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Gin

Juniper in French is genévrier or gin for short.  At its core, is a distilled spirit that has juniper and other ingredients infused into a neutral grain spirit.  
Picture

Vodka Laws

  • United States
  • European Union
<
>
Picture
United States
“Gin: Spirits with a main characteristic flavor derived from juniper berries produced by distillation or mixing of spirits with juniper berries and other aromatics or extracts derived from these materials and bottled at not less than 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof)”
Picture
The European Union

Gin is a juniper-flavoured spirit drink produced by flavouring organoleptically suitable ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin with juniper berries (Juniperus communis L.).  It must be bottled at a minimum alcoholic strength by volume of gin shall be 37.5 %.  Only natural and/or nature-identical flavouring substances as defined in Article 1(2)(b)(i) and (ii) of Directive 88/388/EEC and/or flavouring preparations as defined in Article 1(2)(c) of that Directive shall be used for the production of gin so that the taste is predominantly that of juniper. 

Ingredients

  • Neutral Spirit
  • Botanicals
  • Water
<
>
  • Neutral Spirit
    • Some purchase the spirit, some buy in bulk.
  • Botanicals
    • Juniper
    • Citrus peels
    • Licorice
    • Grains of paradise 
    • Orris
    • Angelica
    • Coriander
Like most spirits, gin is brought to proof with water.  The specific proof depends on the style.  

  • Standard Gin: 40% ABV 80 proof
  • Navy Strength: At least 57.1% ABV

Production

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Production

  • Integration of botanical ingredients
    • There are different ways to produce gin.  Two of the most common ways are:
    • Distilled Gin: Gin produced by original distillation from mash with or over juniper berries and other aromatics or their extracts, essences or flavors.  This typically produces the Genever style of gin.
    • Pot Infused Gin or Compounded Gin: Gin produced by mixing neutral spirits with juniper berries and other aromatics or their extracts, essences or flavors.
    • Vapor Infused Gin or Redistilled Gin: Gin produced by redistillation of distilled spirits with or over juniper berries and other aromatics or their extracts, essences or flavors.

  • ​Proofing
    • Navy Strength ​
    • Regular Proof

Regions and Styles

  • London Dry
  • Plymouth
  • Genever
  • Old Tom Gin
  • New Wave
  • Flavored Gin
<
>
London Dry
  • London Dry gin is the most commonly found style of gin.
  • The European Union Laws state:
    London Gin is “Obtained exclusively from ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin whose flavour is introduced exclusively through the re-distillation in traditional stills in the presence of all the natural plant materials. The resultant distillate shall contain at least 70% alcohol by volume.  The Distillate shall not contain added sweetening exceeding 0,1 gram of sugars per litre of the final product nor colorants.  It may not contain any other added ingredients other than water.  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of London gin shall be 37.5 %.”
  • London Dry gin is the most common style of gin.  Its defining character is that it is juniper forward.  It is known as “Dry Gin” because of its lack of additional flavorings to make it sweet.
Plymouth Gin
  • Plymouth gin is a style of gin that only one distillery: Plymouth.
Genever
  • Genever is the OG gin and it dates back to 13th century or 16th century Holland depending on the reference point used.  To produce genever, a malt-wine of, typically, rye, corn, wheat and occasionally malted barley is distilled.  Also, a distillate of neutral spirit is flavored with Juniper and other botanicals.  
Old Tom
  • Also known as “bathtub gin”.  Stylistically it is sweeter than London Dry, but slightly drier than Genever.
New wave
  • New wave gin is gin flavored with Juniper, however the prevalence of Juniper varies based upon producer.  Popular examples include Hendricks Gin and Aviation Gin
Flavored Gin
  • The traditional slo gin (gin flavored with slo berries).

Gin Available in Hawaii

Featured Brands

Product Reviews

Emulsion Gin - Fainting Goat Distillery

11/5/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
https://faintinggoatspirits.com
​Emulsion Gin by Fainting Goat Spirits-Greensboro, NC
Andrew Norman who, along with his father Bill, distill a robust style of gin. Emulsion Gin is unique as a gin distiller in that they are “grain to glass” meaning they make every part of their product including the neutral distillate.  

