Captain's gin recipe. Secrets of making homemade gin. Video: making gin at home

It is an alcoholic beverage with a strength exceeding 37.5%. The gin recipe is based on the distillation of grain alcohol. Vegetable spices are an obligatory component of the drink.

A few words about gin

This type of alcohol appeared in the 17th century. It was invented by the Dutch physician Francisco Sylvius. Together with the Dutchman Willem van Oranier-Nassau, who became the English king William III in February 1689, the drink came to England.

Today there are 2 types.

Gin Dutch. There is a special name - jenever; less than English, strength, stronger taste. The preparation of the drink involves the distillation of alcohol with barley, sometimes aging in wooden barrels. Outwardly similar to.

Jin is English. It owes its initial popularity to the market for low-quality wheat, which was not suitable for brewing beer, and the government's permission to trade in unlicensed alcohol.

In the future, went through a difficult history with bans, restrictions, riots. After the "Genie Act" of 1751, it acquired a status that marked the beginning of the further orderly development and use of the drink. Until the end of the 18th century, it was produced sweeter than modern English, or London, gin.

Finally, English gin received the status of an elite strong alcoholic drink in the 19th century. Before that:

• the technology of alcohol distillation changed (1832) - it became vertical;
• the recipe for dry London gin appeared;
• there was a need to hide the taste of quinine in the tonic taken as a prophylactic against malaria, and gin proved to be the most suitable product for this.

The recipe for gin was made and sold illegally in the United States during the Prohibition period. The drink has become the basis of many cocktails: Martini, Pimm's N ° 1, Negroni, Gin Twist, Vesper, Gimlet. It is drunk, mixed with vermouth, vodka, tonic, soda, ginger ale, lemon, grapefruit and orange juice, cranberry juice, lime juice.

There are many manufacturers of gin, types of drink.

In the premium class, these are:

• Finsbury - Manufactured in 1740
• Greenall's - commercially available since 1762;
• Gordon's Gin, whose history began in 1769;
• Plymouth, produced since 1793;
• , named after New Zealand gin, has been produced since 1845;
• Beefeater Gin - launched in 1876;
• Hendrick's gin, called Scottish gin, with the aroma of Bulgarian rose and cucumber, containing 11 more natural ingredients;
• Bombay Sapphire, which contains 10 natural additives (angelica, almonds, heavenly grains, lemon peel, cubeba berries, licorice, cassia, juniper berries, coriander, orris root);
• Tanqueray, which contains lime, ginger, bay leaf, has been produced since 1830.

How to make gin

There are many recipes for making gin at home:

1. Simple, with juniper berries. Use 0.5 kg of ripe or dry fruits:
   • berries are poured into 1 liter of moonshine or alcohol (70%);
   • add spices (optional);
   • insist 60-90 days;
   • distilled using a moonshine still.
2. Complex, with 1 kg of fresh, ripe juniper berries. The drink is often tastier than the purchased one:
   • the berries are crushed, poured using 1 liter of warm water;
   • add 4-5 g of dry yeast, 100 g of sugar;
   • close the container with a water seal and leave to ferment for 1-1.5 weeks;
   • do a double distillation, leaving the middle part.
3. Under the English gin Beefeater:
   • 200 g of fresh juniper berries are crushed, 10 liters of moonshine are poured in (you can use sugar alcohol);
   • the container is left to infuse in a dark room for 2-3 weeks;
   • purified water is added, reducing the strength of the drink to 20%;
   • distilled 1 time, removing the pervak ​​and the tail;
   • the remaining drink is insisted for 1-1.5 weeks.
4. With blue juniper berries from the Alkofan site:
   • 22 g of berries, 7 g of coriander seeds, 1 g of fresh lemon zest, 2 g of orange, a pinch of anise, hyssop, fennel and licorice are crushed with a rolling pin in a mortar;
   • fall asleep in a glass jar, pour 1 liter of moonshine (50%) (alcohol is possible);
   • insist 7 days in the dark, stirring constantly;
   • filter the drink;
   • diluted with water, bringing the strength to 33%;
   • distillation is performed, taking a jet with a strength of 50%;
   • dilute the drink to 45-50%;
   • give him 1 week to rest.

