Home Distiller

hawkwing wrote: ↑Mon Oct 16, 2023 7:54 am I really liked the citrus. Too bad it goes away.

Is it the citrus going away or, as suggested earlier, the juniper starts to come forward with a couple weeks? I am consistenty surprised how the juniper takes a couple weeks to take a step forward.

BrewinBrian44 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 16, 2023 5:11 pm

howie wrote: ↑Mon Oct 16, 2023 4:21 pm

hawkwing wrote: ↑Mon Oct 16, 2023 7:54 am I really liked the citrus. Too bad it goes away.

it could be time to try and get a bit more adventurous with the botanicals after 6 x OEGs.

I swapped out some of the tangerine peel with a bit of lemon peel and it’s got a more complex citrus character I really like. I also added Orris root to help bind the flavors.

For the juniper, I’ve experimented with leaving a certain portion of the berries un-crushed and it’s added another nuance to the flavor.

I always make sure to measure my botanical weights precisely as possible so I get consistent results.

My tweaks are subtle and I like this version a little more than the original recipe . The cut points have been spot on to the original OEG. If I go 10ml past the last jar, the flavor falls off a cliff.

One thing I keep forgetting to try is adding cucumber to the botanicals. I’ve had some commercial gin recently with cucumber in their botanical list and it’s very good. A local distillery by me also makes a gin that incorporates lavender, which is really interesting. At this point I’d be getting pretty far away from the original recipe, so I’d probably post about it in another thread.

I would check the commercial gin with cucumber and see if it's a London Dry Gin or a Gin. If it's a 'Gin' or 'Dry Gin' there's a good chance the cucumber is a blended distillate added afterwards, with some pretty hefty cuts to remove the nasty flavours that you get with cucumber. From memory, the nice part of a cucumber distillate is around the 77% abv mark and doesn't last long. I have only distilled it twice on it's own, once in vapour basket and once macerated very quickly, and around 20% of the product had the nice fresh, melon type flavour - the rest was either rank, or very vegetal.

As for the Juniper - agree with you. I generally have whole Juniper with a smaller amount lightly bruised to release the oils. Crushing them too much cracks the bitter seeds inside I find.

Orris root is great stuff!

Here’s an

update of my first shot at this recipe. It’s a little citrus forward and I would have liked a little more juniper notes but it’s fantastic start down the gin rabbit hole.

Stonecutter wrote: ↑Sat Nov 18, 2023 9:45 am Here’s an

update of my first shot at this recipe. It’s a little citrus forward and I would have liked a little more juniper notes but it’s fantastic start down the gin rabbit hole.

Your link doesn't work, just a heads up.

10-4 it’s just a link to my previous post on page “44”. No worries

Stonecutter wrote: ↑Sat Nov 18, 2023 11:59 am 10-4 it’s just a link to my previous post on page “44”. No worries

Oh yeah the one with the little cutie oranges!
On your next batch, try around 1/3 of the amount of orange you used before, and add lemon zest.
Gives a much "Brighter" flavour in the citrus.

MooseMan wrote: ↑Sat Nov 18, 2023 12:08 pm

Stonecutter wrote: ↑Sat Nov 18, 2023 11:59 am 10-4 it’s just a link to my previous post on page “44”. No worries

Oh yeah the one with the little cutie oranges!
On your next batch, try around 1/3 of the amount of orange you used before, and add lemon zest.
Gives a much "Brighter" flavour in the citrus.

.... a bit off Odin recipe, but on the subject of citrus I've experimented with lemon, lime but one variation that has turned into a keeper for me has been grapefruit peel substituting some but not all the orange. On the whole, I end up with more citrus than just straight orange but we all really like what it brings.

Rrmuf wrote: ↑Thu Nov 23, 2023 7:01 am

MooseMan wrote: ↑Sat Nov 18, 2023 12:08 pm

Stonecutter wrote: ↑Sat Nov 18, 2023 11:59 am 10-4 it’s just a link to my previous post on page “44”. No worries

Oh yeah the one with the little cutie oranges!
On your next batch, try around 1/3 of the amount of orange you used before, and add lemon zest.
Gives a much "Brighter" flavour in the citrus.

