Arto's Gin Recipe V3

[artooks]

So in keeping with Arto's recipe I have left the Gin to settle.

After 1 week odd the nose has altered significantly, the offensive smell is gone and Gin smells rather pleasant now. I have set one bottle aside to taste at various points in the maturation process. The gin tastes really good, really nice.

I have two bottles just maturing and I will not though these for at least 4 weeks.

After lots of introspection I believe that I need to concentrate on the source, the neutral. I am not sure that I am starting with neutral that is up to scratch, this in my opinion is simply due to my inability to make cuts correctly. Start wrong, end wrong. The next time I will load my fractions into the car and seek out someone with a wealth of experience to do the cuts with me.

The biggest revelation to me has been the affect that time has on the finished product. Was always taught that spirits do not age in the bottle, whether this is true or not I know not, what I do know is that Arto's recipe definitely changed for the better in the bottle.

Arto, I will make your recipe again as it is nice.

Hi Andrew you do not need anyone to help you with cuts, please bear with me I will help you to the best of my knowledge, so next time please lets do this together, and at the end you will see that it is not that hard to do, lets start to do that together next time, starting from scratch, please pm me.

[malkor]

Hi Arto,

very nice receipe, I am willing to try it, however it seems pretty difficult to find Lindentree Blossom around here.

Would you suggest any substitute for this?

Also, if I don't want to grind it, how long should I let it macerate? the usual 20-24h at 63%??

thanks!

[artooks]

Hi Arto,

very nice receipe, I am willing to try it, however it seems pretty difficult to find Lindentree Blossom around here.

Would you suggest any substitute for this?

Also, if I don't want to grind it, how long should I let it macerate? the usual 20-24h at 63%??

thanks!

Hi,

You can just discard the lindentea blossom if you cannot find it, no need to substitute if you do not want to grind it then do not even crush the berries with mortar and pestle just put everything in a jar but at %60 ABV alcohol but for 24 hrs but you need to dilute it back 43% prior distilling the reason why we use %60 percent is because we do not crush anything it will extract the flavor of the botanicals at a very fast rate also please keep the dried peels in a separate jar so that you can put them in the vapor path easily.

[Dutch41]

Hi Artooks, what's your opinion regarding macerating for 24 hours compared to 2 weeks. I've seen both but wanted an opinion because I will be doing my first gin distillation over at my buddies shed next month. Thanks and let me know if anything needs to be crushed or whole.

very nice receipe, I am willing to try it, however it seems pretty difficult to find Lindentree Blossom around here.

Would you suggest any substitute for this?

Also, if I don't want to grind it, how long should I let it macerate? the usual 20-24h at 63%??

thanks!

Hi,

You can just discard the lindentea blossom if you cannot find it, no need to substitute if you do not want to grind it then do not even crush the berries with mortar and pestle just put everything in a jar but at %60 ABV alcohol but for 24 hrs but you need to dilute it back 43% prior distilling the reason why we use %60 percent is because we do not crush anything it will extract the flavor of the botanicals at a very fast rate also please keep the dried peels in a separate jar so that you can put them in the vapor path easily.

[Mares]

Sorry for jumping in, one question. I used to do maceration at 43% abv (Odin's model) but recently moved to maceration at 60% abv (to see if any difference), then dilution to 43% prior spirit run.

Doing small 4,5 liters batches, I put 25g/l of juniper into 4,5l neutral for maceration at 43%, which leads to 25g/l x 4,5l = 112,5g of juniper per batch (no need to mention other ingredients).

When doing maceration at 60%, I put 1,1 liter less water meaning my recipe is macerated in 3,4l of neutral. Just after pouring everything into my pot, I add also 1,1l of water to dilute it to 43% and get 4,5l batch ready for spirit run. Should I change recipe (quantity of juniper) to different grams because it is macerating now in 3,4 neutral @ 60%? But again, final quantity is 4,5l prior to distillation. Eg. 25g/l of juniper x 3.4l = 85g of juniper macerating in 3,4l of neutral at 60%. Should my ratio be changed or the same as macerating in 4,5l neutral at 43%?

