Gin experiments :)

[maheel]

i like a G&T and have never really tried to make it and have always bought Bombay Sapphire.

So i thought it was time to try, the aim is to try to "copy" Bombay

recipe 1
1L of 40% neutral from a TPW
2 tbl spoons juniper berries
bit of lemon peel
bit of orange peel
2 blanched almonds
2 pepper corns
1 cardamon pod
pinch of star anise powder (intend to get whole ones)
1 tsp caraway seeds "meridian fennel" (intend to use coriander. thought i had them)

smash it all up in a mortar and pestle
put it in a 2L bottle and soak for 1 week.
sample this

i was thinking i would water it down to 20% and distill it back off the "mash" to get it clear again.
need to build a micro still in the 4L range 1st...

here's a pic, it's already smelling like "gin" 3 days in

[reknaw]

This is going to be an interesting one to watch, let us know how it goes.If it turns out well I might have to borrow your micro still when you get it built :D

[MacStill]

My new "superflute" :roll: has a space above the dephlegmater for a gin/herb basket, this new design will get the experts thinking again, but I cant release too many details at this point as I'm still in the process of building it.

Cant wait to start my gin journey :D

Cheers.

[maheel]

sampled a little of this tonight.

pretty good, overall it might be a bit strong and need watering down with a bit more neutral
got a nice strong gin smell
neat it's fairly smooth with a bit of heat from the peppercorn and other flavors in the background
as i had no tonic cold i put it in some ginger ale and it came through quite well.

going to take it off the mash tomorrow and let it sit a while...
might tip in another 1L on the same mash and see if it is milder

[maheel]

been drinking this and it's nice just had a couple on dry ginger ale and ice :)
it's got a nice spicy zing

tipped another 750 mls onto the mash i kept in the bottle to see if it's better or worse

[maheel]

i am lazy as shit trying new things :)
the 2nd bottle was pretty good

but the third top up of the dregs is just not getting the hit of flavor as the 1st did and hardly any color from the mash

i kind of liked the golden color and really enjoyed the taste

i need to do a new mash of the herbs to get it rocking again

[Kimbo]

thanks for the update Maheel,
where do you get the Juniper berries from? i havent seen them any where over here!

[maheel]

got them at a deli about $5 for 100grams or something not cheap but not to much $$$

somewhere like that deli (fresh provisions ?) on the cnr of Beaufort and walcott st Mt lawley should have them i reckon
or any place that has a serious "spice rack" / international food shop.

there used to be a big warehouse international food place in northbridge around forbes st that might have them.

i lived in maylands for a couple of years :)

edit: RE store on Lake st might bb the go (north bridge) was doing some street view to find it :)

[SBB]

Around here most Heath Food stores keep juniper berries as well as large selections of other unusual herbs/ berries / spices. The local home brew shop also keeps small packs of juniper berries.
SBB

[Kimbo]

Thanks Maheel,
you know the area better than i do and i lived here all my life :lol: :lol: :lol: :oops:

[stubbydrainer]

G'day Maheel
Just wondering how ya Bombay gin nok off experiment ended up, I need to know for the angel thats living here? ;)

Cheers
Stubs

[maheel]

mate i been topping up the mash original mash bottle and it's done a good 6L so far

i reckon it needs refreshing with some new spice now, but it is creating a nice clear spirit with a pretty smooth gin taste.
the 1st few L's had a yellow tinge from the mash and a really strong hit of "gin" spice.

i need to run my bok on a spirit run ASAP as i have about 40L of low wines ready to get some good neutral to feed the gin habit :)

i like to put in the best hearts i can to the gin bottle

[Al Qaemist]

Hi Maheel, I drink a lot of gin, and when I'm experimenting with new ingredients, I macerate them in a test tube for a couple of days to see how they work.

From this I can get a pretty good idea how well the flavour imparts to the spirit and if its a strong or subtle note, so I can roughly judge how much to add to a recipe. I normally vapour infuse and occasionally do a distilled maceration - now the undistilled test macerations are never as good as the distilled product - spices are too hot and herbs are too woody, this is taken out of the distilled product in the heads for the oily hot stuff and at the end of the run for the flowery part of the botanicals. I use cut spirit in the boiler so there is no real heads or tails, but I still leave stuff out when blending on the cutting bench for a better product.

Get on and get your micro still set up, or do a bigger batch in your current still, it will definitely be better in my experience

My new "superflute" :roll: has a space above the dephlegmater for a gin/herb basket

McStill, I got all worried about botanicals going to mush and blocking the column if too finely ground, I added pressure relief to the boiler, and a good piece of advise I got was to make the gin basket intentionally an imperfect fit, so if the worst happens the vapour can still bypass the basket and you get a bit of warning with the output dropping off.

[maheel]

Hi Maheel, I drink a lot of gin,

great info mate !!

[olddog]

I got all worried about botanicals going to mush and blocking the column if too finely ground,

I suspend a cotton bag full of the botanicals in the neck of the barrel, it works well and cannot block the output.



OD

[Al Qaemist]

Great Idea OD! :idea: much simpler!

I have to admit I quite like having the "accessories" like a nice copper basket :oops:

[stubbydrainer]

found this recipe in a link that Mcstill posted up

I thought "why not give it a go"

For the neutral alcohol: either use a sugar based wash or a grain based wash based on 16 parts Corn grain, 3 parts malt, 1 part Rye.
Distill the wash (2x) in your potstill (or reflux still) untill you have a clean alcohol of about 80% ABV.
Blend it down to less than 50% alcohol ABV.

The botanicals, for one liter neutral spirit

- Juniper berries 44.1 g
- Coriander 6.3 g
- Bitter orange peel 1/4 tsp
- Dried licorice root 1/4 tsp
- Star anise 1/4 tsp
- Cardamon 1/8 tsp
- Cinnamon stick 1/4 tsp
- Zest of sweet orange 1/8 tsp
- Zest of lemon 1/4 tsp
- Zest of lime 1/2 tsp
- Clove 1/4 tsp
- Rosemary leaves pinch

Distill one more time as it will extract the flavors from the botanicals. Once distilled, dilute it back to 40% and let it rest for about 2-3 weeks.

I'll let ya's know how it goes ;)

Cheers
Stubbydrainer

[stubbydrainer]

Just finished ferreting thru copper fittings and stuff and have now got a 5 ltr micro pot still for gin :teasing-neener:

Just gotta silver solder it together now ;)

[stubbydrainer]

Well the judges have tested the Gin from the above recipe ( I wouldn't be able to tell a good Gin from a shit sandwich :laughing-rolling: ) and the verdict is " spicy with a touch of sweetness, a tad over the top with cloves, but very nice and VERY drinkable :confusion-shrug:

[maheel]

did you use powdered ground cloves or whole ?