Homemade gin without distillation

The drink can be prepared without distillation. It is made from 0.5 liters of vodka, alcohol (50%) or the same strength of moonshine. You will also need 10 juniper berries and sugar (25 g) for the syrup.

First, the berries are crushed, placed in a glass container, poured with alcohol and insisted for 14 days. Syrup is prepared by adding sugar to half a glass of water, heating it until bubbles form. Further, gin from moonshine is prepared using the following technology:

• infused alcohol is filtered;
• add syrup;
• the drink is left to "rest" for 2-3 days, after which it can be drunk.

This recipe can be varied by replacing the juniper berries with other ingredients.

You can use other recipes for alcohol without distillation:

• moonshine (0.5 l) pour berries (70 g), lime, lemon and orange zest;
• insist 2 weeks;
• add water, bringing the strength of the drink to 45%;
• fructose is introduced and insisted for another 7-10 days, shaking occasionally.

Original recipe

One of them is with motives of imitation of the Plymouth drink. A similar gin is made at home by distillation in a distillation still.

Order of operations:

• crush 25 g of juniper berries, 8-10 g of whole coriander, 3-5 g of orange and lemon zest, 1-2 g of angelica, 2-4 g of iris root, 0.5-1.5 g of cardamom;
• pour 1.5-3.0 liters of moonshine into a distillation cube;
• install a sieve, pour the transferred ingredients into it;
• install a refrigerator on top;
• turn on medium heat and heat the cube;
• 20-40 ml of the resulting drink is poured;
• take off 60-70% alcohol on a stream;
• gradually reduce the strength of the drink to 45-48%.

Quick recipe

Good alcohol cannot be distilled without distillation. A quick recipe suggests making gin at home in 4-5 days. To do this, you need juniper berries (25 g), coriander (3 tsp), cumin (2 tsp) and 610 ml of alcohol (96%):

• divide the alcohol into 2 parts - 330 and 280 ml;
• dilute them to 80% of the fortress, adding, respectively, 70 and 60 ml of water;
• juniper berries are poured into the first, cumin and coriander are poured into the second and insisted for 4-5 days, stirring constantly;
• the infusions are filtered, the volumes are increased by 1.5 times each with water, they are distilled separately;
• pour out 10 ml of alcohol from the first outlet, take 260 ml of each distillate, mix, increase the volume to 1 l with water.

After all this, the drink is ready to drink.

Classic gin is made from high-quality alcohol on cereals and juniper berries. However, different manufacturers strive to make an original drink and combine their own ingredients. Homemade gin can be made according to the original recipe created by a Dutch chemist, or you can add any other ingredients for flavor and aroma. The composition of gin is healthy and natural, so it can be safely attributed to medicinal drinks (of course, in moderation). It is easy to prepare it yourself without additional equipment.

The gin recipe differs depending on the manufacturer's taste. It is a mixture of herbs that give it its characteristic aroma. The classic way to make gin involves only grain alcohol and juniper fruits, but this drink can contain up to 120 ingredients. Lemon zest, violet root, cumin, coriander and even rose petals are traditionally added. Lovers of sweet drinks should pay attention to ingredients such as caramel and other spices.

Homemade gin without distillation

The simplest homemade gin recipe does not require distillation. It is prepared by infusing the berries with alcohol and subsequent filtration. This method is especially popular due to its simplicity and availability of all components, but the taste of the finished drink will differ from the classic gin.

For 0.5 liters of alcohol (you can replace it with home-made moonshine) you will need:

• 10 small juniper berries (about 30 g);
• sugar or granulated sugar - 25 g;
• 0.75 l of water.

The fruits of the juniper must be kneaded to a state of gruel, and then filled with alcohol and insisted for at least 10-14 days in a dark room. Then you should boil the sugar syrup and add to the tincture. After a few more days, it remains to be filtered and poured into glass containers for long-term storage. Despite the fact that such a drink is prepared without distillation and looks more like a tincture, its taste will resemble the original one.

