Make your own festive gin

ALEMBICS ADVERTORIAL

The team from Alembics share a delicious artisan gin recipe that you can make at home in time for Christmas. 

With the holiday season just around the corner it’s the perfect time to start planning your festive food and beverage menu.

Over the years it’s become a tradition in our house to distil a special Christmas gin for pre-dinner (or lunch) spreads. This year is no exception and we think we’ve come up with our finest, most delicious gin yet! In the spirit of Christmas, we’ve focused on vibrant, crimson botanicals and a few other iconic flavours. This blend is all about luxurious aromatics and sings of gorgeous wild harvested Otago rosehips, pink peppercorn, cassia and our own, hand-dried bitter orange. 

Our Festive Gin blend is absolutely lovely mixed into long gin sprizters with fresh basil and lime. And pairs beautifully with green olives, lightly toasted almonds and freshly shucked oysters. 

To make this at home you’ll need to purchase one of our Gin Kits and follow the instructions below. Alembics Gin Kits are highly decorative and functional, make beautiful gifts, and most importantly arrive on your doorstep with everything you need to get started.

METHOD

Using the 2.5 L Alembics Appliance Still supplied in our Gin Kit, arrange all your equipment on a clear surface close to running water. Your kitchen bench top, next to the sink is the perfect spot to start distilling.  

Set up your still

Using the instructions supplied with your Gin Kit, set up your Appliance Still and connect it to the pump. Before moving on to the next step, double check that everything is correct.

Fill the pot

Pour 1L of 40% grain spirit or vodka into the pot and turn the electric plate up to 6.

Arrange botanicals

Place your muslin bag of Festive Gin botanicals in the column. 

Heat the pot to a simmer

Heat the pot to a gentle simmer and let the vapours pass through the botanicals. 

Collect yield

Using a glass beaker or a Pyrex jug, collect the yield from the copper dispenser pipe. 1 Litre of alcohol should yield approximately 450ml of clear concentrated spirit.

Measure alcohol

When you have collected 450 ml of spirit, pour 80ml into a 100ml cylinder, gently place your hydrometer into the cylinder and measure the alcohol percentage. It should be around 75%.

Add water

Using this abv calculator add the specified amount of distilled water to make 1 litre of 40% abv Festive Gin.

Bottle and label

Bottle and label your gin clearly and you’re ready to go! 

For more information on the Alembics Gin Kits or to book a place in one of Alembic’s Gin Immersion workshops, check out their website here or visit alembics.co.nz.