Gin Recipe

Measure and prepare

Check all botanicals for debris. Lightly crush juniper berries and coriander seeds with a mortar and pestle or the back of a heavy spoon to release oils. Break larger roots and bark into smaller pieces so they fit into your maceration vessel or still basket.

Choose method

Decide whether you will use a cold maceration + distillation (most common for distilled gin) or a simple maceration and flavor extraction without distillation (results in compound gin). The directions below assume you will distill the botanicals for a classic distilled gin. If you cannot distill, follow the maceration-only steps and skip the distillation stage; expect a different texture and strength.

Combine botanicals with spirit

In a clean, non-reactive container combine 1.5 L of neutral grain spirit (95% ABV) with the prepared botanicals (all items from the 'Botanical infusion' section). Ensure botanicals are fully submerged. Seal the container.

Rest

Let the mixture macerate for 24–48 hours at room temperature. For a brighter citrus and juniper profile keep it closer to 24 hours; for more extracted earthy and spice notes allow up to 48 hours. Agitate the container gently once or twice a day to redistribute botanicals.

Set up still

Prepare your pot still or reflux still according to manufacturer instructions. If using a pot still, strain the macerate through a fine mesh to remove solids and transfer the liquid to the still. For a vapour-infusion style gin, place the botanicals in the still's botanical basket above the spirit level and add only the neutral spirit to the pot.

Heat and collect hearts

Heat slowly. Discard the foreshots (first ~50–100 ml of distillate for this batch size) as they contain volatile undesirables. Then collect heads until the aroma transitions into a clean juniper-forward character, then collect the hearts (the desirable spirit) until the aroma becomes watery or the ABV of the run drops toward ~40–50% (monitor with an alcoholmeter if available). For this batch you should expect to collect roughly 650–800 ml of high-proof heart (volume depends on still and cut). Stop collection before heavy-bodied late fractions (tails) dominate.

Optional second pass

If you want extra clarity and purity, you may run the hearts through the still again (rectification) or blend the first distillate with a small portion of tails to add texture. Adjust cuts on a subsequent run to refine flavor.

Initial blending

Measure the alcohol by volume (ABV) of the collected hearts. Calculate the amount of distilled water required to bring the spirit down to your desired bottling strength (typical gins are 40–47% ABV). Example: if you collected 700 ml at 75% ABV and you want 45% ABV, final volume = (700 ml * 0.75) / 0.45 = 1167 ml, so add ~467 ml distilled water. Add water slowly while stirring gently to avoid excessive clouding.

Rest after dilution

Once diluted to bottling strength, let the gin rest for 24–72 hours in a sealed container to allow flavors to marry and any temporary haze to clear. Taste periodically and adjust: you may add a small infusion (e.g., a few extra grams of lemon peel in a neutral spirit tincture) if you want brighter citrus notes—add only tiny amounts and retaste.

Filtration

If the spirit turned cloudy, filter through unbleached coffee filter or fine paper. For an extra-polished finish, perform a charcoal filtration: mix the diluted gin with the optional activated charcoal, stir, rest for 1 hour, then filter through paper. Do not over-char as this can strip desirable aromatics.

Bottling

Transfer the finished gin into sanitized bottles, leaving minimal headspace. Label with bottling date and recommended ABV. Store upright, away from sunlight. Gin is shelf-stable.