Basic recipe for London dry

The classic gin recipe includes a distillation step. To do this, you need a distillation apparatus, with the help of which alcohol will be purified from harmful impurities. For 1 liter of alcohol or moonshine you will need:

• 30 g of juniper berries;
• citrus zest (orange and lemon);
• spices: cinnamon, coriander, fennel, licorice, anise - 0.5 g each

To begin with, the berries are kneaded to a state of gruel, mixed with spices and insisted on alcohol for a week. Then the drink is diluted with water until its strength reaches 40 degrees. When distilling, it is necessary to calculate in advance how many heads and tails should be separated. First, they are ready to be separated (at least 20-25 ml) - they contain fusel oils and are unusable. Then pure gin begins to stand out, which is collected in a separate container. When the strength of alcohol is 60 degrees (this can be checked with a special device - an alcohol meter), the tails should be separated. They also contain impurities, but are suitable for industrial use or adding to the next batch of mash.

Gin made with your own hands does not differ in taste and quality from expensive store varieties. After distillation, it is diluted with water to 45-48 degrees. It is undesirable to lower the strength below 42 degrees, as this will affect the taste of alcohol.

Original recipe

You can also make gin at home using a more complex recipe. It is close to the classic method and is also produced by distillation. For 0.6 liters of alcohol or moonshine you will need:

• 25 g of juniper fruits;
• citrus zest;
• spices: coriander, cumin and others.

The difference between the original recipe and the classic one is that the tinctures are prepared in separate containers. In order to make gin, it is necessary to insist berries in alcohol in one bottle, and zest with spices in another. They must spend at least a week in a dark room, after which they are divided into factions. Distillation is also carried out separately, and after the procedure, the two types of liquid are combined and poured into glass bottles for long-term storage.

Quick recipe

There is another way to make gin at home. For him, you will need a distillation cube without a dry pot. You will also need a metal sieve, the size of which is the same as the diameter of the neck of the cube. Spices and spices are placed in it (their quantity does not differ from other recipes) and placed under the lid of the alembic. Alcohol or moonshine is poured into the apparatus directly through the spices, and then the distillation procedure is carried out. The pure distillate retains the taste and aroma of spices; it remains to be infused for several days and poured into glass containers.

Homemade gin is a delicious and healthy drink that can even replace purchased alcohol on the holiday table. It can be prepared even in the absence of a moonshine still. Useful tips and tricks on how to make gin really tasty and aromatic can be seen in the video:

How to make gin from alcohol at home? This drink, otherwise called "juniper vodka", has been known for more than one century and is one of the most popular and beloved on the planet.

A bit of history

Its authorship is attributed to Franciscus Silvius - a Dutch scientist of the 16th century, a professor of medicine, who used this fluid as a remedy for kidney diseases. The healing composition could be freely found in pharmacies.

In the mid-17th century, the warming properties of juniper liquid were appreciated by British soldiers, and from 1689 gin production was put on stream in England. The pirates' favorite drink (after rum) was not of high quality at first and was affordable even for an ordinary commoner. Gin became the first number in America, where it got at the end of the 19th century. Its quality and cost increased significantly, and in 1920, at the legislative level, the exact characteristics of the gin were specified, which by that time had already become popular. So, for its production, it was allowed to use alcohol with a strength of at least 96%.

Characteristic features of juniper vodka

The recipe for gin at home is simple. With a strong desire, this drink can be prepared by anyone who understands what distinctive features it should have. A strong alcoholic drink - the result of the distillation of juniper berries and wheat alcohol should:

• when tasting in its pure form, give a strong sensation of coldness in the mouth;
• have a pronounced aroma of juniper, significantly overwhelming the aroma of other ingredients: almond, orange, coriander, lemon.

English and Dutch gin: distinctive features

How to make gin from alcohol at home? The recipes are varied and are associated with 2 existing types of drink: Dutch and English, differing in the technology of preparation.

Dutch gin is made by adding aromatic components to the grain must and then distilling it in order to obtain "malt wine". The resulting product must be diluted with water, re-add juniper, flavorings and distill again. The strength of the finished gin is usually 35 p.p. When aged in oak barrels, as is customary at manufacturing plants, the drink acquires a characteristic golden color.

English gin is prepared by adding aromatic spirits and herbal additives to the raw alcohol, which is subjected to secondary distillation.

