Mixology Mondays – Bathtub Gin | How to Make Your Own Gin at Home?
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Today's topic, Gin - is a big favorite around here and you can read this previous post for a brief history of Gin.
On a recent visit to the best liquor store on the East Coast, I wandered over to the gin section looking for a brand to review or use in a recipe for todays MixMo. One particular, pale yellow gin stood out from the rest - maybe because it's price tag was $70! If you're a gin aficionado or you've probably guessed that I'm referring to Old Raj. It was hands down the most expensive gin in the store. I love you readers - but not that much, so at the suggestion of the store owner I settled for Broker's Gin instead. An excellent choice, but that post is for another day.
The pale yellow color in Old Raj comes from the addition of saffron (probably why it's so expensive) - but that got me thinking - instead of reviewing a brand why not "make" my own gin instead? Gin is a neutral grain spirit flavored at least in part by juniper berries. The juniper berries give Gin it's distinct "twang" or profile. All brands have the juniper berry in common, and what differentiates one brand from another are in the botanicals used - Old Raj sets itself apart by using saffron, Hendrick's uses cucumber, G'vine Gin uses a grapevine flower. Guess what? We're going to make us some Bathtub Gin?!
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During Prohibition bootleggers found it relatively easy to add juniper and other flavorings to raw grain alcohol as opposed to finding a place to hide and age whiskey - gin doesn't need aging which made it all the more appealing. The 18th amendment specifically prohibited the sale or manufacture of distilled alcohol, so bootleggers were forced to use grain alcohol which might have contained a number of impurities. The illegal mixing of these inexpensive grain spirits gave rise to the term "bathtub gin." Reportedly a great number of people died from the consumption of bathtub gin - the process of converting the grain alcohol into a drinkable form wasn't always reliable and contamination was common.
Contrary to popular opinion, bathtub gin wasn't really made in bathtubs - the preferred bottle the Bootleggers used was too tall to be topped off with water from a sink, so they used water from a bathtub tap instead. Bathtub gin declined after the repeal of the 18th amendment in 1933.
What differentiates Bathtub Gin from the Gin you're used to drinking is in the distillation, store bought gin is distilled and Bathtub Gin is not. I don't have any distillers at home or know anyone who does, so here's where I make my disclaimer - we're not really going to make Bathtub Gin, we're just going to flavor some store bought gin. In a sense, that should qualify it as Bathtub Gin - don't you think?
To make my "bathtub gin" I'm simply going to steep a few fruits (mango & lime) in the gin - which I'm going to cover and leave undisturbed for 48 - 72 hours. Stay tuned ....
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Comments
Really good and really interesting post. I expect (and other readers maybe 
) new useful posts from you!
Good luck and successes in blogging!
I’m gonna make homemade gin for my holiday gifts. You’re brilliant!
My mama used to say that gin was a blessing from the Gods.
Alton Brown has done something similar on an episode or two of “Good Eats”. One of the things he made was black pepper vodka.
Awww, that’s so disappointing! I loved your build-up and background explanation. I was digging your writing style, and looking forward to learning some sort of secret, safe and foolproof recipe for making gin from scratch – and you go and just flavour some you bought in a store?
What a cop-out! What happened to suffering for your art? In my student days, I perfected a recipe for date wine – but it did involve me losing my sight for about three hours one night!
You tell me how to safely make gin, and I’ll share the recipe for safe date wine!
hugs and kisses,
jimi-f
jimi,
Is there a recipe for safe date-rape wine? But seriously, if you want to make gin safely at home, it’s very easy. Well not very easy, but not that tough. You’ll need a large pot that you can tightly secure a lid onto, a condenser like one of these: http://www.bestlabdeals.com/Condensers_s/370.htm (you can buy one new, the size really doesn’t matter, or you can befriend an undergrad who can steal one from a chemistry lab for you), some plastic tubing, juniper berries, other spices of your choosing, everclear (190 proof), and a stove. You’ll have to attach the condenser to the lid of your pot so there’s no break in the seal (bore a hole in it or something). Attach the tubes to the condenser (bottom is in, top is out), and attach the bottom one to your faucet. Put the everclear and spices and berries in the pot, seal lid, turn water on, and let simmer for 8 hours or so. If you let it boil too fast or there’s a break in the seal, you’ll lose almost all your alcohol, also if the water’s not running, and running cold. As for the spices and berries, you can filter them out when you’re done or in the first place put them in a little pouch that lets the alcohol soak with them. When you’re done, dilute with water to the proof you want and you’re finished. The first one I ever made was using juniper berries and cinnamon, and pretty good. As for ratios, you must suffer for it and learn what is best for you, but the process is fun and the results quite enjoyable. Also, it is perfectly safe, though heed the caveats above if you don’t want to have 0 product remaining at the end of 8 hours. Cheers!
~george
i wish to make homemade gin for christmas & other celebrations can someone tell me the ingredients i need & how to make this please?
I think what you are doing with your mangos is infusing the gin.
The bathtub gin is the infusing of vodka (unaged whisky) with the juniper berries.
The juniper berries where plentiful and not very edible on their own so the were sacriced to the bathtub god. Anything that was edible was saved in those times due to the depression and the mental effects on the population as a whole.
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