Gin Infusions

[Chris Amirault]

Inspired by Toby Maloney's pineapple-infused gin that's the base of The Riveria, I've started fiddling around with gin infusions. The first that seems successful is Tanqueray infused with roasted red pepper for a few days, which makes a good base for a Fitty Fitty with NP and orange bitters, using an olive garnish. (I think kalamata olives make a good garnish for this one.)

Anyone else screwing around with gin infusions?

[Kent Wang]

I did Audrey Saunder's Earl Grey infused gin. Of course, one should get a nice tea for this.

So easy and delicious. I recall hearing one of the barmen at Pegu, a British chap named Alistair, I believe, declare the Earl Grey Marteani the cocktail of the decade. I find it hard to disagree.

[mkayahara]

Are we distinguishing between straight-up gin infusions and gin-based liqueurs here? I've made the damson gin detailed in the autumn preserves course in the eGCI, but it's sweetened. I also recently made a sweetened, sour cherry-infused gin (Bombay Sapphire), but I haven't actually tasted it yet. Mostly I just wanted the gin-soaked cherries.

[KatieLoeb]

Less tannic, more floral or herbal teas seem to work well with gin. I've used a green tea mixture from my local tea shop as well as a more floral cherry blossom based tea to good effect. The key is to tread that fine line between maximum flavor infusion before the tannins get the best of the mix. No more than a few hours with the gin slightly raised in temperature in a hot water bath seem to have the best results. Any more than that and it just tastes like an oversteeped teabag.

[kitchensqueen]

I bought a $35 bottle of Death's Door gin because I heard good reviews of it, but it just doesn't have the flavor profile I like. I like more juniper in my gin, which this one is weak on, as well as a little spiciness. Is it possible to infuse it with juniper, etc. to improve the flavor without ruining it?

[ermintrude]

Probably not - make sloe gin, even with the worst gin it will make it drinkable.

[kitchensqueen]

What is sloe gin?

[cdh]

I'm working on a similar experiment right now. I have a bottle of creamsicle-flavored New Amsterdam gin that I'm trying to get some juniper flavor into. I've chucked a handful of juniper berries in there, and left it be for a few weeks. It seems to be picking up some juniper aroma, but the underlying vanilla-citrus is still there more prominently than I'd like. Need to go and pick another handful of berries off the juniper bush.

[eje]

Sloe Gin is a fine Anglo-Celtic tradition, wherein you add a portion of the fruit of the Blackthorn Bush and a generous helping of Sugar to your Gin. A bittersweet, somewhat medicinal tasting elixir is produced after a lengthy steep.

Unfortunately, Blackthorn bushes are not quite as common in the US, as they are in the UK. If you have access to other small, tart plums (say Damsons or Mirabelles) they could be substituted.

Check this topic for more information regarding it's production.

Autumn and Festive Preserves

[kitchensqueen]

Hm, the sloe gin sounds pretty interesting; I'll have to give that topic a read. Maybe I'll take half of it and turn it into sloe gin, and throw some juniper berries into the other half, just to see what happens. I do like a nice gin and tonic when the weather turns cooler...

[Mayur]

You could also mix with other gins. A combination of Death's Door with Junipero, Tanqueray, or even Beefeater might hit the right level of juniper for your tastes, and the advantage there would be that you're just mixing redistilled spirit with redistilled spirit. Very easy.

[nikkib]

Infuse it with Earl grey Tea leaves for 4 hours or so and then you can use it for earl grey martinis

[kitchensqueen]

Infuse it with Earl grey Tea leaves for 4 hours or so and then you can use it for earl grey martinis

I like this idea!

[ChickenStu]

Probably not - make sloe gin, even with the worst gin it will make it drinkable.

Deaths door isnt a bad gin, I actually really like it...I usually drink it or hendricks.

I dont like gins with strong juniper flavors, thats when they start tasting pine-needly.

[brinza]

Taking a $35 bottle of gin and trying to turn in into bathtub gin . . .

"Wait, my Chateauneuf de Pape isn't grapey enough! Here, just soak these concord grapes in it and it'll be fine."

[Tri2Cook]

Taking a $35 bottle of gin and trying to turn in into bathtub gin . . .

"Wait, my Chateauneuf de Pape isn't grapey enough! Here, just soak these concord grapes in it and it'll be fine."

If a person doesn't like something, the pricetag won't make it taste better.

[brinza]

Taking a $35 bottle of gin and trying to turn in into bathtub gin . . .

"Wait, my Chateauneuf de Pape isn't grapey enough! Here, just soak these concord grapes in it and it'll be fine."

