I use this recipe a LOT! But I add fennel seeds and a small piece of licorice root. I proof it down to 45 to 50% ABV. And I like it a lot, and a lot of people like it. And when we compare a commercial one with mine...... My one wins, because the taste is sooo much better. Great channel!!!
Thanks.. loved the vid! As a scientist myself, all I can think about is molecular weights present in each collection. I think you said the citrus notes were present in first few fractions, which means that the aromatic compounds there were of low molecular weight and so on. So if you increase proportion of orange rind, they all will come early as well while remaining fractions being unaffected.
You won't generally get scorching with a propane fired still. The pot distributes the heat well so nothing is really over wash temp. Electric elements scorch because the local temp around them can be very high when they get stuff on them.
Hi Jesse, nice to see you doing a Gin video at last. I USE Teddy's FFV. I do my stripping run and then put the botanicals bill in the still head and distill right through them and well into the tails. I have found that late in the tails the distillate changes colour to yellow. This is probably due to one of the botanicals, not sure which one. I then distill it all again without any botanicals and proof down to 45%abv. I would put it up against any commercialy sold product.
I grew a coriander plant 5 years ago it flowered and went to seed. I still have more seed than I know what to do with... they still grow if planted too
Bruh you have came so far from this video ... The kid in the background was hilarious 🤣 You definitely have grown so much in this hobby that I honestly don't know why you haven't started a still it brand of alcohol
how many watts of heat per gallon would someone need for say a T500 it says 1500W... Just wondering if this is good or should someone be looking for something with more heating ability?
Just what I've been looking for. Been sitting on the botanicals for a while now, the same along with Angelica Root, Star Anise, and Rosemary. Now I will definitely have to try this soon.
Brad Osborne I’d be very careful with adding too much rosemary. It can be a very dominant herb, especially if fresh, and can give a soapy taste to the gin
Thanks for sharing this! I think I was recommended your vid as I was checking out some other Odin recipe vids... this is perfect timing as I’m doing my first gin distillation tomorrow! Cheers and sub’d!
@@StillIt Excellent work I might add, watched it all and i look forward to your future work in the area. As others have written, would be very interested in some vapour infused styles, perhaps one of the Bombay clones on the forums? Whatever you end up doing, it will be an adventure all the same. I appreciate being to follow along and learn something new in areas I have yet to try. With love from a budding hobbyist in Canada!
@@StillIt Recently tried a pear based brandy, had some issues with a funk due to excess pulp in the wash. I think you'd very much appreciate the levels of green apple coming through in the heads! Would recommend giving something like that a shot. Aged a couple of months on slow toasted and charred sugar maple, the caramel flavours worked splendidly with it!
@@StillIt I think mine were a bartlett or similar variety, very sweet when left to ripen off tree for a couple of days. Might be worth a shot! Other than sweet they did not have a strong flavour but the brandy certainly did.
@@StillIt if you have bland tasting apples or pears use some quince for character, being pretty dry they'd benefit greatly from being mixed with juicer fruit
Mate, I'm so glad you've done this video - couldn't have been at a better time! My 3rd gen Odin's cornflake whiskey is almost ready to go and I had planned to store the backset and concentrate on a 1st attempt at birdwatchers for this gin recipe! Love the channel and can't wait for each video. Keep in up mate!
Idea (not mine): Vacuum distillation of fresh cucumber...then blending that into Gin as a flavoring agent. We've seen it done by folks in England, but it'd be interesting to see it adapted to a regular pot still. Thanks!
I made elderflower gin last week and i added the elderflower after distilation so it would shine though , means ots not clear but the finish is amazing
I'm actually excited that you used the little Chinese Pot Still because that's what I use. I would've liked some video of it in action. I didn't know I could make gin without a basket and I'm definitely making this soon. I understand your concern about the silicone gasket and check mine while running by moving a small mirror around the edge (no steam = no leaks). The flour paste is a pretty big mess to clean up. And, of course, I have a fire extinguisher handy. If you use the small pot still in the future can you show your setup? Can you do a video on just using this still? It's the perfect size for me.
Hey Jesse, think about getting an organic chemistry lab distillation kit and you'll have a great tiny all-glass still that is perfect for small batch gin / liquor / absinthe ..etc experiments. You can usually pick up a basic still kit for well under $100 (US). You can run it on a hot plate or heating mantle indoors and you get to look like a mad scientist as well.
@@StillIt odin's easy gin! To be honest, I don't know a lot about gin and am more of a whisky guy, but just like you I think I will be making lots more gin after this first run!
I have tried this recipe and am very happy with it. Got some now that has been aging for just a week and it's good. Odin recommends aging it 5 weeks, I think, so I'll be sure to make this run last that long. I have another run in the works which will have few more botanicals like clove and anise added in.
When i add water the gin gets cloudy from all the essential oils from the botanicals they dont want to mix with water. What is the solution? Thank you!
Very nicely done sir! =D One thing I found that softens that citric punchiness is to toast the orange peel lightly, lemon peels too, but never, never, NEVER use mandarin peel. Just trust me on that one...
