Ever wondered how to make your own Gin?
Well it seems today is your lucky day (or night), as that is exactly what we are discussing in this post. Making your own Gin at home is both simple and great fun! As you are about to find out, essentially all you need to make your own super secret family recipe Gin is a base spirit, some botanicals of your choosing, an empty bottle (or three), plus 48 hours of patience.
So what is Gin made of?
The ‘definition’ of Gin is any neutral base spirit (normally grain based) which is has juniper as the primary botanical and is at least 37.5% ABV (Alcohol by Volume) in the EU, and 40% ABV in the United States).
I hate to break it to you, but it appears that Gin is essentially a juniper flavoured Vodka.
How is Gin made?
Professional Gin manufacturers use a process that requires a large piece of equipment called a ‘Still’ (essentially a rather large copper pot), where the base spirit and the chosen botanicals are mixed and heated to release the flavours of the botanicals. This process is called re-distillation.
However we can mimic this process at home by simply creating our own ‘Bathtub Gin’, where we combine the base spirit and botanicals to infuse over time without heat. The end result will still taste like a rather splendid Gin, the only difference being the re-distiliation process will produce a clear Gin, where as the basic ‘Steeping’ process used at home will not be totally clear. But that’s fine!
Ingredients you will need
Below is an example recipe to make your own Gin. Please feel free to tweak this recipe to your own liking, and it’s a great idea to make a few different batches, each with different botanicals. You can go bonkers and add all sorts of exotic spices from around the word.
- 1 litre of quality vodka (betwen 37.5% – 40% ABV). Here is the Smirnoff Red Vodka I use.
- 3 tablespoon juniper berries
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 2 cardamom pods
- Half a cinnamon stick
- 2g Orange Peel (remove pith)
- 2g Lemon Peel (remove pith)
- 2g Grapefruit Peel (remove pith)
Or you could try purchasing a Gin making kit such as this one that comes with all the botanicals you need. You can check this Gin making kit out on Amazon.
Steps to make your Gin
OK, lets make this Gin!
- First you need at least two clean glass jars or bottles and sterilise them both with boiling water. I prefer using Jam Jars.
- Once sterile, add your chosen botanicals to one of the empty jar/bottle, however dont add any citrus (flesh or peel) at this point.
- Top up with your chosen vodka, pop on the lid, and store it in a cool dark place for 24 hours to infuse.
- After the first 24 hours is up, its time to add your peel, give a quick shake, and leave for another 24 hours.
- After the second 24 hours is up, filter out all of the botanicals with a sieve into your spare sterilised glass jar/bottle, then use a coffee filter to strain again beck into the first jar. (hence its easiest to have 2 jars/bottle)
- Leave to sit for a couple more days and then filter again if needed.
- Label your Gin. You are all set. Well done, share and enjoy.
Conclusion
Well how easy was it to make your own Gin? By now you should have at least one homemade Gin to share with family and friends of drinking age of course.
Aren’t you clever!
OK, time to jump for joy like the folk below in this random jumping for joy picture.
If you have any questions or comments regarding making your own Gin then please use the comments section below.
