I have been experimenting with a bit of a reverse engineered gin and tonic.
The yeast is a 48 hour yeast (uk 48 was the one I have used, but, it doesnt really matter which one you use).
The idea is to hit a decent abv so that some tonic water can be added when its done to bring the abv down to around 12.5 abv. from the approx 15 to 16 abv of the finished drink (allowing 20 to 25 % tonic water to be added) this is to make it a bit sparkling and make it feel a bit like a real g and t whilst drinking it, at the end.
So why g and t, well the way i figure it is that juniper berries are both anti viral and anti bacterial and tonic water contains quinine, which is also anti viral (and is used to treat malaria amongst other things) besides that i just fancied making something along those lines, because, i fancied drinking / making some.
Its basically a lock down / lock in, gin and tonic, kind of a drink.
I have basically winged this and made it up as i went along, but, it has turned out surprisingly well, up to now.
so, the first thing i sourced was some essential juniper oil (from ebay) I already had the yeast.
I kind of googled a little bit about gin, to figure out what might, or, might not go with it and decided on a pink colour despite the fact officinados prefer a clear gin (this was influenced at least in part due to finding some red dried hibiscus flowers locally at the super market, which, i have previously used in wine making) then proceeded to hunt for stuff locally to mix in the batch (mostly in small amounts) this isnt getting distilled and i kind of want a subtle or semi subtle complexed kind of flavour.
The basic recipe i have used goes like this my fermenting bucket holds 20 litres, into which I have added ;-
30 drops (about 1.5 mls of juniper essential oil) this might need tweaking later on ie more might need adding later on (sourced from ebay)
The rest of the stuff was winged (ie) guessed, based on personal hunch, after a bit of a google search and personal experience. The quantities are deliberately small as this is aimed at tasting a bit like a spirit and a mixer, not really like a wine as such.
I am aiming for a dry gin kind of flavour as well, in the final product.
Contents additional to juniper oil ;-
mixed orange skin (some sweet some bitter) and some pink grapefruit dried skin around 1/3 rd to 1/2 of a cup full by volume (total approx 1/3rd orange 2/3rd dried pink grapefruit), of mixed skins, with the white rind still left on (it seems to add tanins and a bit of bite). dried in the fridge over a few weeks and left over from eating them originally (the eco friendly option) some go a bit mouldy, so, they get binned, but, about half, dry fine doing this.
around 1/2 of a cup full of dried hibiscus flower (red, found locally at the local shops (cheaply)) estimated approx 30 grams by weight for the pinkish colour and slight peachy flavours
a large pinch of ground dried cinnamon (approx 1/3 rd of a teaspoon) found locally (for bite) commonly found in commercial gins
approx 1/3 rd of a teaspoon of dried mixed herbs containing thyme, marjoram, origano, parsley, sage and bazil (for a bit more complexity) I already had this in for cooking reasons, so, decided to add a bit.
a tiny pinch (just that ie between my fingers) of dried chilly powder found locally (for a bit of a bite in the after taste) weird i know but i have done this before and it gives a bit of kick to drinks (it has to be a tiny very subtle barely detectable amount)
a tiny pinch (just that ie between my fingers) of dried ginger powder found locally (which i already had in) for more complexity (needs to be barely percievable and not an obvious addition)
6 drops of dr oetker vanilla essence (which i already had at home) this is a very nice flavour and adds complexity (i use this in quite a lot of my home brews in tiny amounts)
4 x 2/3 teaspoons of porridge oats x 1 per 5 litres (for improved mouth feel)
approx 1/2 cup of breakfast cerial containing wheat (anything from wheetos to wheetabix, what ever you have close to hand, as long as it is mostly or totally wheat) (for the flavour (my own tweak i use this quite a lot) intended to be subtle, but, improves after taste in the mouth, giving a dry spirit kind of a flavour in the after taste
3/4 of a sliced yellow banana complete with the skin (for the amylaze and some mouth feel) it doesnt really add much in the way of flavour, but, the batch looked like it had a bit of a starch haze forming, so, I added some, as a precaution. possibly from the cerial`s if it was forming a haze
I think that covers the contents.
Method, add all the contents to the bucket.
5.1kg of sugar was added and dissolved in water up to the 17.5 liter mark on the bucket.
It was then treated with campden tablets and left for 36 hours (then stirred a bit to release the sulphates).
The yeast was then added, strictly speaking turbo yeast does not need the additional nutrients and stuff (which makes it ideal for this kind of experiment).
It got off to a flying start and is now on day 7, at 20 degrees celcius.
Although it is still vigerously bubbling in the airlock I moved onto the next phase last night and added tonic water and lemonade (barrs lemonade, because, it was what i had in) in the ratio of 800 mls tonic water to 200 mls lemonade and topped the bucket up to the 20 litre mark (ie) filled the bucket up.
It is still fermenting well and the preservatives in the tonic water and lemonade have not seemingly impaired the ferment, which was why i added them late on (just in case, it did).
Initial tasting using a small spoon seem to confirm it is going very well and there is not much sugar taste left despite actively bubbling, it does taste as i had hoped it would.
I estimate this will be around 15 to 16 abv when finally done and am hoping for a sly tasting session on tuesday to confirm if it is ok, or, not, i have a friend coming around for a second opinion tuesday and possibly some tweaking, but, judging by initial tasting by myself I am very happy the way this is going.
I think by tuesday it will be fairly much fermented, so, will just need to be left to clear up then, it is a very nice pink colour but obviousy still cloudy.
comments, while it was more active in fermenting the juniper oils where not as apparent in the flavour, it has reared its head more as the ferment has progressed and particularly after the addition of the tonic water and lemonade last night, it does in fact have a definate gin kind of flavour.
I may need to add more juniper oil later on to tweak the flavour, but, it definately has a gin kind of feel / taste about it.
As mentioned above it is meant to be drunk with some tonic water at around 15 to 25 % (25 % being the maximum, for around 12 abv, which, is close (by abv) to a 1/3 rd gin 2/3 rd tonic water mix, which would come out around 12.5 abv).
Thats my latest experimental drink, I have been making / messing around with.
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