Just got a still going and was thinking about a gin I could make for my grandpa that would set it above and beyond what he can typically buy off the shelf. Ginger was the first thing that came to mind, and then I hit youtube looking for gin ideas and find this. Really loved watching how you worked through the blending process and now i'm stoked to give a try with a gin. Great stuff man!
This turned out really good so thanks for the recipe. Was a bit worried as I had to use ground ginger and wasn’t sure if vapour would work but a good little gin in the end that’s still improving. Jeez; a little cardamom goes a long way!
Would you be interested in some sassafras root? I'm considering making a gin with it, but I will definitely use it sparingly. Safrole is some extremely powerful stuff.
Always inspiring seeing you make new stuff. Feels like I'm learning everything along with you! It's interesting how the cardamon affects a gin - it's a great flavour when balanced but adds weird notes here and there! Did cutting out some of those higher ABV jars affect the mouthfeel at all? Oh, and the beard's looking good by the way! Keep on waffling!
Hi Jesse, I've developed my own recipe based on Odin's quantities for botanicals with great results. He suggests proofing down to 42% and then macerates for 24/48 hours
Hi, liking the spice in there, I may try the ginger, nutmeg and allspice. Please can I ask why you didn't vapor infuse it with the ingredients in the column? I always vapor infuse mine, is your way better?? I also add lemon, orange peel and cinnamon. Let me know mate. Thanks
For me I find letting it stew vs vapor path I get stronger flavors coming through, so it depends on what I'm using and what I want to decide which way to run it, for more a light a herbal I use vapor path otherwise stew
@@puddingwar5110 You get stronger flavours even after distilling the stewed juice? ;-} When I started, I did some initial soaking of separate ingredients to get a feel for quantities (and IIRC made some gin directly by diluting & blending those test solutions), but since then have used vapour infusion in a dome condenser...
Hi, thank you for your replies. 🤔. So, I have 2 x 23l of wash that I will strip through the week. I will split the batch of ethanol and use the same ingredients. One vapor and one bath / stew. I will post my results from a taste test..... let you know. Thanks again,
I'll theorize that vapour is more efficient - less botanicals for the same amount of gin. I get the feeling that I could reuse my botanical pouch for more than one batch, but I've never had enough to test that. So it's possible that I'm _less_ efficient given my small batches. Still...at under $1 per finished bottle, I'm not too concerned. Maybe I'll freeze my used ingredients next time and try to reuse them for my succeeding run...
This is fascinating and makes me really want to try a gin. Am I right that these are low wines? If so, would the botanicals (mainly juniper I guess) contribute at all to increased foreshots?
Hi Jesse, im going try this recipe this weekend and will buy some natural vodka and run it through my air still . What % alcohol of vodka should I use ?
That is how I've been do my blending for a while now. I do prof it down to about 30% and let it sit over night and sample again to ensure I like it then it off to storage jars. Good Video and this is on my to do list .
Hey Jesse! I'm loving your channel and chasing the craft. I ordered an inexpensive still from Amazon and ran batches of water and vinegar until there was no noticeable tastes coming out. I watched this video a few times as well as some others and decided to give it a go. I steeped my botanicals for 48 hours and distilled my first batch last night. It was a lot of fun! The outcome of my first batch is that it is very spicy. I could sip on it and enjoy it; however pretty sure my girlfriend will want something smoother. My question is. will distilling a batch a 2nd time lighten up the flavor some? Thanks in advance!
Just started distilling just on my first sugar wash with turbo yeast and carbon like how you started out as a newbie good on you wish I had the room in England our houses could fit in your room lol
HI Jesse, I enjoy your channel. Just a quick look at your numbers, the above written recipe is in the ballpark of 30g per l of absolute alcohol at 30%, if you used the same one in your recipe demo on video, the botanical load is roughly half that as you using closer to 2L of absolute alcohol and not 1.
Cardomom is a strong flavour. I don't think I would have added more than a couple of pods for the amount of fluid. In cooking often the pods are just crushed and added whole. Cooking with ground cardamom would cause too much flavour to come through unless you are only using a fraction of a pod or cooking a large pot of food. Soaking in alcohol is going to draw a lot of the flavour out. Also, the clove flavour is from the allspice.
