Re: Vanilla Vodka
My latest SmartStill gin is to just toss the botanicals in the still, not ground or smashed or anything just toss them in whole, add neutral, and fire it up. I find it produces a cleaner, crisper gin. Any way you do it in an air still is going to be more spicy than store bought gin. That is my experience. You can try using less botanicals or treating the result as a "gin concentrate" to be watered down further. I've grown to love a spicy gin.
Chuck
Chuck