If a person doesn't like something, the pricetag won't make it taste better.

The rational side of my brain agrees with that sentiment, but a multi-billion industry thrives on the very principle that the price tag does indeed make it taste better.

[KatieLoeb]

The rational side of my brain agrees with that sentiment, but a multi-billion industry thrives on the very principle that the price tag does indeed make it taste better.

Grey Goose, anyone??

[Stephen D]

Hmm...

I hadn't run across this offering and it seems to possess a quirky combination of botanicals. I originally suposed that this would be a Genever-style and that flavor profile can be adjusted for those who enjoy the juniper-prevalance.

From a previous post, it sounds like this is similar to Hendrick's, a personal fave in this style. So...

Try making a juniper water. You should endeavor to source dried berries from your spice merchant or online. 1 part berries to two parts water. Bring to the boil. Turn off the heat. Allow to steep for 8-10 minutes. This can then be added to your gin to bring the flavor profile up to your liking.

Remember that you have just added water to the gin, though. At the execution end, you wanna back off of the shaking times a skosh, or choose ice balls or large, singular cubes to minimize dillution for rocks applications.

Cheers!

[Tri2Cook]

The rational side of my brain agrees with that sentiment, but a multi-billion industry thrives on the very principle that the price tag does indeed make it taste better.

Fair enough. But that doesn't make it taste better to the individual. It just increases the likelihood that people will want to be seen with it or be able to name-drop it in discussions.

"I picked up a $700 bottle of chateau de snoot last week!"

"That stuff tastes like pickled horse pee!"

"Quite... but it was $700 and looks charming in the liquor cabinet carefully arranged so it can be easily seen without looking like it's being spotlighted!"

"Nice!"

Obviously, some things are more expensive because they are better but that still doesn't mean it will be better to every individual. More expensive or not, the person who started this topic doesn't like it.

[JAZ]

Try making a juniper water. You should endeavor to source dried berries from your spice merchant or online. 1 part berries to two parts water. Bring to the boil. Turn off the heat. Allow to steep for 8-10 minutes. This can then be added to your gin to bring the flavor profile up to your liking.

Have you done this yourself? A few years ago I was trying to come up with a non-alcoholic drink that was reminiscent of a gin and tonic and tried several times to get a juniper flavored base without alcohol. I had no luck at all and assumed that the taste molecules in juniper berries were only soluble in alcohol, not water.

Of the suggestions here, I think going with a different infusion like Earl Gray Tea is the best option.

[Stephen D]

Aye, I have.

Perhaps we should analyze why some work and others do not.

Remember, most of the flavor in juniper lies in the volatile oils found in the skin.

Did you use the same proportion of water to berries, as I did?

How about the freshness of your product? Like spices, dried berries lose something over time- even those that come from bushes.

I was doing this amongst other prep work- so maybe I had a certain reduction of liquid before I returned to the pot? Quite possible.

I also eyeballed my proportions. Visual measurement, so to speak- like cooking rice or other grains.

I had no problem with mine, to be honest. A one-and-done experiment...

How did you do yours? And how did it differ from mine? It would be interesting to see...

Perhaps a reduction of liquid (something I didn't see?)

[Alchemist]

Why not try to change the cocktails you are drinking instead of the gin itself. So you have a bottle of gin that doesn't have huge juniper notes. Use the Deaths Door for a 20th Century, a Corpse Reviver (go with Cocchi Americano instead of Lillet) #2, An Aviation, A Southside, something that will spotlight the gins floral qualities.

This seems like a great opportunity to expand the things you like by trying new things instead of trying to force a product to be what you are used to.

Cheers,

Toby

[suzilightning]

or i can send you my address and you can ups it to me? (just kidding - kinda sorta).

i agree about changing the cocktails you use it in ... and if you don't like it put it on your don't buy again list. we all have one.

[Stephen D]

You're more than welcome to! I'm a 'wild hair' kinda person that is prone to such acts of kindness. And I do need to replenish my supply of Himilayan Salt and Sichuan Buttons, so I'll be there sometime in the next month.

With Halloween looming, you might also want to consider the 'fog' technique. It's quite simple- you take a 1" by 1" square of dry ice, add 1-2 ozs of gin, and then strain the vapor into a drink glass with the Gin and Tonic of your preference. The trick is to leave enough of a space from the water line to the top of the glass. CO2 is heavier than air, and will sit inside the vacant area- affecting the nose of the cocktail in the most pleasant of ways.

And it looks pretty cool!