Distiller(s):  
Andrew Norman and Bill Norman
Favorite Forum: “American Distilling Institute’s online forum is part of my morning routine.”  -- Andrew Norman
Ingredients
Botanicals:Juniper, cardamom, orange peel, lemongrass, grains of paradise
Insight into sourcing botanicals:  Fainting Goat Spirits gets botanicals from San Francisco Herb Co: www.sfherb.com/ which they found through a Google search.  They had originally wanted to from North Carolina but could not find anyone to supply them with 50 lbs of juniper berries 2x per month.  Ultimately San Francisco Herb Co was chosen because they provide a great quality for the price. 

Still and Still Story
Still by Artisan Still Designs, Mobile, Alabama (www.artisanstilldesign.com)


During their search for a still, they found that the still manufacturers that supply the large producers would require a year and a half lead time or require a thousand gallon still.  Fortunately at a trade show, they found Artisan Still Designs which produced a still that work with both their timing and budget. “I would go back to them in a heartbeat if we need another still” said Andrew during our interview. 

Process
Neutral Spirit
Neutral grain spirits starts as still proof Tiny Cat Vodka, which is their 2018 SF Wine and Spirits Competition Bronze Medal recipient.  To make Tiny Cat, a mashes of North Carolina Soft Red Wheat, Corn and Rye are open top fermented (to include natural yeast) then run through the pot still.  The distillate is combined into the same tote, then run back through a 16 plated copper column. The Emulsion’s base spirit is not brought down to proof, but Tiny Cat vodka uses Reverse Osmosis water to be proofed down to 40% ABV.  

Integration of Botanicals
The neutral distillate comes off the still at 190 proof, is collected and proofed down to 130 proof. Then put two “tea bags” full of botanicals are steeped for 24 hours in a stainless steel tote with a custom welded bar to keep the tea bags from floating in the alcohol. It then goes through another distillation before being reduced to 91 proof.
 
Tasting Notes
Bouquet
Big complex cardamom nose, rounded by the juniper, lemongrass, and citrus notes.

Palate
    Starts up front with a touch of sweetness and viscosity from the base of Tiny Cat vodka.  It then swells into the big and highly aromatic cardamom note. Though the cardamom note fades, it provides a backbone which is accented by piney juniper and citrus notes from the grains of paradise and orange peel.  The finish is particularly aromatic and lemongrass becomes the predominant flavor which is accented by the citrus and cardamom notes.  

Cocktail Approach

Method
  • Stirred
    • Martinis that aren’t light and boring
  • Shaken
    • Flip Styles 
    • Sours that actually use egg white

Suggested Pairings

Cheerwine + Emulsion Gin = North Carolina
As complex as one can make a cocktail with fancy ingredients, this is everything you would want from a cocktail.  Cheerwine’s sweet black cherry flavors pull first, the effervescent bubbles bounce on the tongue and the ice provides a cooling feeling.  The back half of the middle section of cherry, cardamom and citrus works almost like a well-made grenadine that uses pomegranate molasses, and it decrescendo’s into the piney and citrus notes that have the same nostalgic feel of all of the trees.


Robust flavors
  • Blueberries
  • Strawberries
  • Real Grenadine
  • Plums
  • Lemon
  • Lime
  • Orange
  • Ginger Beer
  • Black Tea and Green Tea
  • Chili Pepper
  • Fresh Bing Cherry
  • Pear and Peary (Cider)
  • Apple Cider (Alcoholic)
  • Aromatic Blanc Vermouth (Lillet, Dolin blanc etc)
  • Pimms
  • Pink Gin with Angostura Bitters
  • Sage
  • Basil
  • Cheerwine

Cocktail Note
Cheerwine + Empulsion Gin over Ice
This combination reminds us of North Carolina in the warmer months.  We’ve tried a variety of other ingredients to make it more complex or “fancier”, but find that this combination is plenty complex and hits every note we would want.


Avoid
Light flavors as this Gin is Robust.

Hawaii Beverage Commentary
There are very few Gins we would drink straight.  This is one of the few. It’s big and bold, due to it’s flavor complexity. 
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          • A Guide to: Post Fermentation Flavor Adjustments
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      • Hawai'i Beverage Guide To: >
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