Other uses of used juniper berries...

[bluestar]

Curious if anyone has found a use for the juniper berries AFTER they have been used for making gin. Mostly thinking about the berries that have been crushed and macerated by steeping, and are left behind after draining the extract.

Also, I am testing my ability to post and be seen again in the Gin forum.

[Denver Distiller]

Goats. Well, most of them, anyway.... seem to love spent Gin botanicals.

And I know some chefs have used some spent botanicals out there....

[BrnBtlFlzy]

Curious Denver, I would have thought that the juniper berries would be too pungent even for goats. I guess it would depend on how the juniper berries were added to the gin (using a separate vapor basket like Hendricks, or added directly to the distillate).

[Denver Distiller]

Well, as I said, not all of the goats will eat it. And often, the farmer simply mixes it with other things. Same goes for our Rye stillage, actually. His cows won't touch it. But if he mixes it with even a little of our Bourbon or Vodka stillage, they can't get enough of it.

The goats will eat the absinthe stillage, which really astonishes me. That stuff is really something.

[Andrew]

Both our gin and absinthe botanicals (post-distillation) are in high demand by local gardeners to compost. The resulting compost is apparently amazing stuff.

The juniper berries are usually so stripped that they don't really have much distinct scent or flavor.

[rhynorange]

We've been sharing our spent juniper with a local natural coatings company. They said the juniper has been providing a nice color addition to some wood stains, helping with UV protection, etc.

They've also been taking our heads to run tests on.

[travellers]

I was wondering if anybody has sold their spent grains/botanicals/berries to earn additional income? or is this always a give-a-way product?

thanks.

[Edwin]

In Holland spent grains are usually fed to pigs. Hogg growing and genever making went hand in hand.

[DTS]

I've seen spent grain being sold, mostly for animal feed. With botanicals composting seems to be a popular option but I think most of it is given/bartered away rather than being sold. I suppose if you have a limited quantities of spent botanicals it may not be worth try to sell it - hence the popularity for give-away or barter. Not a bad way tog et some local goodwill.

[travellers]

If the spent grains/berries etc were donated to a local non-profit organization, say a garden collective; could this be considered a tax write off for the business? What your thoughts?

I have seen something similar on another post but for the life of me I could not find it.

Thanks