@@@StillIt The aromatics are overwhelming and absolutely teeth curling. Kind of like the disappointment when you pick a fresh cumquat and think, 'what a cute little orange, I bet its delicious...'
I made this recipe with mandarin and loved it. It was way too powerful at first, I'll grant you that, but after six weeks everything mellowed out and it was delicious.
This is probably a stupid question but can I use a Neutral Corn-based shine as my gin base? My shine is all grain....just corn and Distillers Malt....And do I need to do a 50/50 in the potstill with water and the neutral with the botanicals when I am going to distill it
Not distilling myself (forbidden here) but make a lot of other stuff,beer/ginger beer ginger Ale etc. And one thing I’ve noticed when making ginger beer ,be very moderate with lemon peels, gets pretty lemony ,and not in a good way ,so I’m using very little lemon doing that. Thanks for the video buddy
Could you add the spice mix with a sugar wash put that in a thumper and run/make a neutral spirit running it through the thumper to better infuse it and also, it would come out clear??
Slightly crushed cardamom seeds and juniper berries, the proper term is bruised. As in, bruise the cardamom scenes and juniper berries with a mortar and pestle.
Why would you take a fore-shots cut off of the distillate if the spirit you started with was itself a finished spirit, either vodka or some other spirit which had already had the heads and tails cut out? Do those "fore shots" contain cruddy flavors from the berries, seeds, etc. that just come off early?
The typical reason is that any lower-weight organics such as methanol should be in the foreshots. For most fermentations on this scale, any of these lower-weight organics should be very small, but better safe than sorry.
although methanol is a good reason, especially citrus and juniper has a huge load of oils in them and will cause your distillate to be cloudy when cut. the foreshot contains the majority of these highly volatile oils.
7:40 could try doing just single ingredients in small batches to keep each flavour separate then blending via trial and error to get a final blend you like. and the in future you can make batches of each botanical infusion in portion sizes suitable the throw in all together at the end.
I actually got a gin basket for my still, really thinking about throwing some citrus peels into it next time I do a sugar wash, but I’m thinking about doing a traditional corn mash for my next run.
Yeah man good start, I jumped right in and started with complex ingredients list. I now substitute and use “local” ingredients to give it a local twist such as Tasmanian pepper berry, lemon myrtle etc. I’ve stuffed up a few times but just re-distill and start again. I’ve found star anise can really over power things so go easy on that. Also use grapefruit and lime for the citrus content and I’m not so fussy on the pith I don’t seem to notice much difference with or without it.
If you are doing the 2 week maceration and not boiling the botanicals, the pith is fine to leave in. It’s when you boil the peel with pith, that you boil out the bitterness.
Tannin/oils in the alcohol, just means that you dipped into the heads or tails of a batch. When you dilute it mixes it all up and makes that cloudy or oily mess.
Switching from tangerines to oranges will have a big effect on the citrus notes as the volatile oils in the tangerine peel are what give them their characteristic flavor/scent. On a side note, I wonder if the bitter components from the pith would even make it over in the distillation. If not no need to be too careful about getting only the outer peel. Either way, great channel. I've never distilled anything, but its interesting stuff none the less.
so few youtube videos about actually making gin, instead of talking about it like it's f'in alchemy. ok maybe it is alchemy, but people don't show it in a "down to earth" practical way. you are doing everyone a big favor with that. it's so accessible for any distiller to try it, but it's put on a pedestal because the recipes can be pretty complex and distilling is not a legal hobby in most places, so it's "hush-hush".
When are you going to try making a cognac/grape brandy? Aging is obviously something more involved, but if you are still planning on going for a long time with Still It, that would be an awesome experiment, especially since cognac guys are so secretive about how they make their spirits.
Hey Jesse thanks for posting this. I steeped the botanicals and peel in muslin in 1ltr of 43% neutral grain, after 24hours removed peel and put botanicals back in muslin with a pinch of angelica root and a pinch of orris root powder to act as a flavour fixure which I then put in botanical basket in my air still.... Run off started at 80% and ran down to 40% ....the spirit came out a sort of amber colour and I can't work out why.....any idea? 8m thinking maybe the orange stained muslin may have contributed or the unsteeped angelica root but can't be sure... A total novice and I'm stumped. Any advice gratefully recieved. Thanks!
Hows it mate, it could have boiled over. How full was the still? Or you have something after the point of no return in the still that is leeching colour.
@@StillIt Ahhh a bit of leakage out the top of still, briefly, caught it in time. Maybe too much muslin in the botanical basket was pressing against the out flow making the air still work a little harder... Ifvthat makes sense. Plus tlused the original muslin from the maceration which may have had some colour from the orange peel.... On second maceration now, see how we go. Thanks for your help, much appreciated....always learning.
