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Hi,
I want to add lemongrass to my gin, and I'm looking for some guidance for where to start with regards to how much to add, relative to juniper: Is it more in the x/10 range or the x/100 range?

I'm also curious if anyone has added it to the boiler for maceration or In the vapour path?

I've successfully used x/8, freshly cut, in the basket.

I have made an essence that I can add.

Lemongrass is powerful stuff so use sparingly, unless you are really going for it as the predominant flavour.

I use it in the botanicals basket in one of my Gins, where it is part of an overall citric profile, and use 0.2g per Litre of maceration (i.e. 10 litres of maceration or base alcohol if you are doing all- vapour infusion would be 2g of Lemongrass stem). I grow it and generally use it freshly cut - it does dehydrate well though, and the oils have a good lifespan if you vac-seal the stems right after dehydrating.

You can put it into a maceration, but I would suggest you try putting it into the boiler as you start the distilling, rather than leaving for any length of time to macerate - when doing this, I would go up to 0.5g/L for a subtle flavour, but beyond this and it tends to dominate.

Sorry, I have no useful advice, but I do have a question. Could lemongrass be used as the primary citrus component in a gin? Or is it best left as a less dominant flavor?

Steve Broady wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 5:17 am Sorry, I have no useful advice, but I do have a question. Could lemongrass be used as the primary citrus component in a gin? Or is it best left as a less dominant flavor?

“Balance is better”.

I like to use citrus: lime, lemon, and orange zest in my gins. The lemongrass is a natural botanical method to add the element. But, I like the flavors to “blend” together such that none are outstanding.

Obviously, the juniper is the predominant character, so you don’t want to overpower it.
ss

I have been thinking about something like this as well. Beefeater does a “distillery exclusive” in partnership with the London botanical gardens where they add lemon verbena and thyme. Got a bottle when I was there, but not planning to go back over anytime soon so wondering how to replicate.

In research I’ve seen information from @nzchis who will hopefully weigh in on this, where he makes essences and adds after making a base gin.

That said, I was thinking about starting a small batch at x/50 and adjusting from there.

Doug,

The thing is, Chris has made lots of gins to the extent that he knows how much of what he likes in his gins. You don’t see Chris asking, “how much should I use” simply because he has the experience with his products, regardless of whether they meet YOUR paradigm or not.

Again, he blends to produce what he likes. And you can do the same. You just need to build the experience basis so you know what is right for the products you want to make.

In the end, it’s your creation so make it the way you like it. And if you don’t know what that is … keep practicing until you DO know.
ss

SouthwestAl wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 3:37 am 0.2g per Litre of maceration

Thats exactly what I would have suggested, ive never used lemon grass in a gin , but use that ratio for lime peel.....more can be overpowering.

still_stirrin wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 6:56 am I like the flavors to “blend” together such that none are outstanding.

Exactly SS its about the sum of the total......gin is not just about being able to taste one or two ingredients.....its a blend of flavours.......juniper being the dominant one.

I do, sometimes, make a particular botanical the 'hero' of a gin, often a rare or exotic ingredient that I've been privileged to score, sometimes an 'in season' fruit or berry.

My small gin stills get far more use than the spirit stills that do all the grunt work churning out neutrals and compatible base spirits for them.

Dougmatt wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:05 am I have been thinking about something like this as well. Beefeater does a “distillery exclusive” in partnership with the London botanical gardens where they add lemon verbena and thyme. Got a bottle when I was there, but not planning to go back over anytime soon so wondering how to replicate.

In research I’ve seen information from @nzchis who will hopefully weigh in on this, where he makes essences and adds after making a base gin.

That said, I was thinking about starting a small batch at x/50 and adjusting from there.

This is a great approach - make a lemongrass distillate and dose the Gin you have distilled to taste. You can apply this to all of the botanicals, although I would suggest that you rest the base Gin for 20 days before starting to add the botanical distillate, add it in small amounts at a time and then rest it before testing and adding more.

One great thing about this approach is that you can make batches of each botanical and proof down to the final abv that you want your Gin to be, and can then run a series of tests on a small-scale, like 1 bottle at a time, to work out the exact proportion of each botanical that you want. Just keep in mind that if you have done the distillates on a small still, and then scale it up to do it together in a larger still in a one-shot method, there are factors that will change the overall flavour, like size of the vapor path, hours spent in vapor etc. A Gin recipe done in a 10 litre still will generally not taste the same as the same recipe scaled up to a 100 or 1000 litre still in my experience.

Thanks everyone... gives me some bookends to start within. I was certainly planning to include it with other citrus influences.