almonds

[savadrava]

Hey all,
Off and on there's a discussion about bitter almonds, apricot kernels, cyanide, etc. etc.
Anybody here try using almond extract in their gin as a work-around? I've baked with it a bit and I can tell you that even a small amount will overpower every other flavor. But a drop or two might serve a purpose.
I've just finished three different gin runs and am low on neutral so I'm not going to try right now (sorry!) but i did want to see what the group had to say about their experiences.

It's Friday but it feels like Sunday and I don't know what to think about that....

[contrahead]

Occasional I take time to make extraordinarily good buttermilk pancakes, using splashes of vanilla and almond extract as secret ingredients.


The only time I've used almond extract with alcohol was to flavor a fortified wine, a not spirit. I made a dry peach or apricot wine several years ago. I had used champagne yeast to ferment and the wine turned out OK, but very dry. So most of that batch I decided to fortify - into a desert wine (sweet like Port, Sherry or Madeira - but higher ABV than plain wine). Among other things I added a bit of almond extract. As you say – a little bit goes a long way.

Several bottles from that experiment blew their corks and were ruined. However the bottles that survived were exceptionally good and gave me a sort of a temporary legendary status with the friends and acquaintances that were lucky enough to get a taste.

Next time you have a little neutral to spare, fill a flask or small jar and add ½ teaspoon of mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) then let that sit for a few days. In small quantities, such a subtle flavor might give your week old neutral a decided impression of sophistication and age.

[Saltbush Bill]

kernels, cyanide, etc. etc.
Anybody here try using almond extract in their gin

Yes always have added it to the botanicals when macerating, 4 to 6 drops for every 4 L added to the boiler.

[NZChris]

I do have almond essence in the kitchen, but I would never use it for gin while I had apricot kernels or loquat seeds available. AFAIK, stories of cyanide poisoning from seeds are loosely based on stupid people doing stuff that was already known to be stupid before they did it.

I haven't heard of any of anyone managing to consume enough to kill themselves, but I bet that if you can Google up someone who did manage, that they didn't do it by drinking gin that they had made using stone fruit seeds.

[savadrava]

I'm too worried about cyanide--people who are still alive eat the apricot kernels lightly toasted as snack!
My thing is that a lot of folks suggest that bitter almonds are much better than plain ol' almonds, and the last maceration I made I got no sense of almond in the final drink even though I goosed up the amounts. That's when I thought of connecting the really strong almond taste of extract with the absence of anything in my gins.
Saltbush, I'm glad to hear you've been working with it. I think I'll give it a try and see how it goes... and a couple drops sounds about right!

[NZChris]

I use apricot kernels because they are closer to bitter almonds in flavor than almonds. I don't smash them and steep them overnight, as that might release a bit of cyanide. It wouldn't be much because they are only a small part of the botanical bill, but I leave them out until I charge the still, bruising them, not pulverizing them.

[Saltbush Bill]

Saltbush, I'm glad to hear you've been working with it. I think I'll give it a try and see how it goes... and a couple drops sounds about right!

The reason that I use the drops is that the recipe that I use , says to use Almond extract.
The reason for that is that as far I know it is close to or is impossible to obtain bitter almond in this country.
My take on Gin is that you don't need to be able to taste each and every ingredient , a combination of all is what makes Gin , Gin.
Juniper and secondly Coriander to a small degree are the botanicals that should dominate.
Thats just my opinion, Im not into those woozy, wishy washy "Modern Gins " that are all citrus forward or what ever the marketing label claims.