How to make your own gin from scratch?

Combine vodka and juniper berries in a sealable glass jar and steep for 12 hours. Add coriander, chamomile, lavender, cardamom, bay leaf, allspice, and grapefruit peel. Seal jar and shake, then let steep for an additional 36 hours.

What's the difference between gin and Flavoured gin?

While traditional gin is known for its distinct juniper flavour, flavoured gin introduces additional botanicals, fruits, or other ingredients to create unique and exciting taste profiles .

What is the secret ingredient in gin?

The secret Most Gins contain next to Juniper berry and citrus botanicals such as lemon and bitter orange peel, anise, angelica root and seed, orris root, liquorice root, cinnamon, cubeb, savoury, lime peel, grapefruit peel, dragon eye, saffron, baobab, frankincense, coriander, nutmeg and cassia bark.

What is the cheapest way to make gin?

Cold compound is by far the cheapest way to make gin (compound gin). For this, all sorts of artificial or natural flavors, or sometimes also berries and herbs, are simply mixed with alcohol, and that's it. The gin is often filtered after a certain amount of time to remove clouding or solids.

How is flavoured gin made?

To make compound gin, fruits, herbs, vegetables or spices (including juniper) are added to a neutral base spirit and left to infuse . It's easy to make your own compound gin at home - here's how!

Is gin just vodka with flavoring?

Gin can be classified as a botanically infused vodka . Vodka is called the “conception spirit” as it can be seen as the base from which other spirits are derived. So if you add traditional gin botanicals, like juniper, you can make gin from vodka.

What is the main flavour of gin?

Juniper berries are the backbone of gin. Juniper should be the dominant flavor and it gives the drink its fresh, piney character, as well as some of its dryness. Most gins are also flavored by three other ingredients: coriander seeds, a root, and citrus peel.

What is added to gin to give its Flavour?

Juniper berries give gin its characterful and invigorating pine-like quality. Coriander seeds are present in most gins. They add spicy notes and, depending on their source, sometimes peppery ones – such as ginger or sage. Angelica root has a musky, earthy aroma - reminiscent of walking through a dry wood.

Is gin just flavored vodka?

Gin can be classified as a botanically infused vodka . Vodka is called the “conception spirit” as it can be seen as the base from which other spirits are derived. So if you add traditional gin botanicals, like juniper, you can make gin from vodka. But not all botanically infused vodkas are gin.

Can you make gin without distilling?

But, technically, gin of the non-distilled sort (aka compound gin) can easily be made at home by infusing a neutral spirit with juniper and whatever else you want your gin to taste like . As long as it mainly tastes like juniper, it's still (but not distilled) gin!

What is the base alcohol in gin?

As well as grain based ethanol, Gin can also be made from a grape spirit similar to brandy, or it may be distilled with a base spirit distilled from cane or molasses— like rum . Using these different types of bases drastically changes the taste of the overall Gin.

How do you ferment gin at home?

Shake the jar of Distiller's Nutrient and measure out 55 g (1.9 oz). Add the Distiller's Nutrient and Gin Distiller's Yeast to the fermenter at the same time and stir well to dissolve. Now pop on the lid. Leave this to ferment at 20-32°C (68-90°F) ambient temperature for approximately 7 days.

How to make homemade flavoured gin with your favourite fruits - Craft Gin Club

If variety is the spice of life, then experimenting with different varieties of gin drinks is the spirit of our soul, here at Craft Gin Club. One fun way to experiment with gin - outside of mixing quick co*cktails - is to take a little more time and infuse the gin itself with different flavours. And if you love craft gin, there’s a flavoured gin out there for you!

If you’re making homemade flavoured gin, the quality of the tipple is certainly not going to be at the level of the top-quality craft gins we feature in our Gin of the Month boxes - but for a bit of summer fun and to make a change from your usual G&T, why not try one of these homemade flavoured gins? They make the perfect gin gift too (make sure you taste it before you gift it though!).

We’ve put together a beginner’s guide to making homemade flavoured gin, or “ginfusions” - recipes that call for gin as their base and which you can infuse with your favourite summer fruits, amongst other ingredients, to create whole new tastes! It’s as easy as that. Bottoms up!

Isn’t gin just vodka infused with botanicals anyway?

That’s not completely untrue - there is a type of gin called “compound gin” that you can make in your kitchen with a bottle of vodka and whatever botanicals you feel like adding. But for an even easier “cheat’s” take on flavoured gin, try one of our ‘ginfusions’ below.

How do I make flavoured gin at home?

