By the 16th century, vodka was officially sold as a liquor beverage, but it have been distilling since 14-1500s.
Vodka can be made from grains, potato, molasses, milk or any other fermentable sugar.
Literally the best vodka is one has that has no real flavour at all. Unfortunately, the more flavour or more aroma - more headache.
1. Milling (soaking, germination and kilning or drying)
The process breaks down the protective hull covering the raw material and frees starch.
2. Mashing
The starch is converted to sugar, which is mixed with pure water and cooked. This produces a mash.
3. Fermentation
The sugar is converted to alcohol and carbon dioxide by the addition of yeast.
4. Distillation
The alcohol, grain particles, water and congeners are heated. The alcohol vaporises first, leaving the water, the grain particles and some of the congeners in the boiling vessel. The vaporised alcohol is then cooled or condensed, to form clear drops of distilled spirits.
Using:
- Pot still
- Column still (continuous still, patent still, or Coffey still)
5. Bottling
Examples of raw ingredients:
Belvedere Rye Poland
Finlandia Barley Finland
GreyGoose Wheat France
U'luvka Grain Poland
Chopin Potato Poland
Ciroc Grape France
Russian St Wheat Russia
From wheat we will get a vodka on the sweet side, from rye - more dry.
- All gins are made with ethyl alcohol flavoured with juniper berries (juniperus communis) and other flavourings.
- The ethyl alcohol used must be distilled to the minimum standarts stated in the EU Spirit Drink Regulations.
- In all types of gin, the predominant flavour must be juniper, and they must have a minimum retail strength of 37.5% abv.
- There are three definitions of gin: gin, distilled gin and London Gin.
The modern word "gin" originates from the word "Genever", the Dutch word for Juniper. The Dutch used the term "Genever" to describe a spirit flavoured with juniper berries. This term was shortened to "Gen", and eventually "Gin" by the English.
Gin was created in Holland by the Dutch Doctor Sylvius, professor at Holland's University of Leiden. It is said that Dr. Franciscus de la Boe Sylvius was the first to add Juniper berries to a grain spirit for use as a medicine for the prevention of kidney disorders.
The oil of juniper was known to have therapeutic properties as an appetite stimulant, sedative, headache reducer and stomach soother. Dr. Sylvius decided to macerate this fruit with an alcohol produced from the cheaper and more abundant grain, rather than the more common and more expensive fruit based alcohols.
It is believed that this original Genever, that was sometimes aged and often had sugar added to disguise the taste and make it easier to drink, was introduced to England by British soldiers fighting in Holland against the Spanish during the "Dutch War of Independence" in the 17th Century. The soldiers would take a drink of the genever before going into battle, which led it to become known as: Dutch Courage.
Gin became very popular in England when the protestant Dutchman "William of Orange" became King of England in 1689. He placed very high taxes on imported alcohols such as brandy and wine, which were very popular in England at the time, and removed all taxes and licensing fees from the production of locally made grain spirits.
As a license to produce gin was no longer needed, many people took to gin production and thousands of gin shops appeared all over England.
Because of its cheapness gin became very popular with the poor. By the 1720s it was estimated that a quarter of the households in London were used for the production or sale of gin, where they would mix it in bathtubs. By 1740, the production of gin had increased to six times that of beer.
Mass drunkenness became a serious problem and these early gins became known as mother's ruin as they were causing the downfall of entire families.
These early English gins were not the same in style as the gins that are consumed today. They were pot distilled and very poor quality. They were often mixed with turpentine or sulphuric acid and were made to taste nicer by the addition of sugar.
With the growth of the high-quality commercial Gin distillers, the quality of the spirit began to improve drastically. Continuous distillation was introduced to produce a better quality spirit and the need for sugar to disguise the taste of the gin became un-necessary.
By the late 1700's gin had started to become dry in taste instead of sweet. This new style became known as: London Dry Gin.
Gin is neutral spirit distilled from grain. The most common ingredients used are corn and barley. Although most premium gins are produced from a neutral grain spirit it is also possible to produce gin from a neutral spirit distilled from molasses.
