I am retiring in 2 days from a chemical plant as a distillation expert! I spent 45.5 yrs in distillation. I am looking forward to building my own distillation column and making spirits. Thanks for your videos!!!
G’Day mate Greg from Australia here….I have been watching you since 1 BL (1 inch beard length) and I always love your work. I have to say that this video is one of the very best!!! Thank you….
i agree with so many of the comments.... great video...before watching i was daunted by the length but found out it was worth it. my favorite recipe has juniper berries, coriander seed, green cardamom and citrus peel. my base comes from molasses (i live near a sugar factory so i pay $1USD per gallon), ferment, copper packed reflux twice, infuse for 48 hours, then third distillation with a moonshine whisky head
Not so much for gin, but I’ve enjoyed a botanical rum made with hibiscus, rose, orange peel, lemon grass, and a tiny bit of licorice root. Alone, chilled, it’s amazing. But in a citrusy, tropical, tiki-style cocktail, it’s insane.
I used spruce tips to make a wonderfully citrusy gin which really complimented the piney flavour of the juniper. Proves you can use just about anything in a gin.
You can also slow down the dilution process to keep from louching your gin. My citrus gin will definitely louch if you whack a bunch of water in it to take it down to 50%. By adding a bit of water over the course of several days, I can take it down to 45% and maintain a crystal clear appearance. It's also good to blend the two at the same temperature. Cool water will cause problems.
no idea if this is related but I've made simple syrup that ended up WAY too thick because I walked away (generally a terrible idea but what can I say) so I added cool water to thin it out and it clouded.
Hi Jesse! I'm totally new to the field since I'm a craft beer guy, so is my girlfriend, but she is getting into gin stuff nowadays and I want to make her a surprise homemade gin. So the theory is: I would make the basinc gin as your recipe, but want to use hibiscur and amarillo hops to have a beer-like aftertaste and the juicy tase of the hopps. So my question is: should I exclude anything from the base recipe, how much of hibiscus petals should I use and if not dryhopping, how should I include the amarillo, make the gin ready dune, take out some of it, put the pellett into it and after like 5-6 hours filter it back into the done gin? Thank you if you can answer, your videos gave me a more than perfect start to make this happen, and I would serve it when proposing to her!:)
New into the distillation game. Love the digestible knowledge you're dropping for us all. Keep making the educational and entertaining videos. I.wish you well and look forward exploring more of this strange new world together. Cheers
We make a seaweed gin and its been a big hit. Although just because a seaweed tastes good in food, doesn't mean it will distill well. After a lot trial and error we went for a seaweed thats not that highly regarded in the culinary world, although it distills really well and very abundant in West Wales.
Another great video! I really like how you've gone into a lot of detail about the entire process, there's a tonne of good info in the video that I'll definitely be coming back to. I'd be really interested to know how you decide how much (weight) of a botanical you'll use for maceration? Particularly for more niche botanicals like the seaweed you used
For the stuff I have used many times its trial, error and small alterations. For something like seaweed that I have not used before . . . . .pure guestimation! hahaha. Then adjust from there.
Its odd and a little strange but my go to for mouth feel and to give the effect of sweetness is using coffee mate / coffee whitener. A fair amount. For every 1.4L of low wines use a heap tablespoon.
Great episode mate :) I really like these a little bit longer from start to finish kind of episodes :) What is the smallest amount of gin you would run in a 25 liter still? Or does the still size dont matter as long as you are not in a risk of running dry? Thx for the great content mate, cheers :) Oh one more thing that I noticed, what about the unwritten rule about never putting anything higher than 40% abv in the still? Oh oh and another thing, what about packing in the column? Yes, no, maybe? Or just run it as a potstill with empty column? Thx :)
Hey Jessie, I had a go at your base gin, but following your 'mix it up' advice i put some elder berries in the vapour path in the v1 still head, came very nice..... looking forward to trying other things. I've also got the pro still head now, that's a game changer....
