Make your own gin - how it works
Macerating gin is one way of making the popular drink on your own. All you need is the right utensils and ingredients. Compared to distilling, maceration does not require a firing permit.
Making gin: utensils and materials
Before you can make gin yourself, you need to stock up on the ingredients and utensils for this process. Since the maceration, i.e. the insertion of ingredients in liquids, does not burn the alcohol, it is not a distillation. You can do this without a burning permit. The following list gives you an overview of the required materials:
- Basic alcohol : A so-called neutral alcohol is used as the basic alcohol. This is usually obtained from grain or potatoes. You can also easily use neutral vodka or grain brandy.
- Juniper : Juniper is the basis for the gin aroma. You need about 2 to 3 tsp of juniper berries for a liter of gin.
- Botanicals : In addition to juniper, botanicals can also be added to the mixture to refine the aroma. These are peels of oranges or lemons, ginger, spices such as cinnamon, caraway and nutmeg or lavender. You can even use botanicals from your own garden.
- Distilled water
- Bottle or jar for filling
- Strainer and coffee filter
Macerating gin made easy
As soon as you have the materials and utensils listed above, you can start macerating. The gin is made in the following way:
- If you use neutral alcohol, dilute it with water. Distilled water is harmful to health in large quantities, but in the small quantities that you need for gin, you can safely enjoy it. Grain or vodka need not be diluted.
- Crush the juniper berries and the selected botanicals. Let them soak in alcohol for 36 to 40 hours. This mixture then ensures the taste of the gin.
- Keep moving the jar from time to time. After 24 hours you can test the mixture and optionally add additional botanicals. This will refine the taste.
- After waiting, sieve the botanicals and juniper over the sieve and then the coffee filter. The flavored alcohol is then poured into a bottle or other container.
- Now the gin is ready to drink. You can store it in bottles or containers. However, gin does not have to mature in itself.
When the gin is ready to drink, you can mix and enjoy it. We have some interesting cocktail recipes with gin ready for you in the next practical tip.