Gin on homemade moonshine

The homemade moonshine gin recipe is quite simple. To prepare it you will need:

• 2 liters of grain refined moonshine;
• 20-40 grams of juniper berries;
• 8-10 grams of coriander seeds;
• 5-6 grams of orange zest;
• 2-3 grams of lemon zest;
• 2-4 grams of cinnamon (you need to take a little less in the ground form of the product);
• 1 gram of anise, fennel, hyssop, licorice.

The homemade gin recipe from moonshine consists of several stages, the first of which is the preparation of the tincture. All ingredients should be thrown into a glass container, filled with alcohol and insisted in a dark place for a week. Further, it is recommended to drain the liquid, filter it well and dilute it with cold clean water to 30-35 o. Then the diluted tincture must be poured into the apparatus, setting the heating device first at a low temperature (for uniform heating of the spices), and then increase it to an average value. Further, it is recommended to select 15-20 ml of "heads", and the main fraction - until the degree is reduced in the stream to 70-65. It is important not to miss this moment, as even due to minimal "tails" the final product will be cloudy. The resulting alcohol should be measured for strength and diluted to 45-48 o. It is recommended to do this in a separate bowl, into which to pour some of the alcohol, gradually introducing water into it. The finished drink should be given a week's rest. This is required to round off the aromas and acquire a more pronounced and harmonious taste for such an uplifting drink like home brew gin. Recipes without distillation are rarely used, since in this case the output is not gin, but juniper tincture.

Juniper Tincture Recipe (Non-Distilled Gin)

To prepare a specific drink you will need:

• ½ liter of vodka;
• 10 juniper berries.

The berries should be kneaded with a rolling pin, placed in a glass container, filled with vodka and insisted for 2 weeks. Separately, it is required to cook syrup from 25 grams of sugar and half a glass of water (without bringing to a boil). Combine the settled content with the syrup, let it rest for 2-3 days, after which you can enjoy the wonderful specific taste of homemade gin.

Alcohol based gin

The above gin recipe at home is quite popular, but lovers of a strong aromatic drink should definitely try the second recipe, for the preparation of which you should take:

• juniper fruits - 25 grams;
• cumin - 2 tsp;
• coriander - 3 tsp;
• 96-degree alcohol - 610 ml.

Caraway seeds with coriander and juniper fruits should be insisted in separate containers.

1. In 330 ml of alcohol, add 70 ml of water, thus lowering the degree to 80. Pour juniper berries with the resulting solution.
2. Dilute the remaining 280 ml of alcohol with 60 ml of water to 80 about. Pour caraway seeds and coriander into the resulting liquid.
3. Insist both solutions for 4-5 days, stirring regularly. Then distill each separately, having previously filtered, squeezed out the remnants of alcohol from the fruits and diluted 1.5 times with boiled water.
4. Throw out the first 10 ml. Distill the distillate (260 ml each) from each infusion, mix and dilute to obtain 1 liter of high-quality gin with boiled water.

Citrus homemade gin recipe

To make homemade gin you will need:

• ½ liter of moonshine;
• 70 grams of juniper berries;
• zest of lime, lemon, orange.

This homemade gin recipe is based on combining all the ingredients and infusing them for 2 weeks. Then the liquid must be diluted with water to 45 about the fortress, add a small amount of fructose and insist for another 7-10 days, sometimes shaking. The drink is ready.

Gene appeared in the 17th century in the Netherlands, owing its appearance to the Dutch physician Francis Sylvius. The name is derived from the word juniper, translated into French - “genievre”, in Holland it was christened “genever”, and in England it was shortened to “gin”. Gin refers to strong alcoholic drinks with a strength of up to 45 degrees.

Ingredients for gin. The basis of the drink is wheat, grain alcohol with the addition of juniper berries. In addition to these ingredients, lemon or orange zest, coriander, caraway seeds and various aromatic spices are added, which give the gin its unique taste. In Holland, gin is aged in oak barrels, so its color is golden, English gin varieties are always transparent.

In its pure form, gin is consumed little due to its dry taste and high strength, therefore various cocktails are made on its basis, the most popular is, of course, “gin and tonic”. There are several recipes for making gin, but distillation is a prerequisite for each. You can make a tincture of juniper, only it will not be gin, but a completely different drink.