That initial vodka recipe would be great for macerating some fruit and making some nice drinks that don't need redistilling afterwards. Fruit+sugar for 1-2 days until it releases it's syrup (of course you shake/stir it multiple times that day) then add alcohol (this vodka) to stop it from fermenting further and then just store it for 1-2 weeks and you don't even have to strain and bottle it. You can leave the fruit in there as long as you can stop the fruit falling in your glass and being annoying. Then after you are done you can reuse the leftover fruit for another batch or use it in a thumper or even in baking some nice deserts (like a cherry pie, but the cherries are filled with alcohol, yum)
The still I use runs five gallon batches and I'm supposed to take 200ml of floor shot but I always take a whole cup 250ml every time. Then I reused the floor shot to clean my gear. Good parts was oil remover too
You should consider getting the pots where you can set the temperature in the pot. Those work awsome! Gives you the potion if running fast or slow. And leaving it a 50deg for 2 hours is easy
I have yet to find a small air still like this that lets you set power %. The ones I have seen let you set temp. Which is not a great help IMO check this video for my thoughts on the topic: th-cam.com/video/cTvYaA53P74/w-d-xo.html If you know of one that dose power% I'd be super keen to hear about it! You can of course diy it fairly easily. Cheers mate 🍻👍
@@StillIt well i guess you are right. The one i have is on temperature and not %. But it still give me the chance to regulate how fast to run the process.. lets say a want to runn it slow and clean, i would set the pot to 80deg that would give a slow dripp. And when there is less alkohol left i increase it to 90deg to keep a constant slow drip. And if i want to run it fast i can start at 90deg and go up to 95 at the end. In many ways it is not far from % regulation. At at the very leaset it gives the option to regulate. But ye.. not sure if a % regulator would be much different, as long as you regulate your temperature based om drip rate.?
What an amazing resource for new folks to the hobby! Just bought myself an Air Still Pro on your recommendation as I live in a townhouse so no shed to keep much large gear in. I think this will be one of my first runs on the new still for sure. Here's hoping for more recipes with the Air Still in mind. In your experience, do most mash/wash recipes tend to scale down well? If not, what kind of things should I look out for and adjust accordingly?
i'm putting my first recepie together at the moment for my first ever Gin. i'm planning on making a classic sweet gin and adding a small amount of Bergamot citrus as i think it balances nicely with the juniper.
G'Day from Tassie Jesse, Awsome video. Just looking at starting my journey into distilling and this comes at just the right time. Clear and understandable instructions Thanks
Love this channel, wish I had more time. Anyone with thoughts on purchasing the AS pro and keeping my T500 just for neutrals. That way I can always have neutral on hand and then just experiment lots and run the air still.. shine on peeops
Hi Jesse, thanks for another great video. I own both the SS T500 and the SS Air Still Pro. Can you tell me if, when you used the Air Still Pro in pot still mode, did you take the copper/stainless packing out of the column as per the instructions or did you just change the tip as shown in your vid?
Firstly a great video Jesse, loads of good info as normal. I'm sure the Air Still Pro will be a fun gadget for some, but you can get so much more for the same money. Or just make your own still, tailored to what you want, more rewarding and more versatile.
Agreed. You would be surprised how many people really appreciate the small form factor. Tiny apartments, traveling, boats/campers or rules from significant others lol. If you can go bigger a t500 AND a standard air still is only slightly more and way more flexible and better reflux. And lots of other options depending on your location and amount of diy your happy with. But if you need the size restrictions. . . . It's pretty impressive.
Could you say more about that? Me personally I want to get to the flavor creation part so the air still pro (although expensive) is attractive cause it skips the gear-head part for the mixology part. that said I'd love to save some $ and more versatile is always desirable as long as it's not overwhelming. What stills would you recommend more?
Great entertaining video as always! A thought occurred to me watching the seaweed distillation. At the end of your run you found some flavors you didn't want. Taking "rolling cuts" in mind maybe run that a bit longer and see if there are profiles after that portion of the run you might want to blend back in later. (What could it hurt to see?)
Jesse. I have a question. When you liquored back the vodka to start on the gin, you got about 1.5 Litres total, which you split into 750ml each for the maceration at roughly 50% ABV. When you run the 2 gins, did you further liquor back post maceration? I assume you did as you wouldn’t have collected what you did from just 750ml right? What ABV did the Gin still go in at (and therefore what volume in the Gin still). Thanks.
