Gin is a refreshing and versatile spirit that can be enjoyed in many different ways. Here are gin drink recipes for you to try at home.
Gin is a delightful spirit that many people appreciate worldwide! Making gin with friends is a lot of fun, and you can get creative with the ingredients.
Cinnamon, chamomile, and lavender are just some popular tastes.
You can make a delicious homemade gin at home with just a few ingredients and some time.
The quantity you can prepare using the components mentioned below varies based on the number of botanicals used in each blend, and you may use very few or all of them at once.
Ingredients
- 35 g (1.2 oz) juniper berries
- 10 g (0.35 oz) coriander seeds
- 10 g (0.35 oz) angelica root
- Zest of 2 lemons
- Zest of 2 oranges
- 2 zest of grapefruit
- 2 anise fennel pods
- 4 g (0.14 oz) jasmine flowers
- 4 g (0.14 oz) gerbera seeds
- 4 g (0.14 oz) bitter orange peel
- 4 g (0.14 oz) green tea
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 750 ml (25 fl oz) vodka
Steps
Step 1: Create an interesting plant mixture
1. Start with juniper berries, coriander seeds, and angelica root. These three ingredients are known as the “trinity” in gin production. All gins contain gin berries, which give gin its most basic and classic flavor. This is a good starting point for your first gin. The ratio for a 750 ml (25 fl oz) bottle of gin is: 35 g (1.2 oz) juniper berries
- 10 g (0.35 oz) coriander seeds
- 10 g (0.35 oz) angelica root
2. Try a real fruit combination like a G-Funk blend. The mix of fruits can be as creative as you want, and the flavors in the peels are perfect for a botanical blend. This one has 3 different peels and is called “G-Funk” gin, which is completely different from the first recipe. The amount of the mixture will yield 750 ml (25 fl oz). 2 lemon peels
- 2 orange peels
- 2 grapefruit peels
- 2 anise pods
- 1 tablespoon (0.50 fl oz) of kudzu seeds
- 125 ml (4.2 fl oz) juniper berries
3. Try a more exotic blend. Since many blends are proprietary information, no one knows the exact proportions of these ingredients except the distiller of any gin. You can experiment with many other flavors as long as you know the proportions of the three essential botanicals. There is a very peculiar mixture, also independent of the first recipe, containing the following ingredients: 35 g (1.2 oz) gin
- 4 g (0.14 oz) coriander
- 4 g (0.14 oz) bitter orange peel
- 4 g (0.14 oz) jasmine
- 4 g(0.14 oz)green tea
- 10 g (0.35 oz) angelica root
- 2 cinnamon sticks
4. Make your botanical blend by mixing spices in a small glass. The primary flavor of gin is gin, followed by botanical. A botanical blend can contain anything you want, but some common notes are pepper, cardamom, or coriander seeds. The ratio of the blend is entirely up to you.
Generally speaking, each spice weighs between 4 grams (0.14 oz) and 8 grams (0.28 oz). If you don’t have much experience, it’s hard to know if the blend will work well before you make it, so feel free to experiment!
When using these botanical powders, reduce the amount by 80%.
This is because the flavor of one unit of ground spices is much stronger than one unit of ground spices. For example, this recipe calls for 10 grams (0.35 oz) of cilantro and 2 grams (0.071 oz) of ground cilantro.
Step 2: A blend of botanical and vodka
Pour boiling water into an 800 ml (27 fl oz) glass bottle to sterilize it. Sterilizing your jars is very important because it ensures they are clean before you start making wine. Just pour the boiling water into the jars and shake them a few times. Your jars are sterile because the heat kills germs and bacteria. When you shake the jar, put the lid on so that the water doesn’t splash and burn your hands. If you don’t have a device to boil water, wash your jars thoroughly with hot soapy water and rinse.
Pour 750 ml (25 fl oz) of vodka into a bottle. Vodka is a base spirit that provides a good basic starting point to allow flavors to develop.
A nice vodka can be used here, but it can be at the top of the shelf. Good vodka should be as hard to tell apart as possible.
If you need help, talk to someone at your local hotel, and they will help you.
Since vodka is the basis of gin, it should be of a quality you would like to drink alone.
Put the plant mixture into the jar. The base alcohol is ready to receive the plant blend you had decided on earlier. Ensure to avoid spill from the sides; otherwise, the flavors you picked out may be out of balance.
Cover the jars with lids and place them in a cool, dark place to steep for 24 hours. Keeping the jars in a closet or drawer is a good idea.
The process is similar to tea or cold brewing coffee. Leaving the spices behind allows the aromas to permeate the vodka, eventually turning into gin.
The spirit gradually begins to take on a yellow color here. This is perfectly normal and does not affect taste or drinkability.
Step 3: Let the gin smell good
Add more flavor, then steep again for 12 hours. At this point, your wine has a gin flavor and the subtle botanicals you infuse it with. However, if you want a certain flavor to be more prominent, you can add more flavors here. When adding new botanicals, leave the old ones in there because you want them to continue to develop and release their flavors.
If you take a taste and feel that the flavor here is to your liking, don’t feel pressured to add more botanicals.
Pour the gin through a sieve into another jar to filter the solids. This jar must also be at least 750 ml (25 fl oz). Doing so ensures you do not over-soak the gin and ruin its flavor.
It also ensures no solid botanicals in your gin. Some of the botanicals have broken down into smaller pieces and passed through the sieve.
If this is the case, you can filter again or try using a coffee filter.
If you are not happy with the yellow color of the spirit or suspect that there is still some sediment in the spirit, you can filter the gin through a water filter.
Store your gin in a glass bottle away from light for one year. Your gin is ready to drink! You can store this gin for up to a year or enjoy it with your friends and family!