It is not difficult to make gin yourself at home; two of the simplest recipes for making gin are described below.

The classic homemade gin recipe

This is the recipe for some Dutch gins. Cooking technology consists in infusing juniper berries and spices with alcohol. And then the infusion is distilled. This is the simplest and most common homemade recipe and is easy to repeat. No special equipment is needed for manufacturing; almost any simple distillation apparatus will do.

Ingredients:

• Moonshine 45% - 10 liters;
• Juniper -250gr;
• Coriander - 30g;
• Cumin - 20g;
• Fennel - 10g;
• Badian - 10gr;
• Cinnamon - 10g;
• Anise - 10gr;
• Zest of 1 lemon

In this composition, the main ingredients are juniper, coriander, lemon zest and, of course, moonshine. If there are no others, then you can do without them, or replace them with other spices. It is advisable to use grain moonshine; you can replace it with alcohol diluted with water up to 45 degrees.

Preparation:

1. Pour moonshine into a bottle, add juniper and all the spices. Close with a lid and leave to insist for 10-15 days in a warm, dark place.
2. Strain the infused mixture through a sieve, separating it from the seeds and berries. If a steam-water boiler is used for distillation, then you can not filter the liquid, but distill it together with spices. Dilute the fragrant infusion to 30 degrees using clean water.
3. Pour the tincture into a cube. Select the head fraction, approximately 150-200 ml. Proceed with the selection of the drinking fraction. You need to select it up to 50 degrees. Next will be the tail section, which should not get into the gin.
4. Dilute freshly expelled gin to 45 degrees. Pour into bottles and let the drink "reach" within a week, or better a month.

Video: making gin at home

Homemade Plymouth Gin Recipe

Plymouth is a city in the south-west of England in Devonshire, it can be called the capital of the English gin. The drink made according to this recipe has a richer aroma with an orange aftertaste. During the production, the ingredients are not infused on the moonshine for weeks as in the first recipe, but are hung under the lid of the distiller, or special devices are used to add spices "gin baskets".

During the boil, alcohol vapors, passing through the spices, draw out all the aromas from them and condense in the receiving container. It takes much less time to make a gin using this technology, but you need a device that is easy to make at home.

As an impromptu gin basket, you can use a regular stainless mesh sieve or colander. It must be hung on wires in a cube above the alcohol mixture. It is even easier to use a linen or cotton bag suspended under the lid of the apparatus.

Compound:

• Wheat moonshine 45% - 3l;
• Juniper berries - 3o gr;
• Coriander - 2 gr;
• Orange zest –1.5 gr;
• Lemon zest - 1.5 gr;
• Anise - 1 g;
• Angelica - 1.5 gr;
• Iris - 1.5 g;
• Cardamom -1 gr.

How to make gin:

1. We fix a sieve on the neck of the moonshine still, add the prepared ingredients to it and fill in the moonshine.
2. We install a column on the cube and turn on the heating. After the first drops go, we reduce the power. We proceed to fractional selection.
3. The head fraction will be approximately 40-60 ml. You can determine when you need to end the selection of goals in the following way. Add a small number of heads to the water, if the liquid becomes cloudy, then continue sampling and make it until opalescence stops. After that, you can raise the temperature and select the "body".
4. The body should be taken up to 70-65 degrees in the jet. The selected "heart" is diluted with water to 43-46 degrees and bottled.

Leave the drink in the glass for a week, so that the gin "reaches". After aging, the taste of homemade gin will become harmonious with the pronounced tones of juniper, and over time it will acquire an increasingly noble taste.

Homemade gin - video recipe

It has the status of one of the most distinctive and popular alcoholic beverages of our time. In our country, this alcohol also has many fans. However, not everyone knows that everyone can make gin or juniper vodka at home.

The basic recipe for this strong spirit is quite simple. It traditionally includes wheat moonshine and juniper berries. Often certain spices are added to them.

I would like to bring to your attention two simple and proven recipes that allow you to make your own homemade gin.

Classic recipe

For making gin at home, a moonshine still with a steamer is best suited. For those who do not know, this is a special device that allows you to clean the moonshine from harmful substances and impurities. However, if you don't have it, then it's not too scary. You just have to additionally divide the product into fractions, throwing away the "heads" and "tails".