Instead of nori (seaweed) you might try kombu (kelp), might be fun (have to be careful though, it creates sour flavors if you cook it too hot too long)!
The trick with kombu is to add it to cold stock and then remove it just before it boils. That extracts the umami producing glutamates without extracting the weird bitter/sour compounds. The same would work with a kombu gin. Put it in the cold spirit, let it come up to temp (50 C, I think), and fish it out after a few minutes at the macerating temp.
Great video, Jesse. Really enjoyed that. I have been charging the pot a lower ABV so as to arrive at my desired abv at the end of the distillation. Plus or minus a percent but its fairly negligible and can be fine tuned with the method you mentioned. A bit of neutral or a bit of water. Keep up the great work mate. Over the ditch, over and out. 🇦🇺 🇳🇿
Hi Jesse! Love the channel, dialling in from Wellington. A few questions for you or anyone who can answer. 1. I realised the fermenter bucket we got with our starter kit is 12 not 15 L. I only noticed that after I put down the ingredients for 15L. Is this an issue? 2. I used 2k of turbo sugar, and 1kg of dextrose. Is that ok to do? Mixing sugars? 3. I also put the yeast and DAP and nutrient in at 32 degrees (using turbo yeast 30 degree) - how much of an issue is a few degrees either side? 4. I’ve got a hydrometer to measure the fermentation, should I be trying to minimise the amount of time I take the lid off? Cheers!
Hey great show brotha! I appreciate you a ton. Without your channel I ABSOLUTELY WOULD NOT HAVE WVER TRIED THIS. So thank you. Last time we exchanged messages I told you that I was in the middle of building my first apparatus. Well at that point I had reengineered it three or four times and since then I have changed things at least two more times so it is not a running and functioning still yet. This changes will be worth it. This is a very strong design Iv made. I wish I had social media so I could actually show you
Question.. I thought when using reflux mode you can just take the lot (no cuts), then filter/dilute and you have your neutral. Then I suppose if you are using essence you add that or botanicals and run again on pot. Am I wrong or forgetting something or is this different because it started with a mash? Thank you 🙏 keep up this great content ***edit, the reason I thought no cuts in reflux was because StillSpirits say so on a reflux vs pot in an article on their site. I’m 🫤 confused. Maybe you always cut?
Hi Jessie, love your stuff and have been watching for some years now, finally got to my first TPW and planning to use your base gin recipe here for a wedding gin in April, I’m planning to make about 20L and I know you said the botanicals are scalable to x5 but how about x20 or should I make multiple vessels with x5 botanicals to macerate separately? All the best Kia Kaha.
Im doing a 20 gallon or for you metric people. 75.705 liters. Of Teddy's fast fermenting Vodka except using grape nuts, now thinking my oatmeal back set. ??? For smoothness. Would it work. Since the backset Is sour mash?. Jesse you deserve an award you've helped me out so many times by just re watching Most of your video's. As you say Chase the CRAFT Thanks brother
This was fun, here sloe gin is a thing, its a time of year thing and if you don't have sloe's (normally as infusion not re distilled, fruit of blackthorn, be careful, blackthorns almost always go septic ) Have you gone back to the old recipe navy/pirate rum? To taste it with some aging, for that matter have you had any surprises after aging anything It sounds like the seaweed worked well as a start point, would be nice to see Mrs Jesse's reaction and comments and suggestions for future
Another awesome video Jesse. I live less than 3km from the coast so I'll be trying seaweed shortly. Where did you get the abv tester with the mobile app from? Never seen one of those before.
I'd challenge you to try some more gins. It's a crazy wide gammet of flavours especially if you include the new school barley gin gins. Could be a fun indever regardless
Hey Jessie, (or any other of you experienced people here) 😊I’m about to do my first botanical run on my late fathers 50 litre still. (Thought I’d keep the legacy going 😉👍🏼) I have 4.5litres @ 84% ABV from my spirit run that I plan to dilute down to 35% abv for my botanical run. Problem I see is this may only just cover the element in the still. Can I dilute it down a bit further? Thank you
Awesome and very educational video with perfect timing as I am currently making my first gin 🙂 I have one question though. When doing the last distillation with the spices. Do you run it on max power (considering we already did the cuts in the spirit run) or we still have to run it slow? I usually run my stripping runs on 3500W and spirit runs on 1000W but I'm not sure what to do with the final gin (spices) run?
