[Jill The Alembics Lab]

Hi Anne
Did you make the appropriate cuts when you distilled it in the stainless and then in the copper? If it is to unpleasant to drink flavouring it won’t solve that and it maybe harmful. Strong smelling spirit usually means the yeast was stressed in the ferment process.

[Jill The Alembics Lab]

Hi Frances
I haven’t infused Chilli in a gin, so I’m not sure. You wouldn’t want to add to much and regret it 🙂 I suggest you start with a test of 3g of chilli in 25ml of Gin. Keep adding chilli until you get the impact you are after, and then just scale up. Be sure to weigh the chilli each time you increase.

[Jill The Alembics Lab]

Hi Alona

Yes, it’s fine to drink. Cloudy means it’s so rich in aromatics that when you dilute it with water, some come out of the solution, making it cloudy. What did you proof it to? That means what was the final abv when you added the water?

[Jill The Alembics Lab]

Hi Alona

Tell us what you are distilling. If it’s spirits, the condenser can get quite warm, as this helps volatilize some of the alcohols that come off at lower temperatures. To lower the temperature you can increase the water flow in and out of the condenser or have a larger water container.

[Jill The Alembics Lab]

Hi Rochelle

We recommend 1 litre to 35g of botanicals. If you steep them, however, you may want to adjust and use them a bit less. Steeping can draw out richer flavours. 35G per litre is at the high end – it will make well-flavoured gin with a distinct nose. 25-30g per litre will be lighter.

[Jill The Alembics Lab]

Hi Veronique, You chose a truly beautiful plant that has one of the lowest essential oil yields. That is why Melissa EO is so expensive to buy. I have also heard that the timing of harvesting and distillation is critical—something that commercial growers come to understand depending on climate and terroir. Using our small tills, we distil Melissa for hydrosol. Not all plants will yield essential oil, and they are better suited to hydrosol distillation.

 

[Jill The Alembics Lab]

Hi Charlie

Now is an excellent time for Kawa Kawa as it’s coming into bud. Since you have a little still, pick the buds and the young leaves, rip them up and push them down into the pot. Just don’t go above the rivet line. Just cover it with hot water, and you will be good to go. If your distillate is murky and coloured, you will know you have overfilled the still, so reduce the amount the next time.

[Jill The Alembics Lab]

Hi Veronique

You can distil fresh or dried plant material; however, the quality and composition of the oil will depend on the type of plant distilled. Dry material will yield a different EO than fresh, but if you are distilling for yourself, it’s a great learning exercise. I have a lot of dried German chamomile, so I do distil that and get a lovely blue EO, but the aroma is not as nice as the fresh.

If you distil dried material, try dampening it with water to soften and hydrate it first—but without it getting soggy like a sponge. If you are going to do a hydrodistillation using dried plant material, hydrate by soaking in water for a few hours before distilling.

Chopping is good if it’s practical – very achievable when you are using a small still. By reducing the size of the plant material, you get better surface area contact with the steam and can get a better yield. Always chop just before distilling, as you will lose volatiles as soon as the plant material becomes damaged.

 

[Jill The Alembics Lab]

Hi Christi, If it’s for practice, try starting with about 7 bottles. It might be a slow distillation as it’s a long way for the vapours to travel to the condenser. Why not make a 25L batch of the TPW wash? The recipe is in the notes. Much cheaper than buying all that wine.

[Jill The Alembics Lab]

The character of the wine you use  – aroma and taste will define the end spirit. Gin is made with a neutral spirit, and we recommend 40% vodka if you are not making your own DIY spirit. It doesn’t have a taste or aroma, so the botanicals become the hero and define it as a gin. However! There is no reason why you can’t use other bases and experiment. A spirit distilled from wine will retain the aromatic and taste character of the wine but in a subtle, refined way. I do recommend two distillations, however.

As you can see in the video, the yields are low on a small still. That’s why we recommend larger stills when you want to create spirits from wines or washes.

We are looking forward to creating our next course which will be how to make a neutral spirit.

[Jill The Alembics Lab]

That was a big gin 🙂 Through the garden, so to speak. I think Jess is correct. Rhubarb and rose petals can be quite astringent and bitter. But I love how you are not afraid to experiment – that’s how we learn. Write everything you do in a journal, the rate you are going you will nail one soon and it will be fabulous, but only if you can repeat it 🙂

[Jill The Alembics Lab]

Mm, and a photo of how you have the eucalyptus in the still.

[Jill The Alembics Lab]

Hi Helen

Can you send me a photo of the leaves – not all varieties are rich in EO. You can keep the leaves whole, but on a small scale, it is still better to chop them up. I suggest packing them in the still with some twiggy bits. If you imagine hot steam going into them, it may be that they clumped together and formed a plug, not allowing the steam to go through, hence your oily, scummy water. The steam would be condensing and going back into the pot. Pack the leaves with the harder twigy bits to make pathways for the steam to go through.

[Jill The Alembics Lab]

Hi Jan

I’ve made several commercial gins using oyster shell. You put it in the pot with the alcohol. Two on a 5L should be fine. The shell adds a dry minerality which also works well with a hint of seaweed.

[Jill The Alembics Lab]

Hi Helen

Pleased you are enjoying the courses – the one on alcohol is very much an intro course as there’s quite a lot going on when we are distilling alcohol 🙂

If you are distilling a second time, we recommend you repeat the process, taking out the headshot. In small distillation, the transitions between the different alcohols are blurred, so take more to be on the safe side. On your second distillation you can expect a 20% yield as a guideline and at double the abv which you start out with. So if your abv from your first distillation is 40%, expect 80% on the second distillation. You have some leeway as you make it for perfume and not for consumption.

A 5L still is small for alcohol, but use it to practice and get to know what to expect.

 

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