Home Distiller

Did a run of gin using a gin basket

finished the run at 1 litre , where I wanted to be

The spirit came out at 88%

when I diluted the spirit down to 40% , it went translucent , ie milky

I am not keen to redistill as I will loose some of the flavour

maybe carbon , still loose some flavour

are there any tricks of the trade to bring it back to clear

I'd refridgerate it in a bottle for a period of time. If you get the jellyfish to settle, siphon off the clear.

Rod

I am only a novice however I do make ouzo. Just guessing but the oils in the gin have gone into suspension, you could try adding more high proof to see if it clears. I know with ouzo if I cut it too much with water it does the same.

I make Gin often by hanging a bag of botanicals in the head of my boiler ( see my post for Gin Clip ) I have never had any problems.

Yeah dog. I was wondering about that.

Maybe he overcharged his boiler?

yes most likely it is oils, cold filtering could help. have as cold as possible,,,then filter threw coffee filters/felt.
some use charcoal but that mite take out to much.

Added some more 88% spirit and it has cleared up some

it is now at about 45%

Have to play with a bit as the flavour profile maybe a little high

need to be careful when I give the missus a G & T and make sure I keep it right

Like the time I gave her a Gin and tonic that I had not cut from 88%
I gave her a double , which was four nips ofcourse
out of her tree

by the way , it's a bit cold here now

the spirit was about 10°C

would it help to warm it some

Airhill ,

I have sent you a PM on ouzo

did not want to confuse this post

Rod

Your absinthe type louche is because the alcohol content is too low to maintain the oils. Try a smaller amount of botanicals or just bottle the gin at a higher proof. I would draw the botanicals down slightly over bottling at the higher proof since most gin drinkers typically mix and it would encourage releasing the oils any attempt to mix a cocktail!

I've had this happen with gin before, I ususally aim for 100 proof when I water down my spirit, usually eliminates this issue. but if it does happen, I'll stick it in the freezer for a couple days, this usually allows the "fog" to fall out of suspension and form a layer at the bottom of the bottle, I just pour it off into another container.

I was going to reply but remembered seeing the exact same question on ADI.
His answer has much more clarity than I could muster;

"The chill has is usaully the result of carbonates, either calcium or magnesium carbonate. I'm not sure exactly where it comes from in the process, I'm still learning this stuff myself. In high proof alcohol, carbonates have very high solubility, so it will be crystal clear. However, when you add water, this reduces the abv, dramatically reducing the solubility. So instead of being in solution, the calcium or magnesium ions get together with their carbonate brothers to form the full non-dissolved carbonate molecule - hence, haze. Temperature affects solubility (think about the difference between stirring sugar in to cold water versus a cup of hot tea - the hot tea dissolves the sugar almost instantaneously and can accomodate much more than cold water). This is why people refer to chill filtering. Make your vodka as cold as possible so as much of the carbonate precipitates, and then filter. This removes as much carbonate as possible from the product.

In the small amount of experimenting I've done, I've been surprised to see how much carbonate makes it's way through the distilling process. Starting with soft water seems to be the way to go, as long as it doesn't adversely affect your yeast. That being said, I believe calcium is a vital yeast neutrient."

That all said, I believe that is ONE of the possible problems/solutions. The advise on here about oils causing a problem is yet another. Find which suits your situation.

Great follow up. The water source could definitely be contributing to that...

Had a small bottle in the freezer for a day , no change yet

time , time , time,

wait , wait ,wait

It might not "settle", you might have to chill it to "thicken it" then filter it to remove the haze.