7 replies to this topic

[Ben Capdevielle]

Greetings,

Does anyone have any tips on how to prevent our gin from louching. We have distilled a 100 gallon batch of 100 proof base with botanicals in the pot into 36 gallons of on average 167 proof. We are smithing to between 90 and 94 proof. We haven't had this problem till our most delicious batch!!

Thanks,

Ben Capdevielle
Captive Spirits
Seattle, WA

[ViolentBlue]

preventing louche with a macerated gin is a balancing act. you need to have enough botanicals for the flavor, but not so much as to cause louche.
it will take some experimentation.
also the heavier oils come over in the last part of the run. if you cut that bit from your spirit and add it back to your next batch, you can reclaim the ethanol but eliminate the heavy oils that contribute to the louche. But be sure that these oils aren't integral to your flavor profile before you remove them. these heavier oils could be why you found the batch so delicious as there is deep juniper flavor in them.

Many Gin producers use vapor infusion to make their Gin rather than direct maceration, Louche is one of the reasons for this. you can pull a very flavorful gin with much less likelihood of louche with the vapor infusion method.

[Ben Capdevielle]

Thank you ViolentBlue. We filled a few cases of court jars at the end of the batch. I am working my way through those jars to find where the problem begins. I will continue to report on the issue.

[Ben Capdevielle]

Upon further experimentation we found that the heads were much more responsible for louching than any part of the tails. Very interesting. More test results tomorrow.

[blair]

Can you explain louching?  I am not familiar with that term.  Is it precipitation of the heavy oils, development of cloudiness, or what?

[ViolentBlue]

Ben Capdevielle, on 27 February 2012 - 10:56 PM, said:

Upon further experimentation we found that the heads were much more responsible for louching than any part of the tails. Very interesting. More test results tomorrow.

Glad you figured that one out. from the direct experience I've had, deeper into tails you went the more likely to louche.
while making an "orange spirit" the orange oil comes on heavy and strong at the beginning, making a louche if mixed with the main body of the spirit.
so your experience makes perfect sense. I had assumed the Juniper was the culprit since it comes in so late in the spirit, but could easily been the anise or one of the lighter oils that come early.

blair, on 28 February 2012 - 08:27 PM, said:

Can you explain louching?  I am not familiar with that term.  Is it precipitation of the heavy oils, development of cloudiness, or what?

its the precipitation of heavy oils when diluted with water. causes a cloudiness. its more commonly associated with absinthe.

[cannibalpeas]

ViolentBlue, on 29 February 2012 - 08:58 AM, said:

Glad you figured that one out. from the direct experience I've had, deeper into tails you went the more likely to louche.
while making an "orange spirit" the orange oil comes on heavy and strong at the beginning, making a louche if mixed with the main body of the spirit.
so your experience makes perfect sense. I had assumed the Juniper was the culprit since it comes in so late in the spirit, but could easily been the anise or one of the lighter oils that come early.

Exactly. This has been the case in my experience both with Gin and Absinthe.

Here's some information on how this works in the context of Absinthe.

As far as louching goes Ben, I have worried quite a bit about this and how it would appear to a customer or bartender when they pour a drink that suddenly goes milky. Certainly not the best time to "educate" the customer. Louche is pretty easy to control, however with the addition of more spirit. This may run afoul of the TTB definition interpretation of "distilled gin". However, it would help you determine scaling for the next batch based on how much you add. Do it on the smallest scale possible and make adjustments.

[Edwin]

The louching is too much oils. It doesn't solve. Especially when cutting down abv. If you  make a small "fores" cut, you will see lots of oils are there. In the very, very first part of the run. You may decide to discard them. And even then, you might end up with a fog. Not a bad, just something that needs fixing: add enough neutral to make the louche clear. You will see it happen in seconds. That's the point of maximum tasty oils in your drink. At room temp.

Edwin.