Gin Immersion

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Masterclass

This course is for anyone who wants to make their own gin, and develop an understanding of flavour and aroma in order to create their own bespoke blends. It is designed for both beginners and those already familiar with other distillation techniques.

Video course: 1.5hrs of pre-recorded, on demand video (in 9 modules).

Printable course materials: Downloadable PDFs of our detailed course notes, including formulae, recipes, tables, and further resources.

Lifetime access: You’ll have access to your course to watch and review whenever you want.

Support and membership: When you buy this course, you gain automatic membership to The Alembics Lab course forums. This is an interactive space for questions, further learning and scheduled live events.

You’ll learn the process of vapour-infused distillation, as Jill demonstrates making a classic gin blend from start-to-finish, on a 2.5L appliance still. We’ll provide you with a clear formula to base your gin-making on, and show you how to use it to create well-balanced blend recipes. We’ll build two blends together, and discuss the main stars of the gin—the botanicals, exploring how they are used to create and layer flavour.

Course Content

Section

Before you begin

Introduction

Module 1: Origins

Module 2: Neutral spirit

Module 3: How to make a classic blend

Module 4: Starting the distillation

Module 5: Know your botanicals

Module 6: Contemporary gin blends

Module 7: Using your local botanicals

Module 8: Blending with quintessences

Module 9: Finishing off the distillation

Just a device and internet connection, as our courses are totally online. You don’t need a still in order to learn with us, but chances are after taking these courses, you’ll want one!

Each course comes with printable course materials, which will have a list of equipment and supplies used in the distillation, so you can outfit yourself beforehand should you want to distil along with us. As a guide, our basic set-up will include:

A still
Heat source (such as an electric hotplate or gas burner)
Submersible in-line pump and water reservoir (bucket, container or sink)
Accessories and tools (plastic tubing, scissors, electrical tape, beakers or jars)

Many of the main botanicals used in gin-making are readily available in your local grocery store, and you’ll also find a full range at Alembics.

Course Content

Section

Before you begin

Introduction

Module 1: Origins

Module 2: Neutral spirit

Module 3: How to make a classic blend

Module 4: Starting the distillation

Module 5: Know your botanicals

Module 6: Contemporary gin blends

Module 7: Using your local botanicals

Module 8: Blending with quintessences

Module 9: Finishing off the distillation

Video course: 1.5hrs of pre-recorded, on demand video (in 9 modules).

Printable course materials: Downloadable PDFs of our detailed course notes, including formulae, recipes, tables, and further resources.

Lifetime access: You’ll have access to your course to watch and review whenever you want.

Support and membership: When you buy this course, you gain automatic membership to The Alembics Lab student forums. This is an interactive space for questions, further learning and scheduled live events.

Just a device and internet connection, as our courses are totally online. You don’t need a still in order to learn with us, but chances are after taking these courses, you’ll want one!

A still
Heat source (such as an electric hotplate or gas burner)
Submersible in-line pump and water reservoir (bucket, container or sink)
Accessories and tools (plastic tubing, scissors, electrical tape, beakers or jars)

Many of the main botanicals used in gin-making are readily available in your local grocery store, and you’ll also find a full range at Alembics.

Course Overview

A practical course in gin-making—this is for anyone who wants to know what’s behind a good gin, and more importantly, how to do it yourself. Gin Immersion is our most popular workshop, and probably our most fun! Join us as we demonstrate the process for vapour-infusing gin, and take a deep dive into the art of blending. One of the joys of making your own gin is making it to your own personal taste and satisfaction, and Gin Immersion gives you the knowledge, skills and confidence to do exactly that.

What you’ll learn

A brief (and colourful) origin story of this famous spirit.
About the distillation process, from start-to-finish, beginning with your blank canvas—neutral spirit.
How to structure your gin blend, starting with a simple formula (and recipe) to use as the foundation of your gin-making.
We’ll create two gin blends—a classic London dry and a contemporary botanical gin.
About the flavour profiles of all of the main gin botanicals, and which notes each botanical contributes to a blend.
We’ll dive deep into the world of blending, and show you how you can develop your own skills to become an expert blender.

$295NZD

Bundle our other 3 Foundation Courses for $450NZD!

Purchase our 3 Foundation Courses together and save, normally $525NZD.

You are enrolled in this course

I first encountered Jill in her Gin Immersion workshop. Her warmth and passion shone through from the beginning and I was drawn into the wonderful world of botanics instantly. Jill’s knowledge is second to none and her skill at inspiring the newest wannabe gin-makers to follow their hearts into this world was spot on.

— Justine Schroder, Mt Fyffe Distillery

‘One aspect that really appeals to me is being able to distil products that I’ve grown in my own garden, whether that be a rose geranium or lavender hydrosol, or my own signature gin reflecting my garden.’

— Sue Muggleston

Meet your Instructor

Jill Mulvaney

Jill Mulvaney is one of New Zealand’s leading distillation experts. She consults and teaches on all aspects of plant extraction for natural aroma and flavour. Jill develops aromatic spirits and zero ABV products for local and international brands and distilleries, and is behind a number of award-winning gins. Her love affair with gin began with a revelation: that creating a great gin is just like creating a signature perfume. It’s this approach to gin-making that Jill teaches in her workshops: how to understand your botanicals and layer flavour to create your own bespoke blends.

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Getting Started

To get you started we offer two free introductory courses. We’ll explain what you need, how to prepare your equipment and ingredients, as well as cleaning your still after use.

INTRODUCTION COURSES