That would work. Stildragon's got one that I'm looking at hard. I'll probably have to scale it down a bit. I'm not sure if my rig is large enough to use theirs. = )
Jesse, i have an odd question for you. You mentioned cutting down your abv using filtered water. I don't have a water filter here in Maine but have access to spring water which is amazing but has minerals of course. Would you recommend me buying a Brita or something and then filtering first or do you think spring water is fine. In the past i used tap water where i lived but would boil it first and let it sit for 24 hours to get rid of anything the town may have added like floride etc. I live in the country now and get spring water from one of the same aquifers that Poland Spring water accesses. Maybe i'm over engineering this. Love all the learning i've been doing. I started moonshining in the early 80's, other than books and a friend named Tucker, i flew by the seat of my pants. So many things i could have learned if the internet was like it is now. Anyway, knowledge is power and enables great things! You are in the top 3 of home distillers in my book. tom :)
@@StillIt Depending on how off the rails you want to get, I'm sure there are some herbs and spices that are native to New Zealand that you could put in there, some local flair on a very British drink.
i tried a similar recipe to this but after 48hs mine became so cloudy, but it smelt amazing, does anyone know how i can try filtering it ? i tried leaving it and waiting for it to settle but it didnt work as well as it hoped.
You know what, its actually not something that I have tried yet. I would suggest doing a seperate infusino of each botanical you want to try. Then blending them. That should give you the info/baseline for a good recipe based on your taste.
@@StillIt That's a smart strategy. Thanks a lot for your advice. I've already tried the infusion with your current recipe(everything together at once), it's too orangey. I'll take your advice and keep you posted.
Hi, Happy to see The use of a mini-still. Could not help but notice the copper hanging from the spout. Would imagine that is something you added? And If you did, why?
hi jessie can i use a reflux still instead of a pot still with the botanicals in it and if the spirit is at 40% and its been sitting for 2-3 weeks can i strain through coffee filters and would it be the same cheers Jim (newby to the craft )
Nice, I have a gin basket that I haven't used yet but with this method I can use my scientific set up it's 3000ml all glass with a Gram condenser. I'm going to use the Manuka on a heavy smoke malt I made do you think that's a good fit? Great video, thank you. You are making history keep them coming!
Hi! I'm your latest sub :) I'm wanting to get into gin-making and VERY new to the whole scene, but this video got me more excited about it. I need to watch more basic videos of how to create the base alcohol and then I'll come back and follow your next-level tactics! Thanks
Gin is what I’m doing most, running recipes through a copper 5 litre then scaling up on my 50 litre, after seeing a ‘Bearded & Bored’ video, I’m now adding a thumper for the botanicals with a bypass to remove fore-shots & heads first, would I be right in saying that the your recipe of 13g of juniper per litre would still apply for say 40 litres meaning 520g? Love what your doing fella
Hi Jesse, great video as always. Your channel is A1 bud. I have made this a couple of times and every time I get a cloudy gin. Odin recommends adding same ABV spirit but it hasn't worked for me. It's still a nice tasty drink but I'd like to sort out the cloud. Any advice? Thanks!
Cheers mate. Funny enough I actually heard something about this recently on a podcast. The gin manufacturer was basically saying he wished that the market would accept cloudy gin as he can make a product that tastes better if aloud to go cloudy. So I guess first up, do you really need it to be clear? Just look what happened with NEIPA. But. . . . haha Basicly you have something in there that is now not soluble any longer. Likely the oils and flavour components from your botanicals. So you could take this into account with your cuts and attempt to get less of this from the back end of the run. Or bottle at a higher abv which should allow more of these components to stay in solution.
Jesse, thanks for the quick response! Yep, I'll try more cuts and maybe figure out when the oils get through. Ah sure having it cloudy isn't a problem for me with my beers or with this one. A fine tasty drink it is, but my wife won't touch it! She's still untrusting of shed products!! 😂
HAHAHA yeah, I hear you. Perception goes a long way. Just mix it into something else before she can see it! Or, have her do a blind taste test. But Yeah I can totally understand the desire to have it clear.
never knew different flavors would distill out before/after others, cool. Why mix them together? Feel like I'd be tempted to separate out for different occasions & meals to match flavors or something
Great video - 1) did you taste the infusion mixture prior to distilling? What does the distillation process add to the taste? 2) does any of the flavor/oils stay behind in the still that could carry over into your next distillation?
Awesome questions mate, unfortunately I don't have a lot of answers for you. I dipped my finger in the infusion beforehand, basically just tasted like orange with a touch of other stuff. But didn't really taste it properly. The rest is still in he boiler, I'll give it a taste later on.
Like it now? Try it in six weeks time ;) Honestly, this is my go to gin recipe. Quick and easy. Goes very well in a G&T, dry martini or Negroni. And after that? I still haven't found out how deep the rabbit hole goes! I've recently put some on oak, curious how that"ll end up.
Dirty martinis are one of my favs, so looking forward to giving it a rip like that. Yeah I am going to have to give the wood ageing thing a rip for sure.
Have you tried Pastis I like this spirit and often get a bottle of 45% abv . Would like to try making my own one day but cannot find a recipe for it so if you know what goes into it would like to know..regards Tim
Hi great UA-cam channel you have... i fellow you for a while now. I maked your gin. Everything ok, had a great gin of 77% and wanted to lengthen it with mineral water to 40% now I have a cloudy gin. How is this possible and especially how do I solve it. thank you in advance ...
