote: Sat Feb 19, 2022 6:40 am Hi I’m trying to make a London dry gin would you share you recipe
Thanks
Forgot to add, crush lightly all the ingredients and boil in the pot 40% abv, cut off around 75% coming off the still
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by TwoSheds »

tchib wrote: Thu Mar 03, 2022 1:25 am 1part fresh lime (any strong citrus will do) only the top layer of skin.
Sounds like you mean lime zest, right?

Looks like a solid recipe! I might give this one a try. Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by SeeSeeVeeEmm »

Hey! Try adding some rye to your mash bill, I think a lightly rye’d gin would be good, and wouldn’t hinder the other flavors. Quite the opposite actually, I presume it would enhance the juniper and floral flavors due to the “herby” spicyness of the rye.Other than that I think playing around with different types of spice would be super interesting, for example the spice from a roasted jalapeño is different from peppercorns, which is different from habanero, etc etc.
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by Wozza »

tchib wrote: Sat Feb 12, 2022 11:38 pm So i want to make a new gin. I'm pretty happy with my London dry recipe but I want to make a few variant kinds. Namely spice themed. Who has some good suggestions for spice combination? I'm thinking a peppery one, a bitter anise one and a more old world spice one... Very undecided and would like an input from you fine people.
I'm not ruling out fruit and floral variants either but I'd need to be convinced
Get some small bottles and add whatever you fancy to your standard gin. Leave for a week or two and you're good to go. I've tried chocolate nibs, pepper and lime, strawberries, blueberries, kaffir lime, rhubarb, blood orange, saffron and shiraz grapes so far (blood orange was the winner by a nose).
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by howie »

i have to report that i'm very happy with the outcome of the spicy gin from earlier in this thread.
it's 8 weeks old now and i've just had a sneaky swig from the bottle :)
i've already done another 3l test run last week without changing anything yet.
i'll have to run it past my gin addled mates for final approval, but looking good so far :thumbup:
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by Oatmeal »

I took a stab at a spicy gin, all my previous being variations of Odin's easy gin.

1 litre
20g juniper
10g coriander
2g grains of paradise
1.5ish g Orris
.25esque dried orange peel
And 1 chai tea bag with:
Black tea, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, cloves, star anise.

Drinking the 50ml after the 400ml cut, and it's good! Seems to be a bunch of black tea flavors here. Probably could have Included it in the cut.
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by howie »

Oatmeal wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 6:32 pm I took a stab at a spicy gin, all my previous being variations of Odin's easy gin.

1 litre
20g juniper
10g coriander
2g grains of paradise
1.5ish g Orris
.25esque dried orange peel
And 1 chai tea bag with:
Black tea, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, cloves, star anise.

Drinking the 50ml after the 400ml cut, and it's good! Seems to be a bunch of black tea flavors here. Probably could have Included it in the cut.
sounds good.
did 1 x tea bag give enough flavour, what weight was the teabag?
i might try that combo with rooibos tea i acquired recently.
apparently rooibos tea hasn't got any caffeine, and no tannins.
described as "smooth and sweet with a hint of vanilla"
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by Oatmeal »

Just made it last nigh, so it'll have to settle in. I'm using a kitchen scale, so not too accurate on the lesser weights, but the rooibos chai tea I considered using was 2g total, so I'm guessing about that.

This morning getting a lot more juniper in the smell, but plenty of clove and cinnamon and anise influence last night in smell and taste. So far very pleased, but I'll update.

Being able to use the tea was quite convenient!
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by Vurumai »

NZChris wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 12:55 am Use a small still and make a lot of small batches with it.
Preach. I just made gin with ancho and some other peppers and the flavors that come out in maceration and then what is left after distillation is unpredictable. The chili gin tastes like earthy potatoes with a little heat. Very strange.
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by NZChris »

Vurumai wrote: Tue Apr 12, 2022 4:40 am
NZChris wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 12:55 am Use a small still and make a lot of small batches with it.
Preach. I just made gin with ancho and some other peppers and the flavors that come out in maceration and then what is left after distillation is unpredictable. The chili gin tastes like earthy potatoes with a little heat. Very strange.
Is it nice?
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by Vurumai »

Honestly Chris, naw. It is nothing I would sip on and no idea what kind of cocktail to make with it. Maybe a bloody mary to add a little heat but it is just a little and subtle. Probably won’t try this again.
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by NormandieStill »

howie wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 2:00 am as chris says, a small gin still is great for experiments
coincidentally i did my first spicy test run 12 days ago.
i try to use that X x 10, X x 100 formula for the botanicals for starting a new recipe.
so the 1L run was...
juniper 20gm
coriander 10gm
angelica 2 gm
cinnamon 2gm
tumeric 0.2gm
cardoman 0.2gm
fenugreek 0.2gm
fennel 0.2gm
orris 0.2gm
peppercorns 0.2gm
anise 0.2gm
ginger 0.37gm (hand slipped :) )
cloves 0.2gm
cumin 0.2gm
allspice 0.2gm
smells ok, tastes interesting, i will give it another few weeks before i start changing it.
i did a first test run of 'green tea gin' last week, so far, the jury's out on that one.
I didn't have the orris, and I only had cassius rather than genuine cinnamon (which came out hot in the tails). But I just ran a test batch of this last night and even diluted down straight off the still it seems tasty. Gonna give it a couple of weeks to calm down a little and then I'll report back.

