Tassel Gin #16

I decided I needed some more for Christmas presents, so out came the still again yesterday.

I stuck to the column format and again infused the botanicals in some of the vodka overnight.

I tweaked the recipe a little again. I decided there was a little too much cardamom and not quite enough juniper or citrus. I also replaced some of the rose petals with dried elderflower and added a little more pink pepper. This was what I ended up with:

Botanical	Last Time	This Time
Juniper	27.5g	30g
Coriander	10g	10g
Angelica	1g	1g
Cardamom	2g	1g
Lemon Peel	6g	8g
Orange Peel	6g	8g
Fennel	2g	2g
Pink Peppercorns	2.5g	3g
Liquorice	0.5g	0.5g
Cinnamon	0.5g	0.5g
Ginger	1g	1g
Grains of Paradise	1g	1g
Rose Petals	1.5g	1g
Elderflower	0g	0.5g

I took a few more photos this time to illustrate the process.

On Wednesday I collected together all my ingredients to start the infusion.

The botanicals in the 1l jar.

After adding the vodka and giving an initial shake.

Then yesterday the distillation run. The still has to be assembled

The infusion after 24 hours and a few interim shakes goes into the pot before adding the column and hood. Both the pot and the column have a  few glass beads added for anti-bumping and to provide a surface for condensation and dripping back into the pot. The copper mesh goes into the column.

As the temperature rises the first drips of distillate come off. I collect it in a set of jars, adding about 100ml of distillate to each before I swap them out for the next one.

I maintain the level of heat under the still to keep a steady drip or thin stream.

It takes about 10 minutes to collect about 100ml in each of the jars. After swapping each out I measure the alcohol level in a measuring funnel.

To start with the liquor comes out at about 80% ABV, but that gradually decreases as the run continues.

I keep notes as I go of the amount collected, its ABV and the taste.

I use a pipette to drop about 1 ml into a small glass and then add about the same amount of filtered water before tasting.

The taste starts out quite floral, citrusy and sweet, then the juniper starts to dominate. A little later some of the darker notes, like fennel, cinnamon and liquorice start to appear.

Once I got to Jar 9, the alcohol level had dropped to 47% and the taste was getting quite strongly tinged by the darker notes.

Jar 10 came in at 71ml at 28% and I decided not to use it in the final blend. That left me with 815ml which, after mixing, I measured at 71% ABV.

I then used my little calculator spreadsheet to work out how much filtered water to add to get to a desired bottle strength of 40% ABV.

And here are the filled bottles - 3x 250ml + 3x 200ml (there was also another 200ml bottle that was about 30% full that I didn't bother to label).

And the taste? Just what I was aiming for, with a nice balance of citrus, juniper and hints of fennel, cinnamon and liquorice. Not as wintery as #14 and a bit sweeter than #15. It compares very favourably with the Bombay Gin we have in the cupboard - Dawn and I both prefer mine!

I think that's enough distilling for this year. I know some relatives who will enjoy getting some for Christmas.