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How do you control mouthfeel in a gin. I am struggling to find anything on the subject except in some of the forums for whiskey which suggest adding oats to the wash.

I have read that the amount of copper used in a still can affect it and of course adding sugar which isn’t a route I would want to go down.

Is this also mainly a factor of the type of wash used or can it be controlled with botanicals?

Dunkydonuts wrote: ↑Fri May 12, 2023 5:36 am How do you control mouthfeel in a gin…

If you “can’t feel” your mouth … you aren’t “in control”. ;-}

Dunkydonuts wrote: ↑Fri May 12, 2023 5:36 am… Is this also mainly a factor of the type of wash used or can it be controlled with botanicals?

The botanicals will have an effect, no doubt. Oils in the juniper certainly add to the viscosity. But similarly, what is used for the base spirit will affect viscosity as well. A grain neutral spirit will be different than a sugar-based wash. Using a fruit base will be different as well.

I make my gins using Rad’s All Bran sugar wash and reflux it to high purity before cuts. And then, I’ll temper with R.O. water to macerating strength before the gin distillation. It is typically very clean and neutral and results in a light viscosity after the gin distillation.

If trying to INCREASE viscosity (mouthfeel) for the product, you could add a touch of glycerin, although I much prefer my gins to be light on the mouthfeel. A couple of ice cubes and a lime zest makes it quite refreshing on a warm summer afternoon.
ss

Dunkydonuts wrote: ↑Fri May 12, 2023 5:36 am adding oats to the wash.

That works for my gin

Dunkydonuts wrote: ↑Fri May 12, 2023 5:36 am How do you control mouthfeel in a gin.

How many people out there are drinking straight Gin, I would think any mouthfeel issues would be negated by mixers such as Tonic water.
Besides that you have the oils from all of the Botanicals , I would have thought that enough.
Just out of curiosity , is there a particular gin brand that you would name that has a particularly "big" mouthfeel, and then another at the opposite end of the spectrum,.....I'd like to buy a bottle of each and see the difference for myself.

Saltbush Bill wrote: ↑Sat May 13, 2023 11:42 pm

Dunkydonuts wrote: ↑Fri May 12, 2023 5:36 am How do you control mouthfeel in a gin.

How many people out there are drinking straight Gin, I would think any mouthfeel issues would be negated by mixers such as Tonic water.
Besides that you have the oils from all of the Botanicals , I would have thought that enough.
Just out of curiosity , is there a particular gin brand that you would name that has a particularly "big" mouthfeel, and then another at the opposite end of the spectrum,.....I'd like to buy a bottle of each and see the difference for myself.

This was my first thought - other than the occasional Old Fashioned made with Gin, the closest I get to neat Gin is in a Dry Martini, but I can imagine what you are after. If the alcohol source is neutral, then I would personally say the mouth feel comes from the botanicals and the proofing strength. A Navy Gin, with an ABV of 57.5% (115 proof) will have used less RO water when being proofed down to bottling strength, so will quite often feel more 'oily' - in my experience, one of the reasons for this (and one of the great things about a higher ABV Gin) is that you can use more of the oil-heavy botanicals in the recipe that would otherwise cause a louche with a lower ABV, as there is less water used. 100 litres of distillate with 70% ABV would need 77.5 litres of water to dilute down to 40% ABV bottling strength, but only 22.8 litres to dilute down to 57.5% ABV.

That said, have you tried sliced almonds as a botanical? I find they can add to mouthfeel, although I am now wondering about testing a little oatmeal as a botanical to see what this adds.

SouthwestAl wrote: ↑Sun May 14, 2023 3:24 am That said, have you tried sliced almonds as a botanical?

Thank you for the handy hint S.W.A......I'll give that a crack the next time I make a batch of gin and see if I think it makes a worthwhile difference.

Saltbush Bill wrote: ↑Sun May 14, 2023 4:21 am

SouthwestAl wrote: ↑Sun May 14, 2023 3:24 am That said, have you tried sliced almonds as a botanical?

Thank you for the handy hint S.W.A......I'll give that a crack the next time I make a batch of gin and see if I think it makes a worthwhile difference.

i have a 1l experimental gin that is mascerating as we speak.
it's mainly a lemon myrtle trial, but has almonds in the mix.
but for the first time, i have toasted the almonds slivers for 5 mins before crushing.
i will report back.

howie wrote: ↑Sun May 14, 2023 6:05 am i have a 1l experimental gin that is mascerating as we speak.
it's mainly a lemon myrtle trial, but has almonds in the mix.
but for the first time, i have toasted the almonds slivers for 5 mins before crushing.
i will report back.

Care to share your recipe? I just did a lemon myrtle gin too this week. Curious what you came up with.

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B_Stilling wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 10:51 pm

howie wrote: ↑Sun May 14, 2023 6:05 am i have a 1l experimental gin that is mascerating as we speak.
it's mainly a lemon myrtle trial, but has almonds in the mix.
but for the first time, i have toasted the almonds slivers for 5 mins before crushing.
i will report back.

Care to share your recipe? I just did a lemon myrtle gin too this week. Curious what you came up with.

sorry for delay, but i was waiting to see how it turned out first.
tbh it wasn't great off the still, but that's normal.
1 & 2 weeks old, it wasn't tasting good either.
now 3 weeks old it's coming good (drinking it right now)
this was a 1L test, so i'll upscale it soon.
for a 1L masceration in 40% neutral........
12gm juniper
6gm coriander
1.2gm angelica
1.2gm almond (almond slivers, roasted for 5mins at 200C)
1.2gm liquorice
1.2 gm cubeb
0.12gm powdered ginger
0.12gm lemon myrtle
7.4gm orange peel (wet weight, removed with foot corn planer)

all ingredients distilled in 5Lglass boiling flask using the OEG method.
(half of the first 10ml added back to mix).

i might try upping the lemon myrtle to 0.5gm or even 1gm next time.
i'll see how it progresses over the next 2 weeks (if there's any left lol)