I've seen pairing suggestions for gin that are alternatives to the G+T. Two stand out as being potentially amazing with this gin. Ginger beer. And tomato juice (a ginny Bloody Mary). Thanks for the recipe.
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by NZChris »

I've never used cinnamon in gin. Cassia is my go to and I've never noticed it to be too 'in your face'. I topped up my Cassia jar last week.
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by NormandieStill »

NZChris wrote: Thu Jun 08, 2023 11:48 pm I've never used cinnamon in gin. Cassia is my go to and I've never noticed it to be too 'in your face'. I topped up my Cassia jar last week.
It's not bad. But off the still, it was the one stand-out flavour, and in the tails (5ml jars I collected after the OEG-style hearts cut) it very suddenly became quite strong. Not the whole flavour profile of cassia, more the slightly soapy, fiery component.

I'd like to try the exact same recipe with cinammon and see what difference it makes.
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Cassia and Cinnamon flavours always intensify quickly toward the tail end of a gin run in my experience, working back through the jars from the point where they become too strong can be a useful cut reference point, that is if you make the same recipe often enough.
NormandieStill wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2023 12:27 am Not the whole flavour profile of cassia, more the slightly soapy, fiery component.
As far as I know cassia is used more often rather than cinnamon.
For those who dont know how to tell one from the other , this is a helpful link......Ive seen to many packs of both mis labled to trust whats written on the packaging.
The Visual and Taste Difference between Cinnamon and Cassia ~~~~~~> http://www.differencebetween.info/diffe ... and-cassia
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by Renhoekk »

Vurumai wrote: Tue Apr 12, 2022 4:40 am
NZChris wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 12:55 am Use a small still and make a lot of small batches with it.
Preach. I just made gin with ancho and some other peppers and the flavors that come out in maceration and then what is left after distillation is unpredictable. The chili gin tastes like earthy potatoes with a little heat. Very strange.

I add chilli post-distillation…first I macerate the chillies in high proof neutral to extract the capsaicin and other flavours, and then use the tincture to flavour the gin.

I’ve also found that it can produce some weird flavours when added to the distillation, and it’s just never as good as adding it later.
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by NZChris »

Renhoekk wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2023 7:47 pm I add chilli post-distillation…first I macerate the chillies in high proof neutral to extract the capsaicin and other flavours, and then use the tincture to flavour the gin.
I don't recall running with chillies in the boiler.

The closest I've come is Thai Terror. viewtopic.php?t=5887 I still have some and it is nice on it's own, but I've never tried blending it into gin. If you want spicy gin, blending would be worth a try.
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by howie »

NormandieStill wrote: Thu Jun 08, 2023 10:53 pm
howie wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 2:00 am as chris says, a small gin still is great for experiments
coincidentally i did my first spicy test run 12 days ago.
i try to use that X x 10, X x 100 formula for the botanicals for starting a new recipe.
so the 1L run was...
juniper 20gm
coriander 10gm
angelica 2 gm
cinnamon 2gm
tumeric 0.2gm
cardoman 0.2gm
fenugreek 0.2gm
fennel 0.2gm
orris 0.2gm
peppercorns 0.2gm
anise 0.2gm
ginger 0.37gm (hand slipped :) )
cloves 0.2gm
cumin 0.2gm
allspice 0.2gm
smells ok, tastes interesting, i will give it another few weeks before i start changing it.
i did a first test run of 'green tea gin' last week, so far, the jury's out on that one.


I've seen pairing suggestions for gin that are alternatives to the G+T. Two stand out as being potentially amazing with this gin. Ginger beer. And tomato juice (a ginny Bloody Mary). Thanks for the recipe.
my favourite mixer with this (and most other gins) is Schweppes bitter lemon.
about half a 300ml bottle to 30mls of gin keeps me ok on school nights :P
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by SouthwestAl »

Renhoekk wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2023 7:47 pm
I add chilli post-distillation…first I macerate the chillies in high proof neutral to extract the capsaicin and other flavours, and then use the tincture to flavour the gin.

I’ve also found that it can produce some weird flavours when added to the distillation, and it’s just never as good as adding it later.
I had a customer distill a Carolina Reaper Pepper in a Gin Recipe recently - the flavour passes into the Gin quite nicely, but nothing 'hot' passes - what was left in the bowl after distilling though...wow...we had to evacuate the room for a bit after I took the lid off and it was still steaming!

Pepper infusion post-distillation works well though. I dehydrate the peppers first, and then rehydrate them in the Gin, as it avoids any off-green chlorophyll notes that you might get with some peppers.
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by Renhoekk »

SouthwestAl wrote: Sun Jun 11, 2023 2:54 am
I had a customer distill a Carolina Reaper Pepper in a Gin Recipe recently - the flavour passes into the Gin quite nicely, but nothing 'hot' passes - what was left in the bowl after distilling though...wow...we had to evacuate the room for a bit after I took the lid off and it was still steaming!

Pepper infusion post-distillation works well though. I dehydrate the peppers first, and then rehydrate them in the Gin, as it avoids any off-green chlorophyll notes that you might get with some peppers.
And Reapers have a nice, very distinctive flavour….which you experience for about six seconds before your face melts off :lol:
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Re: Spicey gin

Post by Hevda »

I've used Szechuan red peppercorns in a batch of gin and it gives a good spicey flavour
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