Sounds good to me man. The wheat and rye are a bit out of the standard scotch wheelhouse. But whatever it is will be a tasty whisky I am sure! Let us know how it goes.
You should also try running the same recipe a second time, but using the basket in the column for the second batch instead of macerating/soaking the botanicals, then compare the two runs. I know a lot of people prefer gin made the latter way, as it's supposed to be lighter.
Hello, in one of your video of making vodka, while making the wash u have used, wheat bran, multi vaitamins, epsom salt, citric acid, and DAP. I wish to ask if you could please tell me what is a DAP? And which multi vitamin tablet shall we use? Would we get them from amazon?
Hey Jesse, just coming off a(nother) bit of a still it RU-vid binge. Awesome stuff and I’m keen to give this recipe a nudge over the weekend (Xmas batch). Your initial 2L spirit mentioned in the recipe must have been pretty high proof to give you around 5Ltr base (I think you mentioned). I just wanted to check what your actual starting spirit strength and volume was in the pot so I get the botanical ratio’s right(ish). Any info on that would be awesome.
All good Jesse. Went back and saw your feints were @ 90% so will work to that. Gonna try this vapour distilled rather than macerated so will see how that turns out.
Hey Jesse get yourself some glass graduated pipettes man(10ml and/or 2 ml), real cheap from AliExpress but also nicer than the plastic syringes. Keep up the great content
I made this last year as a birthday present, a whole demi john filled (4.5L) which lasted them half a year. Now they have already stated, not hinted.. they want the same again, especially with them earthy flavours. My problem is I have wrote down 5g of cardamon! Have you changed the recipe or is this a error it my note taking?
I've found my answer, I rewatched the video and for cardomon you said 5g but did a 2g post video screen note. I must have hit play and wrote down the ingredients by listening.
@@TheLandstrider oh right haha. Yeah apparently I didn't actually record a Segway between the two segments. Muppet! Nice man! Hope it turns out awesome!
Oh hahaha, sorry man. I should have clarified that. Just the water in the same container that the maceration was in. the small amount of oils left in there when I added the water dropped out of solution.
We have angelica here...it's kindof a weed problem. I would not suggest planting on purpose, unless you don't mind the plant appearing everywhere. I bought a bag of dried root before realizing what the plants were! Perhaps I'll try their roots someday. The bag is probably a lifetime supply though.
Be careful real absinthe was criminalized before opium & weed for a reason. But herbal extracts are fun & a good use for extra liquor high or healthful
1: try pan roasting your dry spices 2: they’re dealer scales 🤣 3: if it’s been stilled before do you still cut heads, if it’s good? 4: would you be interested in coming to Scotland to make a genuine whisky (3 years is a long investment of time)
Seagram's Gin is a surprisingly good for being pretty cheap, anything labeled London Dry Gin is a typical style. Hendricks Gin is one of my favorites it's more citrus focused instead of juniper but it's a little pricey if you don't catch it on sale but New Amsterdam is better priced and had a similar flavor profile just a little more headsy but in a cocktail you don't really notice it.
Nah I get that. There are still a bunch different styles of spirit I have yet to taste. I dont have a lotta experience with commercial Gin so I will let the others guide you ;)
Try to buy small amounts of different gins (like pint or 2 oz size) for taste testing. This will give you your preferred taste profile to strive for. A bit expensive, but the best way I know. Bombay Sapphire is my sipping gin and Beefeater London Dry for drinks. Others are unique and good, while others insult my taste buds (but that is my taste buds and not yours).
Great video, Jessie! Really enjoyed it. May I ask where in NZ you get the Angelica Seeds? I have a hard time finding these and bitter almonds, so if you have a tip that would be awesome (email if you want: bennyssimo@gmail.com). Also I kept my Gin for three month undiluted in glass and the flavours changed dramatically. After the three month nothing really changed anymore, so I figured that is a got benchmark time for my Gins to "harmonise". Citrus went away almost completely and all the different anise-notes got much stronger, so I tweaked my recipe after that time. I learned much from you and have great joy watching you describing flavours. Thank you, brother
Yeah the condenser is a bit lack luster. But also look at my hand sitting below the spout you can see my hand steaming as well. I think there was a bit of a perfect storm to show vapour off with temp/humidity/lighting etc. The distillate was cold, but o guess that does not mean vapour is not escaping too.
