Old Tom Gin

[Stonecutter]

https://imbibemagazine.com/old-tom-gin/

The article above is a fairly decent read discussing some of the history behind Old Tom Gin.
After I had tried Old Tom and then read David Windrichs’ book “IMBIBE!” and before I got into this hobby I have been fascinated with Old Tom Gin. A slightly sweet and aged Gin that had been making a comeback a couple years ago. Obviously the curiosity grew substantially having stumbled down the rabbit hole of home distilling. I’ve looked around the forum and there are some topics discussing Old Tom but I’d like to use this topic as a spring board into my own journey. Hopefully some more experienced hobbyists will throw in their two cents as well. The article above mentions Old Tom as a blend of corn likker and barley likker. I don’t think I’ll head that way at first. I believe I’ll make a sugar shine roughly 90-93% off the plated column and then use that as a base to basically do an aged Odin Gin. Need to find used wine barrel staves for the aging. And I’ll perhaps back sweeten after aging. I still have some research to do on these fronts.

[NormandieStill]

I'll follow along. And maybe even experiment a little.

I did an AG neutral using yellow label yeast and unmalted wheat which I then refluxed. After the neutral hearts cut there were a few jars before it started getting really tails which have a slight hint of the grain and a sweet caramel flavour. I don't know how much of that flavour would survive the redistillation with the botanicals but maybe a gin essence added to it could get the necessary sweetness without needing to add sugar.

[NZChris]

When trying to resurrect a defunct or obscure product, I trawl all available resources to find out as much about it as I can, then use as many of the known techniques and ingredients as I can. If they were made using a grain or grape based spirit, I use something that is as close as I have to it, or make something. E.g., barley GNS doesn't have to be an AG barley mash that has been refluxed to a 95% vodka, you can cheat by using a double pot stilled sugar wash that was fermented with barley or bran in it to add flavor and nutrients.

An important part of designing something like an Old Tom, is deciding what botanicals to use. I've made several versions and they were all different, depending on what I had been reading at the time and what I had in my apothecary and garden on the day. They were all nice and I have none left in the drinks cabinet.

Make something, keep good records, then tweak your method each time.

[Stonecutter]

From the very small bit of research I’ve done it appears that if I really wanted to take it Old school I could simply make some rot gut one and done pot stilled whiskey and dump in as much licorice, Anise, juniper until it’s barely palatable. Strain and barrel age for 6-12 weeks

Some things I will change but slowly creating a game plan. I’ve got a three gallon SS milk can boiler that I’m going to use as my gin rig.
I make a Shady’s Sugar Shine and run it through the flute. I usually get about a gallon of 40% fairly neutral and quite clean spirit in the end.
I can dilute this down to 30% with distilled water.
I will then make something like a 80-20 barely malt to rye mash. 6 gallons. Maybe throw a little corn in there for sweetness. Fermented off grain.
I’ll do a one and done in the pot with that. It’s going to be a big part of the game to determine what cuts I take from this run.
Mix these two runs and macerate with botanicals.
Now obviously it is this concoction of botanicals that is the lynch pin for any type of gin save jenever, which focuses just as much on the grain bill as it does on the botanicals. (Odin, hoe maakt u het?)
I’m researching this recipe of botanicals currently.
Barrel aging and sweeteners will be last on the list so I’ll focus on that part a little later…. Having thought about it I’ll need to research the different way in which the botanicals age in the barrel. It may not matter but I don’t know what I don’t know.

[Stonecutter]

I’m going to add this link here. Bushman this is quite the post. So helpful for anyone interested in Gin.
viewtopic.php?p=7548145#p7548145

[NZChris]

When designing something that was/is traditionally made poorly, which is usually due to greed or laziness on the part of the distiller, I aim to make my own improved version that doesn't smell of heads or tails and deliver the traditional hangover.

[Stonecutter]

When designing something that was/is traditionally made poorly, which is usually due to greed or laziness on the part of the distiller, I aim to make my own improved version that doesn't smell of heads or tails and deliver the traditional hangover.

Yes, I quite like gin and the ultimate goal is to resurrect and craft a quality version of the Tom Cat that I should call my own. Being Dutch/Irish in lineage the long histories of gin and whiskey do beguile.