[artooks]

Sorry for jumping in, one question. I used to do maceration at 43% abv (Odin's model) but recently moved to maceration at 60% abv (to see if any difference), then dilution to 43% prior spirit run.

Doing small 4,5 liters batches, I put 25g/l of juniper into 4,5l neutral for maceration at 43%, which leads to 25g/l x 4,5l = 112,5g of juniper per batch (no need to mention other ingredients).

When doing maceration at 60%, I put 1,1 liter less water meaning my recipe is macerated in 3,4l of neutral. Just after pouring everything into my pot, I add also 1,1l of water to dilute it to 43% and get 4,5l batch ready for spirit run. Should I change recipe (quantity of juniper) to different grams because it is macerating now in 3,4 neutral @ 60%? But again, final quantity is 4,5l prior to distillation. Eg. 25g/l of juniper x 3.4l = 85g of juniper macerating in 3,4l of neutral at 60%. Should my ratio be changed or the same as macerating in 4,5l neutral at 43%?

Hi,

I read your question, and understand why you are not sure, first of all the main reason that we are macerating @%60 ABV alcohol is because we do not want to crush the berries so by macerating %60 ABV the extraction from the berries will be much higher and also it will save you from crushing the berries, so going from %43 to %60 that %17 percent difference will help you to extract more without crushing. So if you are using 25 gr/ liter ( which I find very high and will probably louch like crazy I would not past 16gr/liter myself ) and you want to macerate at %60 ABV and then you want to dilute it to %43 ABV for distilling first use.

So in your case first use 3225 ml %60 ABV spirit and put all the 112.5 berries in this after lets say waiting for 12-24 hrs add 1275 ml water and now you will have 4500 ml @ %43 ABV.

I hope I can make this clear for you

[Mares]

Thanks artooks for clarification...so I won't change my maceration bill.

[Terrenum]

Thanks Arto for sharing. I also have been on a Gin journey on may side for a few years now on and off. I have a very good recipe that I will share here eventually but for now I am curious about this one. I just finished preparing the botanicals and will let them soak overnight and distill tomorrow. I have not grinned them but gently crushed in a mortar. Overnight should be fine. The bergamot must contribute a lot to the signature of this gin along with the sage. They go really well together. I am surprised by the limited amount of citrus in your recipe but again the bergamot probably brings a lot of the citrus.
Can wait to try this. I planning a few Christmas gifts!

Cheers

[Terrenum]

Hi Arto,

very nice receipe, I am willing to try it, however it seems pretty difficult to find Lindentree Blossom around here.

Would you suggest any substitute for this?

Also, if I don't want to grind it, how long should I let it macerate? the usual 20-24h at 63%??

thanks!

If you go a a good enough health food store, you should be able to find linden flower tea. I got mine in tea bags and opened them

[Terrenum]

Made this recipe few days ago. The herbs macerated overnight for about 12 hours in 50% alc neutral made from wine.
First impressions the nose seems very balanced. No herb stands out really besides the obvious juniper smell. I may use fresh citrus peel next time. Again, Only my first thoughts but it smells very nice and very promising. My gin are usually more intense so it’s nice to have this one that is more delicate. Will give it few more days and try it.
Thanks for sharing

[OldRanch]

Tried this recipe last week. Followed to the T, and what I got was a very herbal spirit that louched pretty hard (which I don't mind at all)

It's very light on juniper. I got my juniper from a very reliable source as well.

If anyone is a big fan of a juniper-y gin I'd suggest 20 grams instead of 16.

Also the linden and earl grey are a very nice touch. I could even bump the linden up 10-20% if I were to do this again.

As it sits it's more of a gin- inspired herbal spirit than a true gin to my tastes, but I'm sure others will disagree.

I think I'll stick with my default gin recipe for now until I see something new and interesting. Thanks for the contribution Art!

