An alleged first attempt at Gin. Overall not bad but with a couple of issues…
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Base Amount (Approx) | Actual Amount |
| Neutral Spirit | 1 liter | 1.47 liter |
| Botanicals in Basket | ||
| Juniper Berries Crushed | 25 g/l | 36.75 g |
| Coriander Crushed | 12 g/l | 17.64 g |
| Angelica Root Crushed | 2.5 g/l | 3.6 g |
| Orange Peel Crushed | 0.5 g/l | 0.7 g |
| Orris Root Crushed | 0.25 g/l | 0.36 g |
| Botanicals In Boiler | ||
| None |
Method
Add neutral to boiler and dilute to not more than 30%abv for safety. Based on element location the actual dilution was to around 5% abv. (Note: need a new boiler with an element much closer to the bottom). Add boiler insulation.
Set up as pot-still. 3′ x 2″ copper column is empty attached to boiler, add sight glass to top with gin basket (2″ x 200mm) containing botanicals. Attach Liebig condenser and connect to water supply.
Start water supply and turn up element to full initially (3500W). As boil begins turn down element to approximately 1700W. Use element power control to slow stream to drips to spurt levels.
Observations
Overall the gin basket was completely full but the resulting gin is also quite robust. If need to overfill the gin basket consider a second sight glass on top to contain the additional botanicals.
The initial take-off ABV was at 45% which is on the limit of what a single pot-still run can achieve. During the distillation this dropped to 35% when the run was terminated. This means that no dilution was necessary for the final product to meet the approximate 40% ABV target. This was a direct result of over-dilution of the initial boiler charge due to the need to keep the element covered. There are now possible solutions here:
- Use a larger amount of neutral spirit. This will also require more botanicals which could require the addition of a second sight-glass to contain. As an alternative could move to macerating the botanicals in the boiler which could result in more efficient use due to being allowed to steep. This needs more experimentation.
- Use a smaller boiler with the element closer to the bottom. Either construct another or choose a smaller still like a smaller alembic style to use specifically for the gin runs. This could also be more suitable as it would allow smaller runs and so more experimentation.
Tasting / Other Notes
The gin is slightly cloudy with the botanical additions. The juniper is strong and there is a pleasant peppery taste. The gin is smooth with very little harshness.
The botanicals are a little strong and need to be reduced by volume of spirit produced. This will also clear up the slight haze.