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Base Spirit for Gin


Pofarmer

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Is there any necessity that the base spirit for Gin be a "Neutral"?  The way I read it, it can be basically anything "distilled from a base of grains."  It doesn't say anything about proof.  I figure somebody here will know.

 

Thanks!!

§ 5.144 Gin.

(a) The class gin. “Gin” is distilled spirits made by original distillation from mash, or by redistillation of distilled spirits, or by mixing neutral spirits, with or over juniper berries and, optionally, with or over other aromatics, or with or over extracts derived from infusions, percolations, or maceration of such materials, and includes mixtures of gin and neutral spirits. It must derive its main characteristic flavor from juniper berries and be bottled at not less than 40 percent alcohol by volume (80° proof). Gin may be aged in oak containers.

(b) Distilled gin. Gin made exclusively by original distillation or by redistillation may be further designated as “distilled,” “Dry,” “London,” “Old Tom” or some combination of these four terms.

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Usually it comes down to the "definition of gin having its main characteristic flavor from juniper berries".  If you don't use a neutral base, the primary characteristic would change to that of the base itself.

If for instance you used corn, it would end up being a corn whiskey with botanicals and be considered a "distilled speciality spirit".

There is a class of gin called "Genever" this is different from the gins as defined in the TTB chapter 4, it defined as "a clear, botanically rich, malted grain-based spirit that can only be made in Holland or Belgium"

So you could make a Genever style gin, in the method of what you mentioned with a lower proof base.

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5 hours ago, Pofarmer said:

Is there any necessity that the base spirit for Gin be a "Neutral"?  The way I read it, it can be basically anything "distilled from a base of grains."  It doesn't say anything about proof.  I figure somebody here will know.

 

Thanks!!

§ 5.144 Gin.

(a) The class gin. “Gin” is distilled spirits made by original distillation from mash, or by redistillation of distilled spirits, or by mixing neutral spirits, with or over juniper berries and, optionally, with or over other aromatics, or with or over extracts derived from infusions, percolations, or maceration of such materials, and includes mixtures of gin and neutral spirits. It must derive its main characteristic flavor from juniper berries and be bottled at not less than 40 percent alcohol by volume (80° proof). Gin may be aged in oak containers.

(b) Distilled gin. Gin made exclusively by original distillation or by redistillation may be further designated as “distilled,” “Dry,” “London,” “Old Tom” or some combination of these four terms.

Where does it say it must be from

a base is grains ?

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16 hours ago, Kindred Spirits said:

Usually it comes down to the "definition of gin having its main characteristic flavor from juniper berries".  If you don't use a neutral base, the primary characteristic would change to that of the base itself.

If for instance you used corn, it would end up being a corn whiskey with botanicals and be considered a "distilled speciality spirit".

There is a class of gin called "Genever" this is different from the gins as defined in the TTB chapter 4, it defined as "a clear, botanically rich, malted grain-based spirit that can only be made in Holland or Belgium"

So you could make a Genever style gin, in the method of what you mentioned with a lower proof base.

I guess I was thinking more along the lines of you could take a "Light Whiskey" but something not distilled all the way to 190  proof. I'm playing with a Grain Sorghum Mash I think would make an interesting Gin.

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8 minutes ago, Pofarmer said:

I guess I was thinking more along the lines of you could take a "Light Whiskey" but something not distilled all the way to 190  proof. I'm playing with a Grain Sorghum Mash I think would make an interesting Gin.

I would say yes.   I dont think your base has to be 190 proof.  

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It doesn't need to be neutral. We make our gin base out of our rye mashes that we distill a bit differently than the stuff we put into barrels. We take the proof up to the light whiskey range, but not all the way up to neutral. We love what the rye base offers to our gin. That being said, it is definitely not a "dry" gin. I would start with a neutral base if you were aiming for a London / dry gin.

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I make a gin where the base spirit is distilled from wine from the grapes we grow here on our vineyard. It's not common, since there's more money in selling wine for the volume. But there's nothing that says you must use a grain based spirit for gin. My base spirit for this gin I wouldn't really classify as a typical neutral, since I don't go through a ton of trouble getting it close to what you can purchase as a base ethanol. But that works for me as it add something nice to my finished gin when it's distilled with the botanicals. In short, you have a lot of flexibility making gin. Just find what works for you.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Nope, doesn't need to be neutral. The main flavor just needs to be juniper, so you do have to make sure that is more forward than your base spirits. I know Todd Buckley I believe made his gin from apple brandy (correct me if I'm wrong), Barr Hill made their gin from honey base and famously won 100 points etc. I hope people begin to get more creative than just gns (nothing wrong with that, though! I just love gin exploration). I'm currently looking at some very fun bases 😁 

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Our flagship gin uses our house made vodka as a base, but we also do a completely different barrel rested gin in various barrels that uses white malt whiskey mashed from pale malt as a base. It lends incredible mouthfeel and flavor to the finished gin. I think its one of our best products, but alas one of our slowest movers.   

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10 hours ago, Cosmic.Distiller said:

 Barr Hill made their gin from honey base and famously won 100 points etc. I hope people begin to get more creative than just gns (nothing wrong with that, though! I just love gin exploration). I'm currently looking at some very fun bases 😁 

I'm all for exploring but Barr Hill is made from GNS, at least according to the label. Sweetened with honey though.

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On 6/22/2023 at 7:53 AM, kkbodine said:

I'm all for exploring but Barr Hill is made from GNS, at least according to the label. Sweetened with honey though.

Ah you're right, my mistake. When I heard someone say they use honey for the base spirit I did think that'd be pretty expensive for a base... 

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