.... a bit off Odin recipe, but on the subject of citrus I've experimented with lemon, lime but one variation that has turned into a keeper for me has been grapefruit peel substituting some but not all the orange. On the whole, I end up with more citrus than just straight orange but we all really like what it brings.

It's totally on topic I think, because Odin's Easy Gin was always intended to be a base recipe to build on.

It's funny you say that about grapefruit, I've been using it in most batches lately alongside lemon zest and satsuma peel, as I find it adds a nice bitter citrus bite.

MooseMan wrote: ↑Thu Nov 23, 2023 9:12 am

Rrmuf wrote: ↑Thu Nov 23, 2023 7:01 am

MooseMan wrote: ↑Sat Nov 18, 2023 12:08 pm

Stonecutter wrote: ↑Sat Nov 18, 2023 11:59 am 10-4 it’s just a link to my previous post on page “44”. No worries

Oh yeah the one with the little cutie oranges!
On your next batch, try around 1/3 of the amount of orange you used before, and add lemon zest.
Gives a much "Brighter" flavour in the citrus.

.... a bit off Odin recipe, but on the subject of citrus I've experimented with lemon, lime but one variation that has turned into a keeper for me has been grapefruit peel substituting some but not all the orange. On the whole, I end up with more citrus than just straight orange but we all really like what it brings.

It's totally on topic I think, because Odin's Easy Gin was always intended to be a base recipe to build on.

It's funny you say that about grapefruit, I've been using it in most batches lately alongside lemon zest and satsuma peel, as I find it adds a nice bitter citrus bite.

Exactly. It cuts some of the sweetness of the orange: we love it!

I realise that in 45 pages, this may already have an answer.

I cannot get tangerine here - what would be a good starting point for weight of fresh citrus peels per litre to get something approaching the balance of Odin’s Easy Gin? I would be looking to use a vegetable peeler to get only the pith and none of the white.

NathanScriv wrote: ↑Fri Nov 24, 2023 7:35 pm I realise that in 45 pages, this may already have an answer.

I cannot get tangerine here - what would be a good starting point for weight of fresh citrus peels per litre to get something approaching the balance of Odin’s Easy Gin? I would be looking to use a vegetable peeler to get only the pith and none of the white.

Only one way to find out. Get whatever oranges you can find, peel them and give it a go. You’ll probably be okay. Just keep all the white pith off.

If you want to go by weight of orange peel for this recipe: I’ve concluded 8g of citrus per liter macerated is the sweet spot for me. The “one tangerine” isn’t so precise because they come in different sizes.

I've never weighed fresh peel for this. It's not critical unless you are doing a large batch that would be hard to fix if you really stuffed it up.

IMHO, OEG uses too much citrus. I substitute with whatever I have available on the day and err on the low side.

NathanScriv wrote: ↑Fri Nov 24, 2023 7:35 pm I realise that in 45 pages, this may already have an answer.

I cannot get tangerine here - what would be a good starting point for weight of fresh citrus peels per litre to get something approaching the balance of Odin’s Easy Gin? I would be looking to use a vegetable peeler to get only the pith and none of the white.

If you can add a mix of citrus Nathan, you'll get a more complex flavour for sure.

I don't often measure it any more, but I've just checked my batch notes and it's around 10g of tangerine/satsuma peel (The whole peel not zest, the white pith on these is not bitter) and the zest of half a lemon.
I now also add 3 "Strips" of peel (using a veg peeler, no white) from a grapefruit.

Edit: Sorry, this is for a 2L batch.

