Want to make your own gin?

It is well known to my friends and family that I like a good cocktail.  So for Christmas my sister gave me a Do Your Gin kit.  It turns out you can make your own gin at home.  All you need is a neutral alcohol and juniper berries.

The kit comes with two 350 ml bottles, a funnel, two filters, a collection of botanicals including juniper berries, instructions, a few recipes and a description of the botanicals.  The bottles have a label on them where you can check off the ingredients you have added but I reused the bottles for several gins so that wouldn't have made sense for me.

They suggest vodka as the neutral alcohol I used Skyy because it is decent vodka at a decent price.  And it is the one I could money back for from my Ibotta app. 

The instructions are kind of vague so some of it was a bit of guessing.  I filled the bottle right up to the bottom of the neck.  Which worked fine for the first two gins but on my third (in which I added bits of fresh ginger) I realized that I should have taken into account the displacement the ingredients would create.  I had to pour a little vodka out to fit my flavorings in.

first gin

I didn't follow any of the recipes.  For my first gin I used one test tube of juniper berries.  The instructions say that if you crush the berries they will release more flavor.  Since it was my first try I didn't know how much flavor they would release anyway so I hedged my bets and crushed half of them.  I let it sit on the shelf for 24 hours then I added about a teaspoon of the pink pepper.  I crushed half of that too.  Then it sat on the shelf for another 24 hours.  The instructions say you can drink it after the 48 hours but suggests that you leave it in the fridge for another 12.  So I put it in the fridge for the last 12 hours.  Then I used funnel and the filter to pour it into the other bottle.  It was not clean like gin usually is because the natural colors of the herbals remain in the gin.  There was a strong juniper flavor but not enough to overpower the pepper.  I liked it.  The pepper added a nice spice that went well with
the juniper.

third gin

I have made two more gins since.  Using the same timings on all three.  The second I used the same amount of juniper but didn't crush any and then added about half of the hibiscus flower.  I liked the juniper better this way.  The hibiscus made it a beautiful red color and gave it a lovely floral (but not perfumey) flavor.  It was something I would sip on.  The third was the same juniper as the second and then I went completely off script and added about a tablespoon of fresh ginger bits and about half a teaspoon of orange peel.  Once again you could taste all the flavors added and I ended up with a gin I was happy to sip on.

The only ingredient that didn't come from the kit was the ginger.  You get three test tubes of juniper berries so I have to buy more now if I want to make more gin.  (I looked and it is available on Amazon.) It only comes with two filters so for my third gin I got little coffee filters and they worked just fine.  And I still have a lot of different flavors to try.

I would not have thought of doing it on my own but now that I have gotten the idea from the kit I think I will continue to experiment with it.  It is a lot of fun trying new flavors.

The kit cost $59.90.  It was a really nice and well appreciated gift.  But.  There are a lot of botanicals that I don't know I will ever use.  And you can use any resealable bottle (well, pair of bottles) and get a funnel anywhere.  I think it makes a good gift but if you are interested in trying out your own gin making you can probably get all the things you need for less than the $60 asking price of this kit.