First Gin Distillation of the year

Today I got the botanicals and still out of the garage and made my first batch of gin since last October.

This was my recipe compared to last time...

Botanical	Last Time	This Time
Juniper	30g	30g
Coriander	12g	13.5g
Angelica	3g	3g
Cardamom	2g	2.5g
Lemon Peel	8g	10g
Orange Peel	8g	10g
Fennel	3g	2g
Peppercorns	3g	2g
Liquorice	1g	1g
Cassia	0.5g	0
Ginger	1g	1g
Grains of Paradise	1.5g	2g
Rose Petals	2g	1g
Elderflower	1g	1.5g

I used this still configuration... i.e. with column rather than just the alembic hood.

My aim was to make it a bit less strong at the finish. Hmm. I'm not sure it's an improvement. I did like the absence of the dominating flavour of cassia, though. I think I'll have to make some more and reduce the cardamom and citrus again and add back more fennel and peppercorns. Or maybe it also made a difference that I infused for only 5 hours before distilling, rather than overnight.

Here is the result...