Hi Guys,
Bit of a newbie question, please be patient with me
I've been making Odin's gin for a couple of years, the Mrs loves it, and we've tweeked the recipe to just how we like it. I do a stripping run in the T500, then make 2 x 3 litre batches of Odins in an air still for the spirits run, each with 500ml water added prior to distillation, and very nice it is too.
So, if I follow Odin's instructions exactly for each batch - discard 10 ml, then take 400 ml per litre and dilute to about 45% - I am left with three bottles of excellent gin, and a couple of litres of undistllled backset in the still - this tests out at about 10 %
My question is this - can I chuck the backset into my next stripping run and recover the alcohol from it, or is it only fit for waste?
thanks
Steve

I have to wonder why you are only using the t500 to strip and not stripping and then using it to make a spirit run.
The resulting spirit would be much cleaner and make a better gin once run through the air still with botanicals.
Your current process goes against most of what I've learned about making good gin.

Saltbush Bill wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 2:54 am I have to wonder why you are only using the t500 to strip and not stripping and then using it to make a spirit run.
The resulting spirit would be much cleaner and make a better gin once run through the air still with botanicals.
Your current process goes against most of what I've learned about making good gin.

Hi Bill, i'm not sure what your point is here - in a single stripping run using Still Spirits yeast and charcoal, with a bit of care I get a clean, odourless, spirit off of the stripping run. I've tried doing a spirit run in the T500 and the result is no difference whatsoever, although I suppose it depends what you use for the initial fermentation. The recipe is clean spirits > macerate > re-distill. My question was around the potential re-use of. the backset.

Haforn wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 2:39 am Hi Guys,
Bit of a newbie question, please be patient with me
I've been making Odin's gin for a couple of years, the Mrs loves it, and we've tweeked the recipe to just how we like it. I do a stripping run in the T500, then make 2 x 3 litre batches of Odins in an air still for the spirits run, each with 500ml water added prior to distillation, and very nice it is too.
So, if I follow Odin's instructions exactly for each batch - discard 10 ml, then take 400 ml per litre and dilute to about 45% - I am left with three bottles of excellent gin, and a couple of litres of undistllled backset in the still - this tests out at about 10 %
My question is this - can I chuck the backset into my next stripping run and recover the alcohol from it, or is it only fit for waste?
thanks
Steve

Are you distilling with the botanicals in the boiler?

I often run mine in 2l batches, and once I get to my cut off volume of 840ml, I'll then run around another 200ml of "Gin tails" into a separate bottle.
Once I've got a litre of this saved up, I'll add another litre of neutral, approx half the botanicals that I usually add, and run it.
It works well.

Haforn wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 3:27 am Hi Bill, i'm not sure what your point is here - in a single stripping run using Still Spirits yeast and charcoal,

My point is that a stripping run is done hard and fast and removes very little flavour. A stripping run is preformed to collect enough low wines to then preform a spirit run......I've never yet smelled low wines that I thought would cleanup just by using some carbon to filter.
You either have your terminolgies all wrong or your going about making a clean spirit in a very unusual way.
Maybe you mean your doing a single slow one and done spirit run and calling that a stripping run?

MooseMan wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 3:40 am

Haforn wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 2:39 am Hi Guys,
Bit of a newbie question, please be patient with me
I've been making Odin's gin for a couple of years, the Mrs loves it, and we've tweeked the recipe to just how we like it. I do a stripping run in the T500, then make 2 x 3 litre batches of Odins in an air still for the spirits run, each with 500ml water added prior to distillation, and very nice it is too.
So, if I follow Odin's instructions exactly for each batch - discard 10 ml, then take 400 ml per litre and dilute to about 45% - I am left with three bottles of excellent gin, and a couple of litres of undistllled backset in the still - this tests out at about 10 %
My question is this - can I chuck the backset into my next stripping run and recover the alcohol from it, or is it only fit for waste?
thanks
Steve

Are you distilling with the botanicals in the boiler?

I often run mine in 2l batches, and once I get to my cut off volume of 840ml, I'll then run around another 200ml of "Gin tails" into a separate bottle.
Once I've got a litre of this saved up, I'll add another litre of neutral, approx half the botanicals that I usually add, and run it.
It works well.

Hi - no, I'm macerating for a fortnight, then straining the botanicals out, then redistilling. I've got a batch on now, I'll try keeping running for the gin tails that you mention; I'll try your recipe for a second run with that, thanks!