Quite a few things can cause that. you might want to try making your heads and tales bigger to avoid excess oils. the minerals can also cause this if you use tap water to cut the abv. but im no expert
It's just there to send the distillate in the right direction. I was having trouble getting the cuts jar close enough and in the right spot. The liquor will run along it the drip off the end :)
Awesome Video Thanks Jessie! I did everything the same as you did but I think that I dont have that strong juniper taste. Did you use fresh juniper berries or those kinda dry berries ? I can only get my hands on those dry berries. Do you think thats the problem ? Best regards from Austria !
Whats up mate. I am using dried juniper as well. Its a bit hard to know for sure as "strong juniper flavour" is going to be very different from person to person. And what aspect of the juniper is going to change from person to person too. Are you talking the pin needle kinda dank side of things? Or the berry flavour? But, thats the beauty of this hobby man. You could try adding another 20-30. . . . 50% berries. Or try smashing them up a little more. Perhaps even try the same amount of berries, but let them macerate for a day longer than all the other botanicals.
@@StillIt Mostly about the berry flavour. I will try to add more juniper and mess with the recipe board a little bit. But one thing is for sure OEG helps a lot for getting a feel on how to tweek your recipe board. Thanks a lot!
This still is all stainless, there is no copper in it. But this spirit has already gone through a still with a good amount of copper. So Im not too stressed in this situation. But in general, yes you want at least some copper in the vapour path.
Hi jesse , i like your videos , ive been distilling for awhile. I am very interested in your Gin that your are working with . Any more research on it . Thanks Dewey Id love to chat more with you and share ideas.
Nice! Looks like you had some good results. Are you going to try a pink gin or something like that? Excited to see what you do
Yeah I have yet to really decide what to do next.
By the way team, New Zanadian has a dope video on odins too. Check it out!
Nice idea Morse!
I am wondering if 190 proof will work as well
I use this recipe a LOT! But I add fennel seeds and a small piece of licorice root. I proof it down to 45 to 50% ABV. And I like it a lot, and a lot of people like it. And when we compare a commercial one with mine...... My one wins, because the taste is sooo much better. Great channel!!!
Looks awesome, I met Odin a few years at one of his classes in Holland. Have a look at his still he’s making now istill
Thanks.. loved the vid! As a scientist myself, all I can think about is molecular weights present in each collection. I think you said the citrus notes were present in first few fractions, which means that the aromatic compounds there were of low molecular weight and so on. So if you increase proportion of orange rind, they all will come early as well while remaining fractions being unaffected.
You won't generally get scorching with a propane fired still. The pot distributes the heat well so nothing is really over wash temp. Electric elements scorch because the local temp around them can be very high when they get stuff on them.
Hi Jesse, nice to see you doing a Gin video at last. I USE Teddy's FFV. I do my stripping run and then put the botanicals bill in the still head and distill right through them and well into the tails. I have found that late in the tails the distillate changes colour to yellow. This is probably due to one of the botanicals, not sure which one. I then distill it all again without any botanicals and proof down to 45%abv. I would put it up against any commercialy sold product.
Yeah I can definitely see FFV adding something nice to a gin! Keep on chasing the craft!
I grew a coriander plant 5 years ago it flowered and went to seed. I still have more seed than I know what to do with... they still grow if planted too
Bruh you have came so far from this video ...
The kid in the background was hilarious 🤣
You definitely have grown so much in this hobby that I honestly don't know why you haven't started a still it brand of alcohol
how many watts of heat per gallon would someone need for say a T500 it says 1500W... Just wondering if this is good or should someone be looking for something with more heating ability?
Love it Jesse! Stilling is just a whole new world I don't know enough about. Keep up the good work.
Yeah, always something else to do!
Just what I've been looking for. Been sitting on the botanicals for a while now, the same along with Angelica Root, Star Anise, and Rosemary. Now I will definitely have to try this soon.
Nice, it really was super easy mate.
Brad Osborne I’d be very careful with adding too much rosemary. It can be a very dominant herb, especially if fresh, and can give a soapy taste to the gin
Thanks for sharing this! I think I was recommended your vid as I was checking out some other Odin recipe vids... this is perfect timing as I’m doing my first gin distillation tomorrow! Cheers and sub’d!
Awesome man, I hope it works out well!
Yes!! I've been waiting for this video forever!
Haha, well here it is.
@@StillIt Excellent work I might add, watched it all and i look forward to your future work in the area. As others have written, would be very interested in some vapour infused styles, perhaps one of the Bombay clones on the forums? Whatever you end up doing, it will be an adventure all the same. I appreciate being to follow along and learn something new in areas I have yet to try.
With love from a budding hobbyist in Canada!
Thanks Jesse. How about trying a fruit fermentation brandy making video series?
Yeah man I would love to!
@@StillIt Recently tried a pear based brandy, had some issues with a funk due to excess pulp in the wash. I think you'd very much appreciate the levels of green apple coming through in the heads! Would recommend giving something like that a shot. Aged a couple of months on slow toasted and charred sugar maple, the caramel flavours worked splendidly with it!
@@brassdunes interesting, I actually though about doing something like this as we have a pair tree. Problem is they are pretty tasteless pears haha.
@@StillIt I think mine were a bartlett or similar variety, very sweet when left to ripen off tree for a couple of days. Might be worth a shot! Other than sweet they did not have a strong flavour but the brandy certainly did.
