Description
Saturday January 11 2025 10am–4pm
The day features two gin distillations—a classic London Dry and a contemporary gin blend (using the vapour-infusion technique), and takes you from recipe-building, through distilling, proofing and tasting (with samples to take home).
Workshop Schedule:
- Neutral Spirit: Your blank canvas. Origins, sources and it’s role in your spirit’s flavour profile.
- Know your botanicals: We lead you through an organoleptic tasting of the main gin botanicals, and explain what each ingredient can add to your gin’s taste, texture and aromatic profile.
- How to structure a classic gin blend: Using base ratios for structure, beauty and balance—we create a well-balanced classic London dry for use in our first distillation.
- How to create bespoke gin blends (the really fun part)—under Jill’s guidance we’ll create a contemporary gin blend using a wide array of classic, seasonal and experimental botanicals (for use in our second distillation).
- Starting the distillation: Using our two blends, Jill demonstrates the techinique of vapour-distillation using two different gin stills—a 3L copper appliance still, and a 3L copper alquitar.
- BREAK FOR LUNCH.
- Blending with quintessences: Using our single vapour-distilled quintessences, create your own bespoke blend in a 30ml shot glass. This is a great way to familiarise yourself with your aromatic palette, discover what each individual botanical brings to a gin and try out your own ideas.
- Finishing off our gin distillations: Jill walks us through the final steps of gin-making, including when to stop your distillation, proofing and tasting.
- Each person will get samples of the gins we distilled today, to take home.
**Bundle this workshop with the online course: for an extra $100, you can add access to our online Gin Immersion Course (valued at $295). All our online courses come with lifetime access, so you can refer back to them whenever you need, making them a great learning resource
Getting here: Ferries depart from downtown Auckland, and take approximately 45 minutes. If you are not staying on the island, we recommend an 8am ferry to arrive in plenty of time. You can easily bus to the venue—public buses depart from the ferry terminal at Matiatia. All three buses (50A, 50B and 502) will get you here—just ask your friendly driver which stop to get off at to get you to Moa Ave.
Lunch: The Lab is an easy 10 minute walk from the shops and cafés of Oneroa Village.
