Aging gin in clay?

[Dunkydonuts]

There are a few gins out there that are aged for up to 6 months in clay or terracotta amphoras. Has anyone tried this, is there anything to it and worth exploring or is it a lot romantic marketing waffle?

[NZChris]

If it is just marketing hype, you won't know until you try it yourself. It only takes six months to get your answer.

I have gin that is aged on wood, but I've never aged in clay so I can't help you with that.

[quadra]

Make sure you hold back a control sample in glass to compare against

[tommysb]

I would imagine it does do something. There is oxygenation through clay and amphorae. I have done 'pour overs' (winemaking term) with gin , to increase oxygenation and try to accelerate the softening/marrrying that happens with time. I feel that it improved things.

Another thing that suggests oxygen affects the marrying or just affects things in general is the technique of pumping oxygen through an air-stone, and its affect on flavour. This accelerates reduction of harshness after dilution.

You could try the airstone technique initially - it will take a lot less than 6 months.

Is it romantic marketing waffle? Yes, that's why they're telling us about it! But that doesn't mean there isn't SOMETHING to it!

[Saltbush Bill]

If you do experiment with this be careful what clay vessels you use.
Many are glazed using materials that contain lead from memory.

[SouthwestAl]

I've been hearing quite a lot of late about resting in soapstone vessels, or passing over soap stone granules for an improved mouth feel. Clay, or porcelain might be along the same lines. I was thinking of taking apart a refillable carbon filter and putting some ground soapstone into it and filtering through it to see if there was any noticeable difference.

Interested to hear what you find out!

[Dunkydonuts]

In theory then it’s plausible. Clay is going to behave much like wood in that it’s porous but not impart tannin and wood flavour. So it also needs to be untreated to avoid any nasty contamination.

In essence though the next question needs to be why age a gin, that surely means making a gin that needs to age otherwise it’s just a fancy exercise. I’m considering maybe doing a bit of a mythbusters experiment and using a recipe I have which uses bergamot and winter savoury both of which add great flavour but are also a bit bitter. Perhaps these flavours would soften and evolve with a bit of age?

Also keeping to a small bottle say 1 litre hopefully that 6 months wait could shorten because it’s a bloody long time for an experiment.

[NormandieStill]

In theory then it’s plausible. Clay is going to behave much like wood in that it’s porous but not impart tannin and wood flavour. So it also needs to be untreated to avoid any nasty contamination.

In essence though the next question needs to be why age a gin, that surely means making a gin that needs to age otherwise it’s just a fancy exercise. I’m considering maybe doing a bit of a mythbusters experiment and using a recipe I have which uses bergamot and winter savoury both of which add great flavour but are also a bit bitter. Perhaps these flavours would soften and evolve with a bit of age?

Also keeping to a small bottle say 1 litre hopefully that 6 months wait could shorten because it’s a bloody long time for an experiment.

Bols (Dutch manufacturer) ship some of their oude genever in ceramic bottles. I've got one in my bottle pile in the garden! I've been thinking about this idea for a few years as I have a friend who is a potter and who could in theory make me some custom containers for ageing spirits in. I also think that depending on the clay used and how it is fired, you can play with the porosity. I'll get in touch with him and see if he has any ideas on the matter.

[Tōtōchtin]

A bojito from Mexico would work well for a vessel .
Tōtō

[Dunkydonuts]

Bols (Dutch manufacturer) ship some of their oude genever in ceramic bottles. I've got one in my bottle pile in the garden! I've been thinking about this idea for a few years as I have a friend who is a potter and who could in theory make me some custom containers for ageing spirits in. I also think that depending on the clay used and how it is fired, you can play with the porosity. I'll get in touch with him and see if he has any ideas on the matter.

Very true, those oude genever bottles are all glazed though so I would imagine they pretty much have the same qualities as glass.

I’d love to hear what your potter friend says.

[TwoSheds]

I believe some of the better Lebanese Arak is aged in clay bottles.

As Normandie mentioned there are quite a few variables. Clay types vary broadly and even then the level of fire will impact their porosity and other qualities.

I would think unglazed would be desired. The glaze is essentially glass and would be just as impermiable as glass. Good news, they don't allow lead in it anymore (at least in the US and I would assume most other places) but there are often other heavy metals that contribute to the colors, so again, unglazed is probably the way to go.

Keep us posted!

TwoSheds

[Stilljoy McFlavour]

I know some baiju is aged in large clay pots that are buried in the ground and covered with soil for at least one year. Since I never tried baiju, i cannot tell you what it does to the taste

I’d be happy to hear what you learn

[Renhoekk]

I once put some 45% neutral in a 3L unglazed clay vessel, for 6 months. I wanted a blank canvas to see what the clay added, if anything. Outcome: a lot of evaporation, and there was a distinct mineral/earthy note to the spirit. Like drinking alcoholic spring water. So it does do something beyond marketing hype, but whether or not it makes an improvement worth the time and losses is subjective.