The Trend for Flavoured Gin Continues to Grow – Tips for DIY Infused Gin

By Seren Charrington Hollins

Flavoured gin, commonly referred to as infused gin, has a rich and illustrious history that dates back several centuries. While traditional gin is known for its ever present and distinctive juniper flavour, infused gins introduces additional botanicals, fruits, or other ingredients to create unique and ever exciting taste profiles.

So prepare for a quick guide to the history of gin as we take a brief look at its history and the best way to create DIY infused gins at home.

A Brief History of Gin : Today we may look forward to sipping an iced gin and tonic before dinner, but gin wasn’t always a sophisticated pre-dinner tipple. Gin itself has its roots in the Netherlands, where it was first produced in the 17th century.  The Dutch physician Franciscus Sylvius is often credited with creating the spirit as a medicinal tonic. The original flavouring for gin is juniper and frankly juniper is to gin what grapes are to wine, indeed they are so important that they must be included in any distillation that wishes to term itself gin.

Popularity:  As gin garnered popularity its production spread to England, where it so popular that in the early eighteenth Century it was estimated that nearly a quarter of all households were producing their own gin.

Experimentation: Distillers began experimenting with different botanicals, herbs, and spices to enhance the flavour of gin and give a palatable and competitive edge to their offerings. Common botanical additions included coriander, angelica root, orris root, citrus peels, and various spices.

Victorian Era:   During the Victorian period gins infused with various flavours  gained further popularity. Botanicals and fruits proved popular with distillers as they strived to create a range of unique infused gins. Infused gins became popular amongst af fluent circles.

The Rise, Fall and Reinvention of Flavoured Gin – :  Despite its popularity in the 19th Century, a new fashion emerged for simple recipes and by 20th Century plainer gins were favoured. Today, flavoured gin has evolved into a diverse and category of seemingly endless combinations. Herbs, spices, fruits, berries, sweets and just about anything you can imagine are now combined with gin to create a glittering array of offerings. The rise of craft cocktails and mixology has no doubt fuelled some of the demand for unusual and unique flavours. Now when asking for a g&t you are faced with a plethora of options.

When faced with so many options for infused gin, it begs the question of can you create your own flavoured gin at home? I was delighted to catch up with Mark Barrett, a  drink and mixology extraordinaire from Edinburgh who assured me that creating flavoured gins at home was a great pastime and completely possible as long as some simple rules were followed. After some gentle persuasion Mark, spilled the beans and shared his tips for creating flavoured gins at home.

Mark Barrett’s Top tips for flavouring your own gin at home:

  • Make sure the container you are using is clean and sterilised. The process flavour gin

uses sugar which makes it a perfect place for bacteria to grow;  so as well as thoroughly clean I

recommend using something like a sterilising fluid such as Milton.

  • Use a glass container, it not only see what is going on, but it is easier to clean and maintain.
  • Make sure your container has an air tight lid and has ample space to stir or shake during the infusion process.
  • Do not be too fast to opt for cheapest gin. Take time to look at the ingredients and botanicals

used to make the product  and find one that has a neutral and complementary flavour.

  • Remember all gins are different: you have some that are floral some spicy and some fruity, so keep this in mind when making your gin selection.
  • When using any fruit or vegetables, freeze them down first. As these thaw out in the sprit, the

proteins that hold it together are weakened and it allows for a better pure flavour with less sugar being needed.

  • When adding sugar be sparing you can always add more but you cannot take it out, so

when you do a weekly taste check, adjust moderately.

  • Find somewhere which keeps a constant temperature and is out of direct light.
  • Too much heat or light will spoil your brew before you get the chance to enjoy it.
  • Most importantly, don’t be afraid to make any flavour you want – you never know

what will work,  for example,  I made an amazing red snapper with a smoked bacon gin! So let your imagination run wild!

Over the years I have experimented with infusing gin with everything from kiwi fruit to marshmallow and fudge, however, I may revisit this art bearing in mind Mark’s expert advice.

Author

  • Seren runs a catering business and delicatessen in Mid Wales, but she is not your run of the mill caterer or deli owner. She is a mother of six and an internationally recognised food historian who has created banquets and historical dinner parties for private clients and television. Her work has been featured on the BBC, ITV & Channel 4 and she has appeared in BBC4’s Castle’s Under Siege, BBC South's Ration Book Britain, Pubs that Built Britain with The Hairy Bikers, BBC 2’s Inside the Factory, BBC 2’s The World’s Most Amazing Hotels, the Channel 4 series Food Unwrapped and Country Files Autumn Diaries. Her work has also been featured in The Guardian, The Times, Sunday Times, Daily Mail and The Telegraph. Her two most recent books are 'Revolting Recipes from History' and 'A Dark History of Tea'

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