This neutral spirit is flavoured with a selection of botanicals. Around 120 different botanicals can be used in the flavouring process but the most popular are:
- Juniper (from the juniper bush. Most of the flavour in juniper comes from the essential oils stored in the 3 seeds in the juniper berry);
- Coriander seeds (gives a citrus taste to the gin);
- Angelica (best come from Saxony, Germany);
- Citrus skin (Lemons from Andalusia, South Spain, oranges are from Spain, usually preferred bitter ones);
- Orris root (the root of the iris, oris has a perfume character and a flowery, earthy taste.It comes mainly from Florence, Italy. It can be sometimes aged for 2-3 years before it is used. It is very hard and needs to be ground into a powder before it can be used);
- Liquorice root (from South-East Asia, it is the hard root of the liquorice plant that is ground into a powder before it is used);
- Almonds (native to South-West Asia, the almond tree is a close relative of the peach tree. Both sweet and bitter almonds can be used. They are ground anto a powder before use);
- Cassia bark (from the Cassia tree native to Sri Lanka and South India, cinnamon gives the gin a spicy edge.
Most gins will be flavoured with around 6-12 botanicals but the main flavour in any Gin must always be a juniper. After juniper the 2 most prominent flavours are usually coriander and angelica.
Taste of gin is fresh and stimulating and never sweet or cloying. The length should be clean and very long. Better quality gins have a complex balance of herbs and fruits.
Vodka can be made from grains, potato, molasses, milk or any other fermentable sugar.
Literally the best vodka is one has that has no real flavour at all. Unfortunately, the more flavour or more aroma - more headache.
Grain Vodka Production
1. Milling (soaking, germination and kilning or drying)
The process breaks down the protective hull covering the raw material and frees starch.
2. Mashing
The starch is converted to sugar, which is mixed with pure water and cooked. This produces a mash.
3. Fermentation
The sugar is converted to alcohol and carbon dioxide by the addition of yeast.
4. Distillation
The alcohol, grain particles, water and congeners are heated. The alcohol vaporises first, leaving the water, the grain particles and some of the congeners in the boiling vessel. The vaporised alcohol is then cooled or condensed, to form clear drops of distilled spirits.
Using:
- Pot still
- Column still (continuous still, patent still, or Coffey still)
5. Bottling
Examples of raw ingredients:
Belvedere Rye Poland
Finlandia Barley Finland
GreyGoose Wheat France
U'luvka Grain Poland
Chopin Potato Poland
Ciroc Grape France
Russian St Wheat Russia
From wheat we will get a vodka on the sweet side, from rye - more dry.
Gin
EU Gin regulations:- All gins are made with ethyl alcohol flavoured with juniper berries (juniperus communis) and other flavourings.
- The ethyl alcohol used must be distilled to the minimum standarts stated in the EU Spirit Drink Regulations.
- In all types of gin, the predominant flavour must be juniper, and they must have a minimum retail strength of 37.5% abv.
- There are three definitions of gin: gin, distilled gin and London Gin.
The modern word "gin" originates from the word "Genever", the Dutch word for Juniper. The Dutch used the term "Genever" to describe a spirit flavoured with juniper berries. This term was shortened to "Gen", and eventually "Gin" by the English.
Gin was created in Holland by the Dutch Doctor Sylvius, professor at Holland's University of Leiden. It is said that Dr. Franciscus de la Boe Sylvius was the first to add Juniper berries to a grain spirit for use as a medicine for the prevention of kidney disorders.
The oil of juniper was known to have therapeutic properties as an appetite stimulant, sedative, headache reducer and stomach soother. Dr. Sylvius decided to macerate this fruit with an alcohol produced from the cheaper and more abundant grain, rather than the more common and more expensive fruit based alcohols.
It is believed that this original Genever, that was sometimes aged and often had sugar added to disguise the taste and make it easier to drink, was introduced to England by British soldiers fighting in Holland against the Spanish during the "Dutch War of Independence" in the 17th Century. The soldiers would take a drink of the genever before going into battle, which led it to become known as: Dutch Courage.
Gin became very popular in England when the protestant Dutchman "William of Orange" became King of England in 1689. He placed very high taxes on imported alcohols such as brandy and wine, which were very popular in England at the time, and removed all taxes and licensing fees from the production of locally made grain spirits.