To make your homemade flavoured gin, take a sterilised (dry) jar or bottle and simply add your chosen fruit(s), herbs and/or spices to your gin and leave the mixture to infuse. It’s as easy as that! To turn it into a gin liqueur, simply add sugar.

What should the fruit (or produce)-to-gin ratio be?

There’s no rule to how much of your chosen botanical to use , although approximately a third fruit to gin is probably about right for most infusions (roughly 300g produce for 1 litre of gin).
Just remember that strong flavours like citrus peel, chilli and fresh or dried herbs tend to be quite powerful in small amounts!

How long will it take before it’s ready to drink?

The longer you leave the gin, the stronger the flavours that develop will be.
Beware of leaving it too long and over-infusing the mixture, though - in the same way that a cup of tea with the teabag left in too long can taste horrible, so too can flavoured gin!
Herbs and spices like vanilla, thyme, lavender, mint, cardamom or chilli may only need a few hours steeping in the gin, whereas fruits, strongly flavoured vegetables and berries will probably be best left for a week or two, maybe even up to a month.
So taste the gin at intervals, and once you’re happy with the flavour, filter out all the botanicals using a sieve. If there’s some sediment left in the liquid, use some muslin or a coffee filter to strain it again.

Top tip: If your gin has taken on a bit of a murky colour, you can simply pass it through a water filter jug a few times and it will emerge clearer without losing any of the flavour.

What foods can I use to infuse the gin?

Fruit, herbs, and spices - it’s all up for grabs!

We’ve made some suggestions of which foods to use for your homemade flavoured gin below, but you can be as experimental as your dare!

A good way to get ideas for what to use in your ginfusion is to see what botanicals are used in your favourite shop-bought gins and see if you can emulate them at home.

The key to the best-tasting DIY flavoured gin is using quality, fresh (and ideally, seasonal) produce.

What gin should I use?

Honestly, we would definitely not use most of the beautiful craft gins we know or send to our Craft Gin Club members for this process, as the added ingredients will hide (and spoil) the distilleries’ delicate flavours.

However, a bottle of decent-quality everyday gin such as Beefeater, Gordon’s or Tanqueray will do the trick. We don’t advise using a gin that’s already flavoured artificially.

It goes without saying that we don’t recommend you use the really cheap stuff, either! No amount of added fruit will rescue those poor gins.

How should I serve my flavoured gin?

To serve these homemade flavoured gins, just pour over ice and add your choice of tonic and/or garnish!We’ve also popped in some flavoured gin co*cktail recipe suggestions below, or you can visit our co*cktail hub for more inspiration…

If you don’t drink all of your flavoured gin immediately, keep it in a cool, dark place with the lid tightly sealed and it should last for several months.

7 of the best flavoured gins to make at home:

Rhubarb and Ginger Gin Liqueur

Sloe Gin

Sloe Gin has seen something of a revival in popularity in recent years, as more and more of us discover the delights of this sweet, fruity liqueur. It’s very easy - and satisfying - to make your own bottle of this rich purple drink at home, especially if you’ve also gone the extra mile and picked the sloes yourself! Get the recipe here >>

Clementine Gin Liqueur

The M&S Clementine Gin Snow Globe (complete with gold sparkly ‘snow flakes’) went bonkers when it hit the shelves in the run-up to Christmas - and introduced us to a delicious flavoured gin liqueur we might not have tried before.

Inspired, we came up with a recipe for creating your very own clementine gin liqueur at home - perfect for bottling and labelling as a lovely handmade gin gift for the gin-lover in your life! Get the recipe >>

Lemon and Ginger Gin

The zingy flavours of this ginfusion are amazing! Add a little ice, sugar syrup and red chilli (just a bit!) for a fire-and-ice co*cktail that is absolutely perfect on hot summer nights, or top up with spicy ginger ale for a warming winter tipple. Lime is also a great substitute for (or addition to) lemon, if you prefer. Get the recipe >>

Toffee Gin

With notes of salted caramel, this toffee-infused treat will delight any sweet-toothed gin fan! It’s particularly delicious when mixed into apple or cider co*cktails, and chocolate or creamy dessert co*cktails. Get the recipe here. >>

Pink Raspberry Gin

Raspberries are in season and so will have the most vibrant flavour and colour in the hot summer months from late May to until late September, peaking in July.

Watch our video recipe for pink raspberry gin and how to whip up the perfect pink gin and tonic! You could also swap out the raspberries for strawberries for a sweeter take on this ginfusion. Get the recipe here. >>

Parma Violet Gin

This retro flavoured gin is absolutely delicious! It’d make a pretty purple co*cktail and we’ve made a video recipe so you can see how easy it is to make at home.

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