Around the world people are getting into the idea of making their own gin.
Basically, there are two ways of doing this. You can distil your own base spirit or you can buy a base spirit, like vodka, and then add or infuse your own flavours into the spirit.
The essential ingredient in gin is juniper berries. Gin = juniper.
This is the first botanical that you use to create your gin flavour and taste. We stock the finest quality juniper berries. You can buy juniper berries for gin making here…
The next essential is coriander seed and there are two main varieties. The coriander seed you find in supermarkets is round, and cheaper. It has a more bland taste. Premium coriander seed comes from India and it is oval in shape. This is the coriander seed used by most brewers and distillers. You can buy our premium oval shaped Coriander seed here... Oh, by the way…you know how some of us think coriander tastes like soap? It is only the leaves that have those compounds, the seeds don’t.
After this, it is all up to your imagination. We recommend you start off small, but you can infuse any herbs and spices into your gin to make it unique and interesting.
Below is a list of some common spices for gin making…
Angelica root – you will see many recipes mention this hard to get root. Don’t panic. You can use parsley root, or just add a bit more coriander. Not everyone believes Angelica is essential.
Licorice root – again, not something you have sitting around at home. A great substitute is star anise.
Cassia – a member of the cinnamon family. Use a piece of the whole stick, don’t use cinnamon powder.
Pepper – you will find various references to using many different types of exotic pepper in your gin. It is up to you. You can use black peppercorns, or any other colour or type, but my favourite is using pink peppercorns.
Fragrant botanicals – you will find many people add different flowers to their gin. You can use rose petals, hibiscus, and chamomile is especially delicious in your gin.
Citrus – you can add dried or fresh lemon peel or indeed the peel from any citrus to add some zip to your gin. We also sell lemon powder made from our own fresh, organic lemons.
For those who need some help, we also sell a Gin Infusion pack which has all the basic botanical ingredients, plus juniper berries and coriander seed, for making some interesting gin. You can find it here...
We hope you enjoy your journey through the world of gin infusion.
Below, you will find the herbs and spices we have available at the moment for using in your gin making experiments.
Peppercorns
Fragrant and flavouring herbs/spices
Chamomile flowers
Lemon granules
Orange granules