A Sputnik Jim, but not as we know it!

[Anavrin]

Made it from a £7 small colander from Sainsbury's and a bit of left over copper tube.

[Anavrin]

Have Sputnik will use

First attempt

900ml 95% Neutral
1800ml water

12gr Juniper Berries
7gr Corriander Seeds
1gr Rosemary
1 Cardomon Pod
Pinch of Nutmeg
Tiny bit of a cinnamon stick

Edit: plus 4 black pepper corns

That's all the ingredients I had, so it's taking its maiden voyage

First impressions from the initial smell from the first 100ml or so is very impressive, not sure about Gin cuts, I've separated the first 100ml but haven't sussed out at what % to stop collecting at yet, any ideas?

[gaza the instructor]

looks very sexy, how does it run

[gaza the instructor]

would have used a bit more neutral or less water.
I normally run 2ltrs @45% and 1ltr water.
collect all down to 60%, that suits me

[Anavrin]

Ok so reading a bit I should have tossed the first 15ml, but my first jar had about 100ml in it and smelt the best, so I've kept everything until the parrot showed 50%

I ended up with 1 litre at 70%

My volumes where off on the first post, should have been

800ml 95% neutral

1600ml water or possibly 2400ml water, already I can't remember and I've not tried any yet!!

[Easydrinker]

My last Gin run was a maceration of double your starting volume, but allowing for doubling,and my throwing the first few mls, the collected volume and cut off point was pretty much the same.

Fergot to appraise the design of yours..Nice!

Robert.

[spot]

The bent copper looks very slick.

I expect that's a line from Z Cars but even so. I've no idea how to get smooth curves. And it fits the boiler.

I'll have a try, there's ten foot of disconnected half-inch pipe over a rafter somewhere.

[Mash]

Very Nice A.

1 litre water 1 litre 50% - 750ml finished.

I use hearts only & I trim off the top 15ml

I dropped peppercorns - IMO I think they make it dull. Dried Bitter Orange peel is a must though WOW!

[gaza the instructor]

Absolutely its fantastic in the sputnik.

[gaza the instructor]

Anavrin.
Have a look at "my best gin yet"
in the Airstill section its a goodie.

[Toper]

I have decided to use s copper mesh dish, It sits on a copper wire framework and is held about half an inch above the 4 litre level mark, and is a close fit to the sides of the still.

Given the weight of the ingredients I think the 1.5mm thick wire will have sufficient strength to support it.




I'm still wondering if, given the fineness of some of the ingredients, whether to place some paper kitchen roll in the bottom of it.

[Anavrin]

Looks good Toper, don't worry about bits dropping through, colander have bigger holes than your mesh, just run it and see what results you get, I think it'll work just fine.

[gaza the instructor]

You always will get some debris dropping thru
your grill/grid.
You may need to channel the vapour to the middle of
your grid, it has to pass thru the botanicals
in order to take on the flavours.
By that I mean foil around the outer edge about an
inch or so then spread your bots evenly in the
middle. That way all vapour pass thru the bots
for max flavour.
Scale up a recipe and have a play. I am sure you will
love the results