If you have a proper neutral, there won’t be any true “tail alcohols” in your gin boiler remnant. Odens cut offs are because of macerated flavor compounds that he felt weren’t pleasant after 400 ml. I think his cuts were conservative and go farther, but adding the remnants to your stripping should be fine also

Saltbush Bill wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 4:04 am

Haforn wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 3:27 am Hi Bill, i'm not sure what your point is here - in a single stripping run using Still Spirits yeast and charcoal,

My point is that a stripping run is done hard and fast and removes very little flavour. A stripping run is preformed to collect enough low wines to then preform a spirit run......I've never yet smelled low wines that I thought would cleanup just by using some carbon to filter.
You either have your terminolgies all wrong or your going about making a clean spirit in a very unusual way.
Maybe you mean your doing a single slow one and done spirit run and calling that a stripping run?

Thanks Bill, you're probably right, I'm not too hot on the terminology; I've been doing this for a few years but that's based on experimentation in my cellar, and a dialogue going on in my head.
I'll explain. I've got an old T500 that has only one temp setting, off or on. Set to 'On' it goes like in 'Hunt for the Red October', where Sean Connery orders 110% on the reactor; it's a real fast, thrashing boil. I wanted to use it as a mash tun for beermaking as well, and for boiling bacon, but it was too harsh so I built a regulator with a shunt and a heat sink so that I could regulate the power to the element. Worked brilliantly for making beer, I then tried it with the regulator on distilling a mash, slowly and more gently.
It worked perfectly; I got the heads out, then it was hearts with no or very little appreciable tails. It produces an excellent, tasteless, odourless clean spirit using the turbo yeast and sugar wash with the turbo yeast powdered charcoal in the mash, then the SS turbo clear. I racked it off twice after fermentation to leave the yeast and charcoal behind. I tried filtering it after distilling using the carbon filter but found that it didn't make any difference, it just wasn't needed; maybe because the wash was so bland anyway, maybe because it had the carbon in the wash. I don't know.
I'm not sure whether that first run is a spirit run or a stripping run, but either way it works for me.

Tummydoc wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 6:02 am If you have a proper neutral, there won’t be any true “tail alcohols” in your gin boiler remnant. Odens cut offs are because of macerated flavor compounds that he felt weren’t pleasant after 400 ml. I think his cuts were conservative and go farther, but adding the remnants to your stripping should be fine also

Thanks!

Haforn wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 2:39 am Hi Guys,
Bit of a newbie question, please be patient with me
I've been making Odin's gin for a couple of years, the Mrs loves it, and we've tweeked the recipe to just how we like it. I do a stripping run in the T500, then make 2 x 3 litre batches of Odins in an air still for the spirits run, each with 500ml water added prior to distillation, and very nice it is too.
So, if I follow Odin's instructions exactly for each batch - discard 10 ml, then take 400 ml per litre and dilute to about 45% - I am left with three bottles of excellent gin, and a couple of litres of undistllled backset in the still - this tests out at about 10 %
My question is this - can I chuck the backset into my next stripping run and recover the alcohol from it, or is it only fit for waste?
thanks
Steve

If you are only making gin with it, it should be fine. I don't do it because my neutrals are for a variety of uses.

NZChris wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 12:57 pm

Haforn wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 2:39 am Hi Guys,
Bit of a newbie question, please be patient with me
I've been making Odin's gin for a couple of years, the Mrs loves it, and we've tweeked the recipe to just how we like it. I do a stripping run in the T500, then make 2 x 3 litre batches of Odins in an air still for the spirits run, each with 500ml water added prior to distillation, and very nice it is too.
So, if I follow Odin's instructions exactly for each batch - discard 10 ml, then take 400 ml per litre and dilute to about 45% - I am left with three bottles of excellent gin, and a couple of litres of undistllled backset in the still - this tests out at about 10 %
My question is this - can I chuck the backset into my next stripping run and recover the alcohol from it, or is it only fit for waste?
thanks
Steve

If you are only making gin with it, it should be fine. I don't do it because my neutrals are for a variety of uses.

