TURBO 500 can I make Gin?

[guest5234]

Hi, is it possible to make Gin in the Turbo 500 without adding bottled flavorings , is it possible to add botanicals to produce gin flavors in the finished spirit.
Thank you.

[Diverch]

You will need to build a pot head for the t500.

The t500 is a reflux still and will strip all the taste out of anything, making a neutral, this can then be run through a pot head with botanicals and make gin.

A pot head can be made for about £50. That's actually my job for tomorrow

Diverch

[guest5234]

Cheers for the answer, someone did comment that taking out some of the saddles and putting a type of tea bag stuffed with botanicals could possibly do it, any thoughts?

[Diverch]

I'm relatively new to distilling but I'm sure one of the experienced guys will wade in.

My thoughts are, any sadels left in will cause reflux what will cause the flavour to be stripped out. If you take all the saddles out to run it as a pot head, there are concerns about the temp of the vapour and the plastic at the top of the t500.

Diverch

[Brewhunter]

You will need to build a pot head for the t500.

The t500 is a reflux still and will strip all the taste out of anything, making a neutral, this can then be run through a pot head with botanicals and make gin.

A pot head can be made for about £50. That's actually my job for tomorrow

Diverch

I would love to hear how hard/easy it was to do and see the finished item

[Mash]

Once you have that done, you need a simple basket to pu the botanicals in. Search 'sputnik' for recipes and discussion threads [loads]

[Capt-Cudellez]

Will reflux strip some flavour? Yes but it will be far far away from being neutral. It could make a really nice gin. London Dry gin has to be taken off at above 90% and can be run on something like a 4 plate still to maintain the ABV.

I always recommend making gin with neutral in the boiler, no need to do a vapour infused gin, you can macerate the spirit for 12-24 hours then just run it without any additional investment or build on your part.
When I had a T500 it would normally output in the 93-94% range, so either run a bit faster than a neutral run (forget about temps, just time the output rate), or remove an inch or so of packing to make it less efficient.

One problem with the ceramics saddles is they will be a bugger to clean, so you might risk making the next thing you run on it tasting a little like gin - this is where having separate gear will really pay off.

Try it you might like it, if you don't, try something else

[Easydrinker]

Will reflux strip some flavour? Yes but it will be far far away from being neutral. It could make a really nice gin. London Dry gin has to be taken off at above 90% and can be run on something like a 4 plate still to maintain the ABV.

I always recommend making gin with neutral in the boiler, no need to do a vapour infused gin, you can macerate the spirit for 12-24 hours then just run it without any additional investment or build on your part.
When I had a T500 it would normally output in the 93-94% range, so either run a bit faster than a neutral run (forget about temps, just time the output rate), or remove an inch or so of packing to make it less efficient.

One problem with the ceramics saddles is they will be a bugger to clean, so you might risk making the next thing you run on it tasting a little like gin - this is where having separate gear will really pay off.

Try it you might like it, if you don't, try something else

To my mind, not having tried, if the next run is a Rum, it will out flavour the gin, and you only need to clean the column once.

There is much to be said for owning job specific tools though.
If you have the wallet and the space, it can save you lots of time.
Sadly this equation is only usually learned from experience.

Robert.

[Mash]

There is much to be said for owning job specific tools though.
If you have the wallet and the space, it can save you lots of time.
Sadly this equation is only usually learned from experience.

Too true. I was only thinking the same Sunday when I pressed my wine - I have quite a ponsey OTT press but without it I doubt I would still be making.

[Easydrinker]

Someone gave us an "Apple Press" this year, I am almost happy that the harvest was a fail, it gives us longer to explain why it is useless, and make better plans for next year.

Robert.

[Diverch]

So if I only want to make a few bottle can I get away with diluting the neutral down a lot so the biker doesn't run dry.

I.e. 2L 92% neutral and 10L water, or will this dilute it to much?

I want to play around with gin recepues on a small scale at first.

Also are the recepies directley proportional when scaling up?

Thanks
Diverch

[gaza the instructor]

2.6 ltrs will drop your abv to 40%
2 ltrs to 45%.
http://homedistiller.org/calcs/dilute
use these mate

[guest5234]

There is much to be said for owning job specific tools though.
If you have the wallet and the space, it can save you lots of time.
Sadly this equation is only usually learned from experience.

Too true. I was only thinking the same Sunday when I pressed my wine - I have quite a ponsey OTT press but without it I doubt I would still be making.

yep
https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=19BABB8E ... 31&o=OneUp

[Mash]

Don't know what should have happened but the link didn't..

[Diverch]

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. I've found the calculator and it's really useful.

I was planning on getting my neutral from my reflux then taking the hearts and running it though my pot head on my t500 boiler.

I only want to do small batches so using small amounts of neutral hearts but can I add extra water to ensure I don't run dry the boiler.

Diverch