@@StillIt if you have bland tasting apples or pears use some quince for character, being pretty dry they'd benefit greatly from being mixed with juicer fruit
Using box grater is an easier way of zesting the orange.
Mate, I'm so glad you've done this video - couldn't have been at a better time! My 3rd gen Odin's cornflake whiskey is almost ready to go and I had planned to store the backset and concentrate on a 1st attempt at birdwatchers for this gin recipe! Love the channel and can't wait for each video. Keep in up mate!
Ayyyyeeeeee, good timing haha!
I’m five years late to the party but appreciate the recipe.
Idea (not mine): Vacuum distillation of fresh cucumber...then blending that into Gin as a flavoring agent. We've seen it done by folks in England, but it'd be interesting to see it adapted to a regular pot still. Thanks!
I agree that editing the recipe is the way to get your flavors. Otherwise you cut too much and end up with less of a run.
I am a beginner, could anyone give me any tips? I don’t really know what to ask!.
I made elderflower gin last week and i added the elderflower after distilation so it would shine though , means ots not clear but the finish is amazing
Nice, yeah that sounds fun man.
So you don't have to run it through the still again. But it'll look cloudy/murky.
Thanks
Gin taste like Christmas (trees). It reminds me of a fresh cut Christmas tree. A bit of the holiday season all year.
What a good video! Nice to see something different and I like fun so more please.
Yeah I'm hooked on the gin making thing, there will be more.
I'm actually excited that you used the little Chinese Pot Still because that's what I use. I would've liked some video of it in action. I didn't know I could make gin without a basket and I'm definitely making this soon. I understand your concern about the silicone gasket and check mine while running by moving a small mirror around the edge (no steam = no leaks). The flour paste is a pretty big mess to clean up. And, of course, I have a fire extinguisher handy. If you use the small pot still in the future can you show your setup? Can you do a video on just using this still? It's the perfect size for me.
Yeah for sure mate, it's only the first time I have really used it. So I plan on getting a few more runs under the belt and do a full review on it.
From what I've researched, the main concern with silicone is the chemicals that high proof alcohol leach out of it.
Where do you get these mini stills from?
@@edleuty1944 Ebay
Hey Jesse, think about getting an organic chemistry lab distillation kit and you'll have a great tiny all-glass still that is perfect for small batch gin / liquor / absinthe ..etc experiments. You can usually pick up a basic still kit for well under $100 (US). You can run it on a hot plate or heating mantle indoors and you get to look like a mad scientist as well.
Very nice! I like gin distilling because its the best bang for your buck since gin is so expensive.
Yeah it's expensive here too! Although whisky is generally more so, but we can knock a gin out in a day lol. Cheers mate🥃
Nice video, I really need to finish my mini still in order to make some gin!!
Yeah mate get it done!
@@StillIt running my first easy gin as we speak, smells sooooo good!
Nice work man!and thanks for the update! What are you making??
@@StillIt odin's easy gin! To be honest, I don't know a lot about gin and am more of a whisky guy, but just like you I think I will be making lots more gin after this first run!
Why would you need to strip the foreshots if the initial product was a hearts cut?
With this one I was just following the recipe. But I think there was some weird stuff going on at the top end with botanical flavour.
Ahhh I never considered that different botanical flavours would boil off at different temps
@@TimGoodeMetalworks yeah, i learned that here too!
I have tried this recipe and am very happy with it. Got some now that has been aging for just a week and it's good. Odin recommends aging it 5 weeks, I think, so I'll be sure to make this run last that long. I have another run in the works which will have few more botanicals like clove and anise added in.
Nice mate, yeah I definitly need to have a crack at messing with the recipe some more!
Excellent video
Cheers 🥃
When i add water the gin gets cloudy from all the essential oils from the botanicals they dont want to mix with water. What is the solution? Thank you!
Dont proof it down so much. Try 46%.
Or just roll with a cloudy gin. It just means you managed to cram a bunch of flavour in there.
Very nicely done sir! =D One thing I found that softens that citric punchiness is to toast the orange peel lightly, lemon peels too, but never, never, NEVER use mandarin peel. Just trust me on that one...
Haha, I very nearly used Mandarin instead of the orange. What happens with it?
@@@StillIt The aromatics are overwhelming and absolutely teeth curling.
Kind of like the disappointment when you pick a fresh cumquat and think, 'what a cute little orange, I bet its delicious...'
I made this recipe with mandarin and loved it. It was way too powerful at first, I'll grant you that, but after six weeks everything mellowed out and it was delicious.
@@anratse cant imagine waiting 6 weeks though..lol
This is probably a stupid question but can I use a Neutral Corn-based shine as my gin base? My shine is all grain....just corn and Distillers Malt....And do I need to do a 50/50 in the potstill with water and the neutral with the botanicals when I am going to distill it
Not distilling myself (forbidden here) but make a lot of other stuff,beer/ginger beer ginger Ale etc.
And one thing I’ve noticed when making ginger beer ,be very moderate with lemon peels, gets pretty lemony ,and not in a good way ,so I’m using very little lemon doing that.