Thanks mate

Ran the following recipe with good outcome


My variation on Odin’s Easy Gin


with 6 liters of 40.8% Neutral from bran (Ted’s FFV)

18 grams of fresh juniper (as in the photo)
15 grams of green coriander seeds (freshly picked)
2 grams of dry coriander,
7 grams allspice berries,
3 grams fennel seeds
3 grams whole cardamom pods
6 tangerine skins, about 230 grams,
2 x zest of a lemon,
1 small sprig of rosemary,

Lightly crush everything and steep 15 hours,

The next day i put it all in the still with an additional 40 grams of fresh juniper, and run.

I was wanting to experiment with the fresh juniper which is abundant in the wild here. I will compare these green berries with a batch in the fall using dark, tree-matured berries. Will update with the results.

I have to say i am delighted with the flavors and def think it outdoes my go-to store bought Tangueraaaaaaay

Does anyone's gin glow under UV? Just the gin, no tonic (quinine). I was distilling my Gin today (neutral spirit, juniper, coriander seed and mandarin peel) and thought there was a bit of a haze at one point. It wasn't til I looked closer and I realised the haze had a blue tinge to it, but only when held in the sunlight from my kitchen. I grabbed the cheap uv torch, pointed it to the jar and it lit up blue.

I'm not concerned, just confused and I don't have any other gin to shine a uv torch at...

Has anyone else noticed this too?

Not sure if mine glows or not.

I get a nice glow after drinking it.

Hey,
thanks for the easy way to make gin without going down the essence route. its great to have these easy recipes to get us noobs in without too much complication.
I would like to make a whiskey but I'm not ready to take on the effort required.

i made a batch of gin. I ground and macerated fora couple of days, all in the air still and distilled as suggested. Nice and clear, good (strong taste).
Q1. whats the next ingredient to add to give it a touch more complexity?
Q2. when I dilute the gin it goes cloudy. I expect its the botanical oils in suspension. diluting further with distillate clears it tho. Perhaps as I ground, macerated and boiled the botanicals, I got all the oils and flavor. Perhaps I macerate for less time?

thanks elders

jimnz wrote: ↑Wed Sep 11, 2024 2:38 pm Q1. whats the next ingredient to add to give it a touch more complexity?
Q2. when I dilute the gin it goes cloudy. I expect its the botanical oils in suspension. diluting further with distillate clears it tho. Perhaps as I ground, macerated and boiled the botanicals, I got all the oils and flavor. Perhaps I macerate for less time?

A1, What do you like? For me, cardamom. Different citrus peel works well too. Make small changes with each batch and see what they add.

A2, search for 'louch'. It's a sign that you did a good job extracting and if the flavors are good, you're on the right track! You can go for less time, use less botanicals, or just do what you mentioned and dilute with more neutral spirit and water. The last option yields you more gin for your effort and many folks do this after making a gin run with several times more botanicals.

Sounds like you have a good foundation there though. Keep experimenting and keep good notes!

TwoSheds

TwoSheds wrote: ↑Wed Sep 11, 2024 6:13 pm

jimnz wrote: ↑Wed Sep 11, 2024 2:38 pm Q1. whats the next ingredient to add to give it a touch more complexity?
Q2. when I dilute the gin it goes cloudy. I expect its the botanical oils in suspension. diluting further with distillate clears it tho. Perhaps as I ground, macerated and boiled the botanicals, I got all the oils and flavor. Perhaps I macerate for less time?

A1, What do you like? For me, cardamom. Different citrus peel works well too. Make small changes with each batch and see what they add.

A2, search for 'louch'. It's a sign that you did a good job extracting and if the flavors are good, you're on the right track! You can go for less time, use less botanicals, or just do what you mentioned and dilute with more neutral spirit and water. The last option yields you more gin for your effort and many folks do this after making a gin run with several times more botanicals.

Sounds like you have a good foundation there though. Keep experimenting and keep good notes!

TwoSheds

Thanks. ill try some cardamom A2.
Thats what I thought. "It tastes too strong, so dilute with neutral..
what I've found is I can dilute to clear in the bottle, but tonic re=clouds it.
ill dilute some more.