by howard » Wed Oct 05, 2022 5:38 pm
i've heard of people incorporating the botanicals into a neutral spirit run.
i suppose you would have to wait until heads had finished, throw the still into full reflux, add the basket and run through hearts.
but it sounds like most people concentrate on making good neutral first, then pot stilling with the botanicals in a 3rd distillation.
then the question is, do you macerate or use the basket.
how much charge can you get away with to cover your elements and allow for collection.
personally, i bought a 4" gin basket, used it twice, then got a small glass still so i can do 1L - 5L experiments.
the gin basket made good gin, it was just a PITA for small runs.
i will use the basket again one day, as some botanicals benefit from having high %abv vapour through them.
if i was using the basket, i would be putting good clean 40%abv neutral in the boiler (from a reflux spirit run), then pot still, then you don't have to worry about fores, heads and tails.