The Big Gin Thread

Clickeral

@GD50

Hey would be keen to do a swap will pm you my details when I get home tonight

Boiler size is only 50L, and Ill start at a lower % in the boiler next time.

Yes I was running in pot still mode and my original off take was around 90% which I was really surprised about.

I probably should have collected down to 10% but I think the product I have has come over nicely

My clean up at the end wasn't too bad and the basket didnt swell for me either :)

This is my first go at gin so keen to keep learning :D

GD50

I should have said the clean up with a GB4 is a piece of piss where as having some botanicals ie the overflow of the basket in the vertical riser of the pot still will drop the brown water back down into the boiler and be more difficult. It does not happen with the GB4 as the design keeps the brown liquid in the unit. Definitely recommend the 18% start.

crozdog

@Clickeral welcome to the world of gin making. Lots of fun to be had from here.

+1 on dropping the boiler abv back to about 20% (although i don't measure it I simply cover the element in my keg boiler well then add the desired end volume +10%) eg if i want 5l @ 42% I have found that adding 5.5l of nice clean neutral @ 42% on top of the covered element will give me 5l finished gin at about 45%. FYI, i run down to 10% and keep everything collected - no cuts. whatever's left in the boiler gets dumped.

Enjoy your journey

GD50

@crozdog KISS that's too easy and simple when you put it that way but spot on. The only reason I didn't got to 10% was I was at my desired strength or a bit high -46 % and it tasted weak in botanicals so thought it would dilute it. You using a Gin basket?

XEIP

@crozdog How did you decide to run up to 10%? I always did it this way from the first day but nobody supports me in this, they suggest me to leave it much earlier. But I get what I want, why change?

crozdog

GD50, yeah i use a GB4. love it.

@xiep, like you I always did. as I use nice clean neutral, I see no reason to stop early and waste ethanol.

I did a run with a commercial operator recently. he uses gns diluted back to 18-20% straight from the drum. He doesn't run it before doing a gin run, so stops at 30%.

Guess it depends on your inputs and desired output, both volume and flavour profile

Clickeral

Look what I managed to pick up from work today :) been wfh all week haha

GD50

I aint got yours yet and looking forward to it. Mine as per above recipe is fairly complex where as your is relatively simple so looking forward to a stripped down version. It is still developing as only two weeks old.

By the way that SIN-KO-NAH tonic syrup is nice. I don't use it for a G & T but mix a small amount with Buderim Ginger Cordial and soda and it lifts it to a nice bitter twang and makes it most adult. Its almost time for a G&T out on the verandah as nearly 3 pm -- close enough on a warm Saturday.

Clickeral

@GD50 said: I aint got yours yet and looking forward to it. Mine as per above recipe is fairly complex where as your is relatively simple so looking forward to a stripped down version. It is still developing as only two weeks old.

By the way that SIN-KO-NAH tonic syrup is nice. I don't use it for a G & T but mix a small amount with Buderim Ginger Cordial and soda and it lifts it to a nice bitter twang and makes it most adult. Its almost time for a G&T out on the verandah as nearly 3 pm -- close enough on a warm Saturday.

Apparently its due for delivery on the 29th

GD50

@Clickeral. Arrived today. Will try tonight.

Clickeral

@GD50 said: Clickeral. Arrived today. Will try tonight.

Keen to hear feedback, have not had a chance to try yours yet but it smells amazing :) need to do a back to back comparison

GD50

@crozdog. You want to swap 500 ml ?

crozdog

@GD50, sounds good.

richard

Daughter dabbling in some pomegranate and lavender gin. On the way up to me for next week.

DonMateo

I was at a dinner a while ago in Jermuk in Armenia and I had a great pomegranite wine and I said to the host. This would be fantastic with Gin. He said he mixes it with Gin and its amazing. I would love to know how this turns out.

Kapea

Thanks for the idea. I love pomegranates. I love gin.

DonMateo

I was thinking about trying it out as one of my signature recipes. But I am not certain how to do it. I was thinking of an infusion after the gin run and then filter it later on as the pomegranite pods wont give out a lot of flavour in a vapor stream, unless they are crushed of course. If you try it I would love to find out. I am about 6 weeks from having my boilers to be able to start trying recipes. Anyway @richard if you have any feedback it would be appreciated. I was thinking of adding Pomegranite in lieu of a citrus flavor or with just a touch of citrus. The pomegranite is sufficiently tart with different flavours to be able to add some nice complexity to a Gin.

richard

Will get back to you when I have tasted it.

punkin

I did a fig, rose and pomegranate spirit a few years ago, Turkish Delight.

Turkish Delight-Development Thread @ AD

Not much heft in the thread i'm sorry. The bottle is probably still in a cupboard somewhere...

GD50

Just a post to bring this thread up to the how much botanicals post

geoff400

Has anyone documented the order the botanicals come over

crozdog

Big question geoff. I say that as there are soooo many botanicals and sooo many combinations / permutations of ratios it'd be a lifetime of work in a lab.

Keep sampling the run as you go and you will pick different things out at different times.

That said our mate juniper comes over heavy at first, but it does contribute some woody notes at the end.

zymurgybob

@geoff400 said: Has anyone documented the order the botanicals come over

Just a start, the juniper and lemon zest appear to come over first, and the cinnamon is the last note, which goes on forever and just kinda peters out.

grim

Anybody got a line on high quality cascarilla bark?

GD50

You gunna make a Pagan / Witches brew :))

Apart from that i know nothing about it.

geoff400

@zymurgybob funny enough it was the clear cassia bark notes on my last run that brought out the question, I had noticed some quite strong aromas and realised I had never taken the time to think about what is coming over at a given time. I will try harder going forward

richard

I see cascarilla bark is a substitue for Cinchona (cassia) bark.

Any reason for wanting cascarilla bark as I see it is described as having bitter tastes.

geoff400

They are cousins, cassia is quite often sold as cinnamon around the world as it is cheaper. Cassia bark is thick and rolled as a single piece. Cinnamon is thinner and not as solid. When sold as powders they appear very similar. As I am able to get cassia I thought I would try with that first knowing I could always fall back on cinnamon if necessary. I just had a long nose in each jar and the cassia has a wonderful sweet vanilla like aroma to it and affirms my choosing to try it first.

grim

Nope - Chinchona, Angelica, Gentian - not the same. You can probably get close with a blend.

From GoodScents:

Odor @ 1%: Spicy, black pepper, woody, terpy with olibanum, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg nuances

Flavor @ 2.5-10ppm: Spicy, woody, peppery, cola like, with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove notes and a smoky nuance

GD50

This is getting confusing.

Cassia is nothing like cinchona. Cinchona is very easy to get in bark or powder form ( Australia ) No idea what cascarilla tastes like or imparts - except pagans mix it with eggshell for fuck knows what reason or use.

The difference between cassia and cinnamon is something I was going to explore.

@Grim what do you hope to get from using it. Mind you I firmly believe everything is there to try. Were those odor and flavour notes relating to cascarilla ? Re-reading I think they are and sounds interesting.