Bay leaf Gin

[Mash]

I have been looking for a bay leaf gin recipes.
15 - 20 leafs per litre
Has anyone tried this with ODINS EASY GIN recipe ?

[chill]

That seems like a LOT of leaves for one litre.

[Mash]

that thought had crossed my mind. The standard thinking seems to be.
stuff 15 leaves in a 70cl bottle come back 1 week later. Drink?

[chill]

I've tried a lot of things but not bay leaf. I will give it a go. I'd start with a couple of leaves and taste every few hours then every few days. I did that recently with a very, very small bit of kaffir lime rind (thumbnail size). I left it a few hours too long and the result was undrinkable unless diluted. Other than that, it was excellent. I also macerated with the cucumber. Hendriks Tropical?

[Mash]

I now have a bottle of gin is stuffed full with 15 bay leaves. I will report back in one weeks time.

What about a vote chaps - do we think it will be palatable?

[chill]

My prediction: not great as a sipping gin, OK with tonic.

[Mash]

Blimey that is a new one on me. Sipping gin.
I am a big fan of sipping whiskey - but gim ?!

Presumably with an ice cube?

[chill]

Sometimes with an ice cube, sometimes without. Sometimes I drink it diluted as a martini. I like my gin, I do.

Chuck

[Mash]

Sometimes with an ice cube, sometimes without. Sometimes I drink it diluted as a martini. I like my gin, I do.

Chuck

I have to say I am getting there. Fascinated by the effect of the botanicals.

[chill]

Kaffir lime, Hyssop, Saffron, Lemon Grass, Cucumber, Rose (petals or water), Lavendar (whole or oil - be careful this is strong), orange water, are among many interesting ones to play with. I tried Lilac once but the scent did not carry through.

[Admiral Toad]

CC makes some cracking gin

[Mash]

Que ?

[Mash]

Update. Shocking. 15 bay leaves 1 litre and 1 week later and I am disappointed if anything it has robbed the freshness of the gin.

[chill]

That is not entirely surprising to me. The taste of bay is masking the taste of juniper.

A good way to approach this is to get small jars (100 - 200 ml or so) and macerate small quantities of botanicals in neutral. That should give you an idea of the flavour addition that it will add as well as a guide to how much to use. The problem with gin is that the flavours come from distillation, so you can't easily distill them away to recover from a mistake.

Chuck

[Mash]

Agreed.
The surprise for me was that this is a widely available kitchen recipe.... and people rave about it.