Tassel Gin #9

 

Yesterday was a distilling day. This time, as you can see from the label, I diluted to standard (40%) rather than export strength (43%).  I decided to add some more citrus and a few floral elements to the recipe and I also made use of the reserved cut from the end of the last distillation (#8 in November).

This was my recipe for yesterday's batch.

Botanical	Last Time	This Time
Juniper	30g	30g
Coriander	12g	12g
Angelica	2g	2g
Cardamom	3g	2g
Lemon Peel	5g	6g
Orange Peel	5g	6g
Fennel	4g	4g
Peppercorns	2g	2g
Cassia	1g	1g
Ginger	1.5g	1g
Grains of Paradise	1.5g	1.5g
Rose Petals	-	1g
Elderflower	-	1g

As before I infused my botanicals in 1L of the vodka for 24 Hours.

Ready to get going...

 

Here is my saved cut from last time.

And this is what it looked like after putting everythingin the still.

Now the distilling. As before I saved the last couple of cuts for next time.

 And the final result...

It tastes quite smooth and a bit more floral and citrusy than last time. We'll see how the flavour develops over time.

Whisky Kit

Here's something else I got for Christmas. This is going to take a bit of work. Yesterday I got started...

After putting the malt extract and brewing sugar in my fermenter, dissolving and topping up to 23l, I had to add these...

I'd not used Turbo Carbon before. It is very fine and turned the liquid in the fermenter black!

So here it is in the corner of the kitchen on a heating pad to keep it warm while it ferments. 

It should produce a wash of about 14 to 15% ABV in a week or so's time, and then I'll have to distill it a bit at time as my still only hold 1.7l. That will keep me busy for a few days the week after next!

Mass Vaccinations... [Updated]

 

...are not unprecedented. My sister Kirsty came across this article the other day. She asked my Uncle George and Aunt Rosemary if they had any memories of it. Here are their replies...

I don't suppose we'll get sugar lumps when it's our turn.

You can read the full article on the BBC News website here.

Update: And this was the reply from Aunt Iris...

3D Crossword Calendar

 Look what I got for Christmas! Each month is a separate 3D crossword and set of clues....

 

They should be fun!

A Rainy Walk

So here we are in lockdown again, but we can still go for local walks. Today was a chance to try out my new waterproof trousers that I got for Christmas. Yes it was raining. Dawn and William came too.

This was our route.

Here are a few photos using my phone, which stayed nice and dry in my waterproof trousers pocket.

We headed up to Suffolk Park and walked around the new warehouses. The site is pretty soggy.

We wondered why this concrete pillar was here beside the path. It's not one of those alien megaliths as it has the the initials of Suffolk County Council on it.

This warehouse is in action. I wonder if it has any part to play in distributing the COVID-19 vaccine?

Here's something else that will be built on the site.

We went through the underpass under the A14....

...and then along the new path by the A14.

At the end we crossed the road and followed the River Lark

Near the rugby club we found several muntjac deer in this field....

...and then what Dawn claimed were a flock of egrets, but it was a bit hard to see.

We returned home via Shakers Lane as darkness fell. About 4.7 miles and the rain was still falling persistently if not heavily. And yes the new waterproof trousers worked perfectly 😀

You can see more details of our route here on MapMyWalk.

John's Walks 2020

My index of walk blogs for 2020 is now complete - see here. A total of 118 walks covering 964.8m.

Here's to plenty more walking in 2021!

And then there were three

Our traditional New Year's Day dinner, with smoked salmon and prawns to start followed by roast lamb.

 

 

Lovely! But yesterday I took Sarah back to Leeds and sadly had to set the table for just 3 for our evening meal.

And now all the Christmas decorations are down and packed away for another year. Hoping we all get together again (with Laura too) sooner rather than later.

Sloe Gin

 Now bottled and labelled - my first batch of Sloe Gin. It tastes good! Second batch due in another 5 weeks or so.

New Year's First Quick Cryptic by Izetti

Times Quick Cryptic No 1779 by Izetti

Happy New Year to all! To usher in the new year of Quick Cryptic crosswords we have our old friend Izetti.  An entertaining puzzle with smooth surfaces as we have come to expect. One or two trickier definitions and no less than two clues where, unusually, the definition isn't exactly at the beginning or end add a little trickery. COD to the clever surface of 22A. 20A was my last one in taking me to just over 5 1/2 minutes. Thank-you Izetti! How did everyone else get on?

Fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic. This time it is Phil's  turn to provide the extra weekend entertainment. You can find the latest crossword here. Enjoy! And if anyone is interested in our previous offerings you can find an index to them here.

( Read all about it... )

Happy New Year!

 

We had mulled wine outside with the chiminea roaring...

...and then some sparklers before the prosecco after midnight. Happy New Year, everyone!