help needed distilling 2nd run with gin basket and airstill

[globalmark]

Hi guys

i have a 4litre airstil and happy to ferment wash and run through still , however i just bought a botanical basket and did a run .
instructions are - take your 40% add approx 1litre to still then dilute back to 4litres which i did just fine .
i have then collected my cuts in small jars

50ml foreshots @ approx 41%
2. 100ml heads - 38%
3.100ml - 36%
4. 100ml 32%
5- 100ml 28%
6 - 100ml 23%
7- 100ml 15%
8- 100ml 12%
9 100ml 9%
10 100ml 6%
if continue to run just gets weaker and weaker until water comes out and sill is dry .
or something like this

gin is usually about 37%-40% and i dont see how i can get any quantity of gin with any of this unless i only keep 2-3 makes me 200ml only , and if i mix 1 throught to 7 then would make me approx 24-25% only ,
question what am i doing wrong here how to make my gin with the airstill and get approx 700ml - 1lire of gin , i have my filtered neutral spirit at 40% so can someone give me a simple step by step how to get my gin from this .
thanks Mark

[BigRig]

Don't dilute the 40% spirit, this is a very basic pot still, not a reflux still so you will never get the abv you want.

I do my gin in an airstill and the spirit goes in the pot at 40% abv with the botanicals in the spirit, i like maceration over vapour infusion for more flavour.


4L of 40% neutral
56g Juniper
12 g Coriander
5 g Cassia
4g Orris Root
2.5g Lemon Myrtle

Crush berries, combine all botanicals & macerate for 5 days.

Discard first 50mls, then collect 1.5L and cut it off.

Dilute spirit to 42% and let it rest before drinking.

[howard]

hey GB, either your instructions are wrong or you are interpreting them wrong.
i have a small 5l still that i use for gin.
as bigrig says, i found mascerating the best way too, but the charge needs to be about 40% abv. then the output will be 75-80%.
please try Odins easy gin (OEG) first, then you can branch out into other recipes, while continuing with OEG method.
start by buying juniper berries on Ebay, whole coriander seeds from indian grocer & peel some ciurus, it doesn't get any simpler. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[globalmark]

HI guys
thanks for the reply
Big rig - thanks for that info i will give it a try your way as seems more sensible - lemon murtle (have a local tree nice)
question after mascerating for 5 days do you leave the botanicals in the spirit and distill or do you sieve it first then distill ? or do you use a muslin bag or something ?
So if i understand right you discard first 50ml and keep 1.5litres which is then diluted to 42% (so you actually finish with more then 1.5litres of GIN from 4litres in correct ?

Howard - yes i am sure the instructions are wrong i have been emailing Still spirits who made the still and the instructions but they cant give a straight answer either .
I have put below the instructions from Still spirits - says dilute to 40% the filter and dilute again to make 4litre which they say is 12% (MY MATHS makes 10%) so thats what i did -

EXTRA question - can i save what came out all those jars what do you suggest mix it all together and redistill or mix it with more neutral spirt and macerate more i have all jars and % still listed before - thanks guys



USING THE AIR STILL INFUSION BASKET: (this is still spirts manual for making gin in basket)
The infusion basket is a great tool for adding flavour and aromas from botanicals and other plant material by infusing it into your distillate. It can be used when distilling water, essential oils and alcohol.
• Attached by removing the Air Still top cover, then simply seat the infusion basket on the underside of the main units lid.
• Set up an Air Still wash as per standard instructions.
FIRST DISTILLATION (STRIPPING RUN)
• Add 4 L (1.1 US Gal) of cleared wash into the Air Still. Then distil to obtain 700 ml (23.6 US fl oz) at 60% ABV neutral alcohol.
DILUTE
• Dilute to 40% ABV and filter the alcohol using a Still Spirits Air Still Carbon Filter System
• After filtering, dilute the alcohol further so you have 4 L (1.1 US Gal) for the second distillation (ABV will be around 12%).
SECOND DISTILLATION (INFUSION RUN)
• To flavour with a gin infusion, add the desired botanicals to the underside of the lid. Ensure no botanicals block the vapour inlet of the lid.
• Secure the botanical basket, ensure you line up the dimple on the basket with the notch on the Air Still
Standard Gin – Botanical Recipe for 4 L (1.1 US Gal) wash.
lid. Rotate to secure.
• Run the Air Still as normal with your pre-distilled, filtered and diluted plain spirit. To remove the basket, rotate the basket until the dimple on the basket and ‘notch’ on the lid are aligned. Pull upwards on the metal ring to remove.
• The vapour will collect the essence of the botanicals as it passes through the basket.

[BigRig]

HI guys
thanks for the reply
Big rig - thanks for that info i will give it a try your way as seems more sensible - lemon murtle (have a local tree nice)
question after mascerating for 5 days do you leave the botanicals in the spirit and distill or do you sieve it first then distill ? or do you use a muslin bag or something ?
So if i understand right you discard first 50ml and keep 1.5litres which is then diluted to 42% (so you actually finish with more then 1.5litres of GIN from 4litres in correct ?

EXTRA question - can i save what came out all those jars what do you suggest mix it all together and redistill or mix it with more neutral spirt and macerate more i have all jars and % still listed before - thanks guys

Sorry i should've added some context to my previous post. I have ran plenty of gin through the airstill and with much experimentation and a gin snob brother as a sounding board came up with my steps in the earlier post. This results in a good drop.

I put the macerated spirit and botanicals straight in the air still, no sieve or muslin cloths.

Assuming you are starting with a nice clean neutral you don't necessarily need to take a "heads" cut as this would've been done during the neutral spirit runs but the botanical flavours do come across at different stages throughout the run, i do make cuts as follows which end results in the quantities in my previous post.

1. first 50ml will have an off taste and is full of oils. dump this. dont try and keep it, it will just spoil the booze - trust me i tried.
2. i collect in 250ml cuts - i take 6 then turn the still off.
3. let them air a little then combine. taste if you want to see the differences between jars, there will be big swings in flavour, smell and mouth feel. You will likely hate them all individually but thats the beauty of chemistry.
4. dilute down to 42% and let it sit a bit so the flavours really combine. I wait 4-5 weeks. Once done i end up with 3-4 bottles.

Re; Extra Question - if you have the spare neutral and botanicals i would make another batch and use the stuff you already have in the jars to dilute the new batch to be added to the still.

[globalmark]

Hi BigRig

thanks so much you have answered all my woes - so i am off to the demijohn now and will do a macerate and try your way .
Big thanks Mark