[NormandieStill]

I've made several batches of this but I never had dried sage so always made it without. But since my previous run I learnt that the wild aromatic that grows everywhere in the garden is sage (Or marjoram. It seems to depend who you ask.). Following dosing for cooking I added three times as much fresh as the recipe calls for.

Fresh off the still there's a strong vegetal note that I've not had before. And proofed down to 45% it louched which I've never had before. I'm interested to see how this turns out after a couple of weeks.

My earl grey varies depending on where we shop and this one is a little light on bergamot so that varies things as well.

[tommysb]

Tried this recipe last week. Followed to the T, and what I got was a very herbal spirit that louched pretty hard (which I don't mind at all)

It's very light on juniper. I got my juniper from a very reliable source as well.

If anyone is a big fan of a juniper-y gin I'd suggest 20 grams instead of 16.

Also the linden and earl grey are a very nice touch. I could even bump the linden up 10-20% if I were to do this again.

As it sits it's more of a gin- inspired herbal spirit than a true gin to my tastes, but I'm sure others will disagree.

I think I'll stick with my default gin recipe for now until I see something new and interesting. Thanks for the contribution Art!

I have also tried this recipe, and would say that this is a pretty accurate description! Both on the level of louche and how 'classic' the flavour profile is for a gin.

[Saltbush Bill]

Normandi, you got me interested with that post , Let me start by saying that I grow both Sage and what we call Oregano.
Looking at images on the www it seems to me that the Sage that I grow has an elongated leave and is a greyish blue colour, its quite a large leaf...the images the same as what I grow.
https://www.google.com.au/search?sca_es ... =625&dpr=1
Now when I look at what is called Marjoram on the net it reminds me a lot of what we grow and call Oregano.....a much smaller and rounded leaf.
https://www.google.com.au/search?sca_es ... =625&dpr=1
This lead me to ask google if the two were the same thing " Oregano and Marjoram" .......this was the answer quote
"Marjoram is a milder and sweeter alternative to spicier oregano. Origanum vulgare is the common variety that grows wild in Mediterranean mountainous regions. It lacks the depth of oregano flavor preferred in most cuisines. Origanum vulgare hirtum is considered the true Greek oregano."
The above states that Marjoram is a milder and sweeter alternative to spicier oregano, I can tell you now that Sage tastes and smells nothing like Oregano.....so I have my doubts that its resembles Marjoram either.
Might pay to look into this a bit further in future.

[NormandieStill]

Normandi, you got me interested with that post , Let me start by saying that I grow both Sage and what we call Oregano.
Looking at images on the www it seems to me that the Sage that I grow has an elongated leave and is a greyish blue colour, its quite a large leaf...the images the same as what I grow.
...
Might pay to look into this a bit further in future.

Yup. Would've paid to pay closer attention beforehand. You are of course absolutely right. In my haste and excitement I got my herbs muddled up and made a 2L batch with wild marjoram (which is oregano-like, not sage-like).

Live and learn! When it's had a chance to settle in to it's new proof I'll see whether it's an improvement or not.

[NZChris]

I’ve successfully used both oregano and sage in various gin type spirits, never in the same one. They won’t work if they are a mismatch for the other botanicals.

[MooseMan]

I've used Sage in a Gin recipe too. At very low levels though, so you can't actually "taste" it.
We use Sage in the UK to make "Stuffing" for meats, so I'm not sure I'd want that as a main flavour Gin component anyway!

I can't get Marjoram to grow reliably in my herb bed as we just don't get enough sun hours, but I'd imagine it would work nicely in Gin.

Despite making promises for the last 2 years, I have still not made a batch with Meadowsweet flower in the vapour path, which smells like it should be amazing. Anyone tried that?

[Dutch41]

Arto, thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. I was just commenting on Ted's Fast Fermenting Vodka that I want to do a gin run. I've been very confused on all of the botanicals to go with, there are so many. After seeing your recipe I now know what to go with. Thank you so much, Dutch...