Gin processing | Botanicals used in gin distillation

Gin Processing

To produce distilled gin requires a 3 step process - first, a base or neutral spirit is made or collected, then it is flavored through various botanicals, and then it is diluted with water. 

I. Neutral alcohol:

Neutral alcohol or neutral spirit is the ethyl alcohol that has 95% of ABV. It is made from grains, grapes, potatoes, molasses, and other botanicals. The vast majority of gin is made from neutral alcohol. 

II. Production of gin:

This step is also called an extraction method. In this step, the neutral alcohol is distilled with chosen botanicals to extract their essential oils and so flavor the neutral alcohol.  Different distillers use different distillation methods for extracting the flavor of botanicals. Out of these methods, there are two main methods - 

Steep and Boil method: 

This is a traditional and most common method of distillation. A pot still is filled with the base spirit or neutral alcohol (which has been reduced in strength with water to 50% ABV) along with Juniper berries and other botanicals. The pot still comes in contact with heat. The steam of alcohol becomes saturated with the flavor of berries and botanicals. Once it completed, water is added to reduce the distillate to bottling strength.

Vapor infusion method: 

In this method, the mix of juniper berries and botanicals do not come directly in contact with the neutral alcohol. Instead, they are placed either in a still above alcohol or in a perforated chamber. When alcohol is boiled, the vapor rises up and infuses with botanicals. The infused vapor then condenses into liquid and water is added to reduce the alcohol to bottling strength.

Sometimes these two methods can be combined, where botanicals are first steeped and boiled and then the same botanicals are vapor infused. For example, Henrick's gin, in which both these methods are used. 

New gin production methods:

In recent years, several new production methods have been developed.

Vacuum distillation method: 

In this method, the base spirit and botanicals are steeped and boiled, but it takes under vacuum. As a result, the temperature is reduced to 85 - 95^oc. At this lower temperature, the botanicals are cooked less than they would be in a normal pot still, resulting in a fresher flavored gin.

Individual botanical distillation:

In this method, each botanical is steeped individually and blended together to make the final gin. This method allows more control in the distillation process resulting in better gin production.

One-shot distillation: 

In this distillation process, the botanicals distilled only for a single time. After distilling, it is diluted with water to reach the alcoholic strength required for bottling.

Multi-shot or concentrated distillation:

In this method, a greater quantity of botanicals is distilled to produce a more concentrated flavor. After distillation, neutral spirit and water are added.

III. Diluting and filtering:

Distilled alcohol is left to rest for a few hours in the vat. Then its alcohol content is gradually reduced by dilution. Cold filtration is carried out by chilling the spirit up to -2^oc. Then the spirit is passed through a cellulose filter to remove any particles in suspension. Other filtration techniques such as activated carbon are also used.  

What are the Gin Botanicals? 

Gin botanicals are the main ingredients to make gin. These botanicals are natural ingredients from which oils and flavors are extracted. There are more than hundreds of botanicals used for flavoring gin. From those, the following are most commonly used - 

Juniper berries: 

It is the most essential botanical used in the production of gin. It is a female seed cone of various species of juniper. It is mainly found in Italy, Serbia, Macedonia, and India. The flavor comes from the essential oils within the seeds of berries. The three flavors are - alpha-pinene, p-terpineol, and camphor. Juniper berries have a bitter-sweet taste.

Angelica root: 

Angelica has a musky, nutty, damp Rooty, sweet flavor with a piney and dry edge. It holds the volatile flavors of other botanicals and binds them together giving a substance of gin. 

Lemon and Orange peel: 

Lemon peel contains a high proportion of the fruit's flavor. Lemon peels give fresh, citrusy, juicy and lemony flavors. After peeling, lemon peels are dried before infusion and distillation. Orange peel is also dried before distillation. It gives oil-rich rind and citrus aroma. 

Orris root:

It has a very perfumed character and like angelica root can help fix aromas and flavors within the gin. These roots are harvested after three to four years of plantation and stored for three to four years before use in distillation. Orris roots are ground into powder before use. It is very bitter and tastes of Parma violets. 

Coriander seeds: 

It is found in Morocco, Romania, Moldavia, Bulgaria, and Russia. The essential oil in coriander seed is linalool. When the seed is crushed, it releases a strong lemony citrus aroma and flavor. 

Cassia:

It is a member of the cinnamon family. It is the bark of a tree named Cinnamomum Cassia found in Southern China. The bark from the tree is harvested, stripped, and dried. It has a hotter and sweeter taste. In gin, Cassia gives earthy and warming flavor. 

Almond: 

Two types of almond - sweet and bitter, are used in gin. It has a high essential oil content and adds almond or marzipan, nutty, soapy and spicy flavor with a mouthfeel to gin.

Cardamom: 

It adds a spicy, citrusy, almost eucalyptus flavor to gin. It has two varieties - black and green. The green variety is mostly used, as it has a very fine texture. 

Cubeb berries:

Cubeb berries taste like pepper and allspice berries. In gin, it is used for aromatic properties. 

Licorice: 

It is a hard fibrous root of the licorice plant. It is ground into a powder before distillation. It gives a licorice flavor with a light, fresh, bittersweet, woody-earthy taste. 

Nutmeg: 

The light brown oval rounded seeds of nutmeg trees are ground to powder for the distillation process. 

Sources: 

https://theginlounge.com/

https://www.diffordsguide.com/