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White cloudy gin
Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 6:04 am
by cnk
I have made three lots of gin. In the first two I used licorice in the botanicals. When I added tonic water to these the gin went white - like adding water to ouzo. When I looked online it said this was due to using licorice or anise in the botanical mix.
In this third go, I left out the licorice and it has still gone white when adding tonic. The other botanicals used (in all three) are juniper, coriander, orange peel, casia angelica and cardamom.
Can anyone tell my why the gin is still going white?
Many thanks
PS - they all taste amazing!
Re: White cloudy gin
Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 6:22 am
by still_stirrin
cnk wrote:...Can anyone tell my why the gin is still going white ?...
Yep....juniper oils....doh!!!
Dilute with high proof neutral and the louche will disappear.
ss
Re: White cloudy gin
Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 7:04 am
by cnk
Sorry SS but can you explain "high proof neutral". Am still learning!
Re: White cloudy gin
Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 11:55 am
by still_stirrin
cnk wrote:Sorry SS but can you explain "high proof neutral". Am still learning!
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=48594&p=7543415&hi ... e#p7543415
You’ve got a lot to learn.
ss
Re: White cloudy gin
Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 1:55 pm
by Kareltje
Does it taste good?
If yes: then why bother about the louche.
If no: use another mix of botanicals next time.
Re: White cloudy gin
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 1:32 am
by Maka_me
Louching is just extra flavour. Yes commercial gins do not louche, but doesn't mean yours doesn't have to. As above if it tastes good just drink it. Otherwise you can dilute the oils back using equal ABV neutral spirit. You want something very neutral so as to not impart new flavours. Try it frequently as you add the neutral. Record how much you add as a very rough guide to know what you need to reduce in botanical loading.
Re: White cloudy gin
Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2019 7:10 am
by Fraser
If it tastes nice, don't worry about it. Louching, as others already mentioned, is because there is a high concentration of botanical oils present in your gin. When you add water (tonic) to it, those oils come out of suspension and cloud up. It just means there's a lot of flavor in there, and if it tastes good it's all good. YMMV, but I like a gin that is just on the edge of louching at around 45% abv. Mine louches a bit in a g&t, and that's the way I like to make it.
If it bothers you, the must likely culprit is the juniper or the citrus oils.