Thanks for the video buddy
Could you add the spice mix with a sugar wash put that in a thumper and run/make a neutral spirit running it through the thumper to better infuse it and also, it would come out clear??
Is it safe to drink without distilling? Why do u have to remove the heads even tho the alcohol purchased was store bought distilled grain alcohol?
Awesome video! Gin is a great mix up!
Yeah feels good to do something different.
Dume question but if you trippel the recepie do you also trippel de foreshots
Slightly crushed cardamom seeds and juniper berries, the proper term is bruised. As in, bruise the cardamom scenes and juniper berries with a mortar and pestle.
Is it cardamon or corriander?
In the Chinese pot still I have a 'thumper' would that be suitable to insert eg Lemon Myrtle leaves for flavour?
Dada, love it!
I wonder how this would taste if you use white rum instead of a vodka
Why would you take a fore-shots cut off of the distillate if the spirit you started with was itself a finished spirit, either vodka or some other spirit which had already had the heads and tails cut out? Do those "fore shots" contain cruddy flavors from the berries, seeds, etc. that just come off early?
The typical reason is that any lower-weight organics such as methanol should be in the foreshots. For most fermentations on this scale, any of these lower-weight organics should be very small, but better safe than sorry.
although methanol is a good reason, especially citrus and juniper has a huge load of oils in them and will cause your distillate to be cloudy when cut. the foreshot contains the majority of these highly volatile oils.
7:40 could try doing just single ingredients in small batches to keep each flavour separate then blending via trial and error to get a final blend you like. and the in future you can make batches of each botanical infusion in portion sizes suitable the throw in all together at the end.
I actually got a gin basket for my still, really thinking about throwing some citrus peels into it next time I do a sugar wash, but I’m thinking about doing a traditional corn mash for my next run.
Nice, yeah you have lots of options now!
Trying to use this method to make Sloe gin.
Will try this, gin just gives me a hell of a hangover
May find that your own won't. . .
@@StillIt Agreed, hangovers mostly come from methanol and fusel alcohols. Correct?
@@The-Trinity-Bro thats what ive heard.
Yeah man good start, I jumped right in and started with complex ingredients list. I now substitute and use “local” ingredients to give it a local twist such as Tasmanian pepper berry, lemon myrtle etc. I’ve stuffed up a few times but just re-distill and start again. I’ve found star anise can really over power things so go easy on that. Also use grapefruit and lime for the citrus content and I’m not so fussy on the pith I don’t seem to notice much difference with or without it.
Awesome man, yeah I'm pretty Keen to go with some local/native botanicals as well.
If you are doing the 2 week maceration and not boiling the botanicals, the pith is fine to leave in. It’s when you boil the peel with pith, that you boil out the bitterness.
Hi MrDive I have a lemon myrtle tree - can you tell me how you used the leaves? Exactly like this video or in the thumper? Thanks!
Does someone know something about when your gin turns cloudy while diluting with water? Thank you 👍.
I did used filtered water btw.
Tannin/oils in the alcohol, just means that you dipped into the heads or tails of a batch. When you dilute it mixes it all up and makes that cloudy or oily mess.
Could a lemon possibly be used
Switching from tangerines to oranges will have a big effect on the citrus notes as the volatile oils in the tangerine peel are what give them their characteristic flavor/scent. On a side note, I wonder if the bitter components from the pith would even make it over in the distillation. If not no need to be too careful about getting only the outer peel.
Either way, great channel. I've never distilled anything, but its interesting stuff none the less.
The paste is such a good idea!! Keep the plastics away!!
so few youtube videos about actually making gin, instead of talking about it like it's f'in alchemy. ok maybe it is alchemy, but people don't show it in a "down to earth" practical way. you are doing everyone a big favor with that. it's so accessible for any distiller to try it, but it's put on a pedestal because the recipes can be pretty complex and distilling is not a legal hobby in most places, so it's "hush-hush".
When are you going to try making a cognac/grape brandy? Aging is obviously something more involved, but if you are still planning on going for a long time with Still It, that would be an awesome experiment, especially since cognac guys are so secretive about how they make their spirits.
Another great, informative video!
Cheers mate
Hey Jesse thanks for posting this. I steeped the botanicals and peel in muslin in 1ltr of 43% neutral grain, after 24hours removed peel and put botanicals back in muslin with a pinch of angelica root and a pinch of orris root powder to act as a flavour fixure which I then put in botanical basket in my air still.... Run off started at 80% and ran down to 40% ....the spirit came out a sort of amber colour and I can't work out why.....any idea? 8m thinking maybe the orange stained muslin may have contributed or the unsteeped angelica root but can't be sure... A total novice and I'm stumped. Any advice gratefully recieved. Thanks!
Hows it mate, it could have boiled over. How full was the still?
Or you have something after the point of no return in the still that is leeching colour.
@@StillIt Ahhh a bit of leakage out the top of still, briefly, caught it in time. Maybe too much muslin in the botanical basket was pressing against the out flow making the air still work a little harder... Ifvthat makes sense. Plus tlused the original muslin from the maceration which may have had some colour from the orange peel.... On second maceration now, see how we go. Thanks for your help, much appreciated....always learning.
