Preparing for summer: summer gin

[noooze]

so summer is coming ”soon” and my best friend's wedding is coming up.

So what did I promise? A summer gin for reception and the party

So what is summer gin? Rhubarb? Strawberry? Sweet and floral?

I’m thinking low on juniper, lemon forward and floral ( chamomile, ginger, rose ) and then perhaps fruity notes?

So how is a rhubarb gin made? With rhubarb essence or is it added to perhaps gin basket? And what if you want notes of strawberry?

Please help - I make nice gin but that is very much to my taste

[still_stirrin]

From Leopold’s advertisement:
“This bright, citrus-forward, vibrant gin truly captures the Summer season. By individually distilling the juniper berries, coriander, blood orange, lemon myrtle leaf, and Helichrysum angustifolium (known as 'Immortal Flower'), we are able to highlight the truest expression of each ingredient, before blending it into the perfect spirit for a Tom Collins or Gimlet. We have crafted a unique, seasonally inspired gin for warm weather and relaxing times under a golden Summer sun.”

So, I would believe a “summer gin” is citrus and floral in nature. But of course, juniper is the defining nature of a gin. Otherwise it’s a fruit flavored spirit, or even a “fruity” vodka. So, be sure to keep the juniper and coriander in the recipe.
ss

7C4CE390-DB4E-48ED-AC28-A154EF3BA654.jpeg

[StillerBoy]

Will If I were in your shoes, I would start by drying out some the fruits you intent to you.. the drying will assist in removing the water content of the fruit thereby not diluting or affecting the spirit as much..

You may have or not read this thread where there is some talks on drying the fruit/vegetable before using and the results..
viewtopic.php?f=106&t=77366

Best of luck in your adventure..

Mars

[noooze]

Always juniper and coriander I like it very juniper.forward and spicy, and know it's good. But not for a wedding On a warm summer day.

I would think it might be too much to distill everything on its own and then blending - my still is small

[still_stirrin]

...I would think it might be too much to distill everything on its own and then blending - my still is small.

Dang it...you asked “what is a summer gin?”, and I answered that with a commercial example. Now, buy a bottle and practice your processes to see if you can perfect your skills to produce a worthy gift for your family.

You didn’t ask to be spoonfed...at least I didn’t think that was your intent.
ss

[noooze]

Haha sorry. Should have Said - please spoon feed me a little

Have no idea on getting the fruity notes in. The floral yes, but mostly only use fresh basil in my gin basket. So hoping some might say: go x and x and x - that's the right way to go

[still_stirrin]

Haha sorry. Should have Said - please spoon feed me a little...

Read the “spoon feed info” link in my thread. And read it ALL...all the subsequent links and threads therein.

Enjoy your time here....there is a world of information on this website and it is available to ALL of those who make an effort to use the resources. Ha Ha!

[NZChris]

A flavor wheel is handy for choosing what botanicals to use.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zqn_O2W8azM/V ... Bwheel.jpg

Small stills are ideal for making essences for blending into a gin. Distill everything at essence strength, including the juniper and coriander base gin you are going to blend them with.
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=77343

[Expat]

Beyond taste, take it up a notch and try out blue gin. The color changes to a lite pink when you add lemon or tonic. It was a real hit with my friends during last year's summer season

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=75181

[Odin]

Make gin. Macerate in rhubarb. Filter out the rhubarb. Add sugar to taste.

Odin's Easy Gin is a good base.

Regards, Odin.

[Odin]

Drinks like lemonade, so maybe aim for a lower ABV. 30-35% being the norm.

Odin.

[Saltbush Bill]

A GnT with a big chunk of lime and lots of ice goes down well in the heat of summer what ever the botanics used.

[noooze]

Thanks a lot, everyone. Sadly no rhubarb is available right now and for some reason, it's not even available as a frozen product.

Have to play around with some strawberry or such, for my learning curve advancement.

Those flowers that give off the blue color - wow! That would make a G&T sparkle at a wedding! Are they safe for consumption?

Think my friend will think I’m a bad friend if I poison half the guests

[NZChris]

Never try anything on someone else first.

My favourite is blue ice cubes in a G&T with a squeeze of citrus juice rather than colouring the gin. Experiment, then choose the visual effect that you think will have the most impact.

[NZChris]

My rhubarb gin lost it's beautiful red colour quite quickly, turning brown.

[Expat]

Thanks a lot, everyone. Sadly no rhubarb is available right now and for some reason, it's not even available as a frozen product.

Have to play around with some strawberry or such, for my learning curve advancement.

Those flowers that give off the blue color - wow! That would make a G&T sparkle at a wedding! Are they safe for consumption?

Think my friend will think I’m a bad friend if I poison half the guests

Yup, the flowers are safe, they are also used to make a blue colored tea in some parts of the world.

[Corsaire]

They're used to color rice blue all the time, they're food safe. There's a commercial gin offering that uses them.

[noooze]

Awsome!

I'll have to find those flowers and make good use of them.

So yesterday the very very first rhubarb came to the stores here - about 5,5 usd for 500 grams. So they where a bit expensive.

I took some of my favorite homemade gin:

Used 110 grams of sugar and 500 grams of rhubarb + 2 slices of ginger and about a liter of my gin.
It's very pretty and pink here on day 2.
The wify took a look and said I need to taste that. She HATES Gin, but the color did something

Took another liter of homemade gin and tossed 150 grams of raspberry and 50 grams of blackberry in that one.
No sugar this time.

Lets see if any of those gins will transform into a great summer gin for a wedding

[noooze]

First small test bottle just ordered some natural essens, so if it lacks a bit if taste, it can be corrected

Will the color fade? If so, is there anything to add to preserve it?

[noooze]

Color is a lot darker than reality. It's pretty pink

[Single Malt Yinzer]

You can get Rhubarb root. Also called Turkey Rhubarb root. Try amazon or Herbco or just google it. Great flavor for gins or amaros and such. As a straight tincture it's pretty good.

[noooze]

Quite interestion with Rubarb root - does it taste like the rubarb or goes it go in a other direction ?
Seems like I need to order some.

Update on the taste:

So I decided to employ my friends in a bit of gin tasting, and to my surprise one of my friends that invited 2 bar owners with him.
Corona virus have closed all bars, so they where just happy to get out a bit. ( we kept a strict 2 meters distance to each other ).

My Rubarb gin is a hit. So averybody out there, start making it !
Was asked if I could produce 15-20 liters, as one of the bar owners was in love
- told him the process was quite different from a normal gin and sadly, all I can make is for me and for a party later on.

Had also made 3 vapor infused gins - I was not all too happy, but isn't that a distillers mindset? It's never good enough ?
They where liked, drunk straight and with some good tonic.

As soon as I have nailed the recip of my vapor infused gins, I will share. Right now i'm playing around with pot style gin making and trying to find the point where I will be happy.

[Single Malt Yinzer]

Tastes just like it. Has a deep red/orange color.