Remember, you can't make gin without distillation. If you just pour alcohol over the juniper berries and hold for a while, you will end up with a regular juniper tincture.

So, we need the following ingredients:

• refined moonshine of double distillation with a strength of 50 degrees - 3 liters;
• common juniper berries - 60-65 berries;
• orange part of fresh orange peel - 7.5-8 grams;
• the yellow part of fresh lemon peel - 3-4.5 grams;
• ground cinnamon - 3-3.5 grams;
• fennel and anise 1.5 grams each.

Before I move on to the homemade gin recipe itself, I want to make two important points.

First, you can opt for high-quality vodka or diluted ethyl alcohol instead of moonshine. This is perfectly acceptable. However, in my opinion, the gin obtained from it will have a more modest taste.

Secondly, no one limits you in experiments with spices. I recommend sticking to the recipe for the first time. So, you get the reference taste of the drink. Then you can experiment with spices as much as you want. You can change their number, enhancing certain flavor notes. Either supplement it altogether or replace it with something else. For example, try adding a few grams of licorice or hyssop (blue St. John's wort) to your gin. But the amount of citrus zest and juniper berries should remain unchanged.

1. All components are placed in a glass container of suitable volume. Pour the selected alcohol base there. Close the lid tightly and insist for 7-10 days at room temperature in a dark pantry.

2. After this time, we filter the resulting tincture through cotton wool. Then we dilute with clean water to a fortress of 33-35 degrees. It is better to use spring or well water.

3. Pour the tincture into the moonshine still and carry out the distillation. First of all, we select the "heads". If your alcohol base was of very high quality, then the first 20-50 ml of the yield can be sampled. If you are unsure of the excellent quality of alcohol, then play it safe and take 100-120 ml. You cannot drink "heads".

The selection of the "body" should be completed at a strength of 50 degrees in the jet. This is our goal. Then "tails" begin to appear, which cannot be drunk, but can be used to attach a mash for future batches of moonshine.

If the selection of the “body” is not completed in time, the gin will become cloudy. And the whole process will go down the drain. So be careful.

4. We dilute our gin with spring water up to 44-48 degrees. You cannot further lower the fortress. Otherwise, citrus halftones will disappear from the bouquet and taste of the gin.

Plymouth recipe

Historically, the English city of Plymouth is closely associated with the production of gin. The classic Plymouth Gin has its own brighter and more intense nature, which sets it apart from its dryish London counterpart.

Making Plymouth gin at home is a little more difficult. However, if you cope with a few additional complications and taste this drink, you will realize that all your efforts were not in vain.

First of all, we need to make one change to the design of your moonshine still. Under the lid itself, you need to securely fix a metal colander. It is in it that we will place the spices that are necessary for the preparation of this recipe.

We need the following ingredients:

• refined double moonshine with a strength of 50 degrees - 3 liters;
• juniper berries - 37-40 grams;
• orange part of orange peel - 5-7 grams;
• the yellow part of the lemon peel - 5-7 grams;
• dried and chopped violet root - 3-5 grams;
• the root of the medicinal angelica - 3-4 grams;
• two boxes of black cardamom.

Correct sequence of actions.

1. Put all the components in a container of a suitable size and fill it with moonshine. Let it brew for 10-12 hours.

2. After that, pour the alcohol base into the moonshine still, and place the spices in the colander fixed at its lid.

4. Select the "body" until the strength of the product drops to 65 degrees. If you miss this moment, the gin will quickly become cloudy and opalescent.

5. Dilute the expelled gin to a strength of 44-48 degrees. This should be done carefully and in several stages. First of all, take part of the gin and dilute with water in a separate container. If done correctly, the gin will remain transparent.

6. Bottle the gin and leave for 6-8 days. Enjoy your tasting!

Components for Experimenters

As I wrote above, when making homemade cider, you can easily give free rein to your own imagination. However, it is still worth adhering to some general canons. Below I will list the proven ingredients you can use to make your own unique gin.

In addition to lemon and orange, you can use lime and pomelo as citrus ingredients.

A set of spices will help to diversify coriander, almonds and vanilla.

Violets, rose petals and lavender will help add the charm of aromatic herbs to your gin.