@@StillIt 1ltr 43% spirit in a 1.5 ltr air still
dang i wish i could legally distill in New Jersey, this looks so much fun
Ah man . . . Im sorry :(
You need to try a gin basket. Put your botanicals in an inline chamber, and run the vapors right through to the condenser. = )
Yeah I'd love to try one, it's on the list for sure. A Carter head would be perfect!
That would work. Stildragon's got one that I'm looking at hard. I'll probably have to scale it down a bit. I'm not sure if my rig is large enough to use theirs. = )
Jesse, i have an odd question for you. You mentioned cutting down your abv using filtered water. I don't have a water filter here in Maine but have access to spring water which is amazing but has minerals of course. Would you recommend me buying a Brita or something and then filtering first or do you think spring water is fine. In the past i used tap water where i lived but would boil it first and let it sit for 24 hours to get rid of anything the town may have added like floride etc. I live in the country now and get spring water from one of the same aquifers that Poland Spring water accesses. Maybe i'm over engineering this. Love all the learning i've been doing. I started moonshining in the early 80's, other than books and a friend named Tucker, i flew by the seat of my pants. So many things i could have learned if the internet was like it is now. Anyway, knowledge is power and enables great things! You are in the top 3 of home distillers in my book. tom :)
Try using dried flowers and or herds
Love the windows sound at 2:15
Hey bro, I've just made a batch of odins gin however it has came out at 70% what's the best way of diluting the alcohol but not the taste?
Well you absolutely have to try and make your own gin recipe now.
Yeah for sure. I will be trying my own for sure.
@@StillIt Depending on how off the rails you want to get, I'm sure there are some herbs and spices that are native to New Zealand that you could put in there, some local flair on a very British drink.
Yeahan for sure!
Best part of the video was the Dada call out!! 👌🏾
i tried a similar recipe to this but after 48hs mine became so cloudy, but it smelt amazing, does anyone know how i can try filtering it ? i tried leaving it and waiting for it to settle but it didnt work as well as it hoped.
Hello Jessie.
It's illegal to distill alcohol where I live.
Do you have a compound gin recipe?
You know what, its actually not something that I have tried yet. I would suggest doing a seperate infusino of each botanical you want to try. Then blending them. That should give you the info/baseline for a good recipe based on your taste.
@@StillIt That's a smart strategy.
Thanks a lot for your advice.
I've already tried the infusion with your current recipe(everything together at once), it's too orangey.
I'll take your advice and keep you posted.
Where can I get a potstill like yours?
Is it safe to put 43% alcohol in my still?
Hi, Happy to see The use of a mini-still. Could not help but notice the copper hanging from the spout. Would imagine that is something you added? And If you did, why?
Hi there 😊, yeah I added that just to direct the drips in the right direction. It gave it something a little more defined to drop off.
hi jessie
can i use a reflux still instead of a pot still with the botanicals in it
and if the spirit is at 40% and its been sitting for 2-3 weeks can i strain through coffee filters and would it be the same
cheers Jim (newby to the craft )
Nice, I have a gin basket that I haven't used yet but with this method I can use my scientific set up it's 3000ml all glass with a Gram condenser. I'm going to use the Manuka on a heavy smoke malt I made do you think that's a good fit? Great video, thank you. You are making history keep them coming!
Do you mean Manuka leaf as a botanical for a smoked malt?
No I'm going to toast the wood and age the smoked malt with the wood.
Ahhhh I'm with you. Yeah I think that will be really nice man.
Also that scientific setup sounds perfect for little test batches of gin!
Hi! I'm your latest sub :) I'm wanting to get into gin-making and VERY new to the whole scene, but this video got me more excited about it. I need to watch more basic videos of how to create the base alcohol and then I'll come back and follow your next-level tactics! Thanks
Gin is what I’m doing most, running recipes through a copper 5 litre then scaling up on my 50 litre, after seeing a ‘Bearded & Bored’ video, I’m now adding a thumper for the botanicals with a bypass to remove fore-shots & heads first, would I be right in saying that the your recipe of 13g of juniper per litre would still apply for say 40 litres meaning 520g? Love what your doing fella
Hi Jesse, great video as always. Your channel is A1 bud.
I have made this a couple of times and every time I get a cloudy gin. Odin recommends adding same ABV spirit but it hasn't worked for me.
It's still a nice tasty drink but I'd like to sort out the cloud.
Any advice?
Thanks!
Cheers mate.
Funny enough I actually heard something about this recently on a podcast. The gin manufacturer was basically saying he wished that the market would accept cloudy gin as he can make a product that tastes better if aloud to go cloudy.
So I guess first up, do you really need it to be clear? Just look what happened with NEIPA.
But. . . . haha
Basicly you have something in there that is now not soluble any longer. Likely the oils and flavour components from your botanicals. So you could take this into account with your cuts and attempt to get less of this from the back end of the run. Or bottle at a higher abv which should allow more of these components to stay in solution.
Jesse, thanks for the quick response! Yep, I'll try more cuts and maybe figure out when the oils
get through. Ah sure having it cloudy isn't a problem for me with my beers or with this one. A fine tasty drink it is, but my wife won't touch it! She's still untrusting of shed products!! 😂
HAHAHA yeah, I hear you. Perception goes a long way. Just mix it into something else before she can see it! Or, have her do a blind taste test.
