Airstill gin basket (sputnik build)

[Mash]

Yeah. That is what I am suffering with. The variability of tangerines. I had been freezing some. Not sure if that helps. They don't seem so to be as potent.

[hampk]

That looks like a superlative piece of work, Mash. I'm going to have to have a go at that myself especially as the last of my Odin's is going to a party tonight.

Any pointers to where you sourced your colander/sieve would be welcome - I've had a quick search but small ones don't seem to have much of a rim for mounting the antennae - sorry, legs - I got the sputnik thing straight away!

Nice one!

Cheers

Hampk

[Mash]

I didn't get it my wife did. So the answer has to be either sainsbury or dunelm

It had a loop and a long handle originally... So I guess it was a sieve. Buy either would do.

Ps. The spot welds 'wriggle' off quite nicely.

[hampk]

Cheers for that - I'll get both checked out. We've been given some Costa Christmas Tea teabags this evening - together with a request to run that, so it might be first through the sputnik!

I'll report back on that one in due course.

Cheers

Hampk

[Mash]

... . We've been given some Costa Christmas Tea teabags this evening - together with a request to run that..

Tell me I have this wrong.
You are going to put teabags in a sputnik??

[hampk]

You have and you haven't..! The contents of the teabag (which includes various spices that you'd find in gin (cinnamon, orange, etc)), together with some juniper, coriander etc, but not the bag itself.

It won't be to my taste at all, but the person who gave me the bags seemed very excited about the idea.

Having tried a Yorkshire tea gin recently however, who knows?!

Cheers

Hampk

ps - we definitely have a name for the gadget - it's going to be known as a sputnik for the rest of distilling eternity!

[Mash]

Yorkshire tea gin!

Something I have thought of today is an oak and malt infusion.

... Need some more Base. Pronto.

Boy have I got the sputnik bug.

[hampk]

Heading to Sainsbury's via Dunelm Mill and B&Q in the morning

Cheers

Hampk

[Mash]

Happy new year!

[hampk]

Sputnik built and launched!

Currently running Mash's initial recipe with the addition of a few grains of paradise and some lemon peel as well as the orange.

The brewshop currently smells like a gin bottle, and as for the taste - well we will have to wait and see.

Good one, Mash!!

Cheers

Hampk

[Mash]

You gotta keep us posted!

[hampk]

The sputnik has landed..

Awesome result - thought it might be heavy on the juniper from the smell (and I may decide it still is) but first taste suggests this is superb. Five weeks (Odin's) reduced to a couple of hours (Sputnik).

Well done Mash - that's a real contribution! Like your good self, I now need a lot more neutral..

Incidentally, I got 700ml at about 53% ABV so a bonus when diluted back to 40% as I got most of my litre back.

Cheers

Hampk

[chill]

If you have not tried it yet, it is well worth collecting gin in small jars and tasting and blending until you are familiar with the results of your recipe. The flavour varies dramatically over the run. I like to cut mine off fairly early as the later stages have a floral and earthly taste that I don't favour. I do run it down to about 30-40% ABV and keep the latter stages to re-distill then filter then recycle for another gin. It is not the prefect base as it has some residual flavours but waste not, want not!

[Easydrinker]

I'm loving this thread, especially as I seem to be ahead of myself in neutral spirit production.
Keep giving me more ways to use it......

Robert.

[chill]

I got a strainer sort of thing today (Chinese skimmer with bamboo handle) and 36" of 1/8" brass rod for the antennae. It is only 6" across and I wanted something closer to 7". Hopefully it works OK. Now to find the gumption to disassemble the skimmer and assemble this. And I need to do a couple of heads runs for the base. Carefully re-distilled heads makes for a crisp AirStill gin.