Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Just wondering which Juniper Berries to use for different Gins?

There are a lot of different ones out there with the four most common ones being - Juniperus communis (the most commonly used) Juniperus drupacea, Juniperus deppeana, Juniperus phoenicea, Juniperus chinensis. Thanks Google!

Just wondering if anyone has played around with the different varieties and if so what sort of Gin did you make with it? Did the different Berries really make that much of a difference... I assume they would!?

Sorry if this is a noob question and has been answered before, if so plz direct me to the appropriate thread as I was unable to find one. If not then perhaps this could become that thread?


Cheers
G8

Juniperus communis is what you're after.

I'm not sure about use of other varieties of even if they are all edible.

Thx for the reply Professor Green.

After posing this question I decided to do a bit more research myself and came up with the following article from the Gin Foundry https://www.ginfoundry.com/botanicals/juniper/ on Juniper which is directly related to, and answers most of my question. Below is a snippet from the article -

If this was a grape, wine makers would be going crazy over it. Given we all understand that soil, climate and growing conditions all affect grapes and that this has resulted in the term “terroir’ used to define wine regions, styles etc… why should it be so different in juniper bushes and as a result in gin? If you interested in this, an interesting Gin to seek out is Origin as it is available in 6 different varieties, where the juniper is the only thing to change as it has been selected from different terroirs. - The Gin Foundry

It's an interesting article and a great read for all you Gin aficionados. I guess the problem that remains is obviously going to be product availability.


Cheers
G8

Thanks for sharing that link, very interesting reading indeed.

If you're looking for good quality juniper berries, Austral Herbs are the place to go.

County of origin may also be worth looking at

Professor Green wrote:Thanks for sharing that link, very interesting reading indeed.

You're very welcome. It wasn't the most exciting read but it was quite educational.

Professor Green wrote:If you're looking for good quality juniper berries, Austral Herbs are the place to go.

Yeah they're pretty good and have a great range, I have used them before for the kitchen.

wynnum1 wrote:County of origin may also be worth looking at

Thx wynnum1 - country of origin would certainly have a bearing on a Juniper Berries' terroir, and may be a much easier way of hunting down different berries.



Cheers
G8