But Yeah I can totally understand the desire to have it clear.
besides the Vikings, who is Odin that is mentioned?
The dude that made this recipe. You can find him primarily on the home-distiller forum :) He is also the guy behind the I-still
I’m trying one with fennel.
Yeah nice. Fennel is yum!
I did a fig and fennel and found the fennel added a medicinal taste
never knew different flavors would distill out before/after others, cool. Why mix them together? Feel like I'd be tempted to separate out for different occasions & meals to match flavors or something
Great video - 1) did you taste the infusion mixture prior to distilling? What does the distillation process add to the taste? 2) does any of the flavor/oils stay behind in the still that could carry over into your next distillation?
Awesome questions mate, unfortunately I don't have a lot of answers for you.
I dipped my finger in the infusion beforehand, basically just tasted like orange with a touch of other stuff. But didn't really taste it properly.
The rest is still in he boiler, I'll give it a taste later on.
Like it now? Try it in six weeks time ;)
Honestly, this is my go to gin recipe. Quick and easy. Goes very well in a G&T, dry martini or Negroni. And after that? I still haven't found out how deep the rabbit hole goes!
I've recently put some on oak, curious how that"ll end up.
Dirty martinis are one of my favs, so looking forward to giving it a rip like that.
Yeah I am going to have to give the wood ageing thing a rip for sure.
You should try a bottle of aged Dutch genever. Gives a good idea of what happens when you age gin on wood.
Is there an increased risk of scorching if I have an electric element in the boiler?
what if i dont distill it? how drinkable will it be?
Do you have a recipe for the neutral spirit?
would it be ok to run this through a 8 gal pot still. I never tried running only a liter through it. Thanks
depends very much on the still. How is it heated?
You can just scale the recipe up too :) (triple it for eg)
Very interesting... Thanks ;-)
Cheers mate
popcorn -would be proud-!!!
Be good to see a vapour infused version, but a great video
Yeah I'm Keen to try that for sure as well.
Just accidently bought myself a 100 litre still with a gun basket and feel out of my depth, as all I had previously was a 12 litre haha
Wow, nice! Live at first sight?
@@StillIt definitely sir, got it yesterday, even the wooden box it came in is getting used as a fermenting cupboard
Epic man, seems like you have a few new toys to play with haha
Have you made with juniper berries?
Have you tried Pastis I like this spirit and often get a bottle of 45% abv . Would like to try making my own one day but cannot find a recipe for it so if you know what goes into it would like to know..regards Tim
So, it takes 1lt of spirit to make .5lt gin!. Is it worth the time and cost?
Its a hobby not a way to beat the liqour store prices
Brilliant!
Hi great UA-cam channel you have... i fellow you for a while now. I maked your gin. Everything ok, had a great gin of 77% and wanted to lengthen it with mineral water to 40% now I have a cloudy gin. How is this possible and especially how do I solve it. thank you in advance ...
Ever thought about making Polugar?
Did anyone have a problem with this going cloudy after proofing it down?
Quite a few things can cause that. you might want to try making your heads and tales bigger to avoid excess oils. the minerals can also cause this if you use tap water to cut the abv. but im no expert
@@Kalanchoe1 I added some neutral to it and it cleared up. After I posted this I read Odin himself posted about it on home distiller forum
What do you use for sterilise all your gear
Y do you have copper sticking out the end of your still
It's just there to send the distillate in the right direction. I was having trouble getting the cuts jar close enough and in the right spot. The liquor will run along it the drip off the end :)
Can we do it same with moonshine??
Awesome Video Thanks Jessie! I did everything the same as you did but I think that I dont have that strong juniper taste. Did you use fresh juniper berries or those kinda dry berries ? I can only get my hands on those dry berries. Do you think thats the problem ? Best regards from Austria !
Whats up mate. I am using dried juniper as well.
Its a bit hard to know for sure as "strong juniper flavour" is going to be very different from person to person. And what aspect of the juniper is going to change from person to person too.
Are you talking the pin needle kinda dank side of things? Or the berry flavour?
But, thats the beauty of this hobby man. You could try adding another 20-30. . . . 50% berries. Or try smashing them up a little more. Perhaps even try the same amount of berries, but let them macerate for a day longer than all the other botanicals.
@@StillIt Mostly about the berry flavour. I will try to add more juniper and mess with the recipe board a little bit. But one thing is for sure OEG helps a lot for getting a feel on how to tweek your recipe board. Thanks a lot!
Does the use of stainless steel as opposed to copper affect the flavor in a significant way?
This still is all stainless, there is no copper in it. But this spirit has already gone through a still with a good amount of copper. So Im not too stressed in this situation. But in general, yes you want at least some copper in the vapour path.
Its wild to see how much your beard has grown since this video... haha
Hi jesse , i like your videos , ive been distilling for awhile. I am very interested in your Gin that your are working with . Any more research on it . Thanks Dewey Id love to chat more with you and share ideas.
juniper is same like dry blueberry ?
Nah, they kinda look like it huh? But taste VERY different.