As a license to produce gin was no longer needed, many people took to gin production and thousands of gin shops appeared all over England.
Because of its cheapness gin became very popular with the poor. By the 1720s it was estimated that a quarter of the households in London were used for the production or sale of gin, where they would mix it in bathtubs. By 1740, the production of gin had increased to six times that of beer.
Mass drunkenness became a serious problem and these early gins became known as mother's ruin as they were causing the downfall of entire families.
These early English gins were not the same in style as the gins that are consumed today. They were pot distilled and very poor quality. They were often mixed with turpentine or sulphuric acid and were made to taste nicer by the addition of sugar.
With the growth of the high-quality commercial Gin distillers, the quality of the spirit began to improve drastically. Continuous distillation was introduced to produce a better quality spirit and the need for sugar to disguise the taste of the gin became un-necessary.
By the late 1700's gin had started to become dry in taste instead of sweet. This new style became known as: London Dry Gin.
Main Ingredients
Gin is neutral spirit distilled from grain. The most common ingredients used are corn and barley. Although most premium gins are produced from a neutral grain spirit it is also possible to produce gin from a neutral spirit distilled from molasses.
This neutral spirit is flavoured with a selection of botanicals. Around 120 different botanicals can be used in the flavouring process but the most popular are:
- Juniper (from the juniper bush. Most of the flavour in juniper comes from the essential oils stored in the 3 seeds in the juniper berry);
- Coriander seeds (gives a citrus taste to the gin);
- Angelica (best come from Saxony, Germany);
- Citrus skin (Lemons from Andalusia, South Spain, oranges are from Spain, usually preferred bitter ones);
- Orris root (the root of the iris, oris has a perfume character and a flowery, earthy taste.It comes mainly from Florence, Italy. It can be sometimes aged for 2-3 years before it is used. It is very hard and needs to be ground into a powder before it can be used);
- Liquorice root (from South-East Asia, it is the hard root of the liquorice plant that is ground into a powder before it is used);
- Almonds (native to South-West Asia, the almond tree is a close relative of the peach tree. Both sweet and bitter almonds can be used. They are ground anto a powder before use);
- Cassia bark (from the Cassia tree native to Sri Lanka and South India, cinnamon gives the gin a spicy edge.
Most gins will be flavoured with around 6-12 botanicals but the main flavour in any Gin must always be a juniper. After juniper the 2 most prominent flavours are usually coriander and angelica.
Taste of gin is fresh and stimulating and never sweet or cloying. The length should be clean and very long. Better quality gins have a complex balance of herbs and fruits.
Styles of Gin
1. Genever
The original style of Gin from Holland, Genever comes in two styles, Oude (old style) and Jonge (young style) that can only be made in either Holland or Belgium. The phrases "oude" and "jonge", refer to the style of the Genever and not the age of it.
Jonge is more modern and resembles English gin. It has less alcohol (a maximum of 35% abv), and has little grain flavor because its alcohol comes mostly from non-grain products.
Oude is stronger (up to 54% abv in some cases) and tastes more of grain because it is produced from a greater percentage of malted grain. Some oude genevers are labelled "graanjenever", these are made with 100 percent grain.
Genever is flavoured with botanicals in a pot-still. Flavouring process depending on region with some recipes calling for up to 70 botanical ingredients.
2. London Dry Gin
The standart style of gin now made. Originally it was produced in London but can be made to this style anywhere in the world.
3. Old Tom Gin
A sweet style of gin that was very popular in the 17 and 1800s. Very little is now produced. Old Tom is the original Tom Collins gin.
4. Plymouth Gin
A style of gin that can only be made in Plymouth on the south coast of England using local water.
Gin classifications
Basic Gin
Must be made from following:
- suitable ethyl alcohol and flavourings
- the ethyl alcohol does not have to be re-distilled
- the flavouring can be either approved natural or artificial flavourings
- the flavourings can be simply mixed together with the ethyl alcohol to form the gin (compounded)
- there is no restriction on the addition of other approved additives such as sweetening
- water is added to reduce the gin's strength to the desired retail level, but not below 37.5% abv
- there is no restriction on the colouring of gin with an approved colouring
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