Find a short machine screw thats the same thread as the tips/nozzle and glue it to the machine, that way you have a place to mount the spare tip to instead of loosing it.
Messi find all your videos extremely helpful.! I’ve been watching you from the start, your condenser build. But have difficulty in following your description on your tastes and smell of different elements!
Those coffee pot distillers seem like a whole lotta work for such a little bit! I kept thinking that your finger must be chapped by now! I suggest stick to the larger stills so you can spend more time drinking than testing for cuts! Thanks for the recipes and the explanations!
Hi mate I'm very very new at this I followed your recipe and I used butter fly pea to give it a bit of colour it changed the flavour just a little bit but it was good.
Very nice video, I love that you go through all the aspects of why and what to expect from the flavor profiles. You did however omit the 1g of angelica root from the Seaweed Recipe in the description. :)
I use a similar device. I plug in a variable power controller to the heating element, and instead of the internal connection, use a standard separate PC power cable for the fan. Lets me separate the power so I can run the fan at 100% full time, and run the heat into the boiler as fast or slow as I want. Recommended. You can basically run the boiler up to the capacity of your condenser, whatever the contents of your wash. If you don't have a better still option, this is the best way I know for $150. Bonus tip: copper scrubbie wedged in the air still offtake (most brands have an internal steel ledge that can hold it) for some copper in the offtake path for those sulphur nasties. Double distilling on the benchtop of a home unit will get north of 85%. Respectable vodka if you don't have a putrid wash. Good luck kids. Wish I had the internet at your age.
hey Jess, I bought an/a "aqua still" distiller, not Still spirits brand, this distiller has temp control with timer for activating the fan>>>> i forced the fan with external source at 70 Celsius, but nothing cam out!!! YOU should help a chaser here> this machine have temp control and lots of options.
I am going to make a go of this (I am in the UK), could I use your vodka recipie and instead of GIN could I use fresh fruit (strawberry) and make a sort of liquir ?
Yes - if you follow the recipe in the video to make the Vodka part, you can create a fairly neutral grain spirit - in Jesse's video, he makes it about 86% abv (can't remember) before diluting it down to use to macerate his botanicals for the Gin part. In your case, you will find some fruits work better with a maceration in high-abv alcohol (Citrus peels in general) and others will work better with a slightly lower abv. Effectively you will be steeping your fruits in the alcohol, and then sweetening to taste afterwards.
I was thinking, could you go get a cheap vodka from the store and start from there? Saves time on the making the base spirit. Then you would have a quick and easy gin.
Yup could totally do that. Depending where you are it can be pretty pricey. A lot of people find the fun in start to finish distilling as well. But totally can if you would rather 🍻
First, very cool, I learned a lot with this one! On another note, maybe someone can give me a response; is the wheat bran and oats just for flavors or is it adding startch/sugars to the mix? I didn't see the conversion process so I was curious? Thank you.
Good question I did leave that very vague. It's there for flavour and nutrients for the yeast. No conversion, we are only ferment ting the sugar really. There is very little starch in the wheat bran anyway. The oats are the same. But also add some silkyness and mouth feel. Making it drink a little "smoother"
@@StillIt Fantastic... I was just curious. I had an old timer give me a moonshine recipe and put in a butt load of corn into the mash and never converted it... I didn't understand. He said it was just for flavor.
Jesse references yeast nutrient and DAP. Adding both to his fermentation. I have DAP yeast nutrient. What other yeast nutrient should I use that’s on the market
Hi Jesse, a great video as ever. But I have a question.. You add both Yeast Nutrient and DAP, but when I look at varieous Yeast Nutrients I find that they are DAP themselves. Please can you explain what your yeast nutrient is and how it differs frm DAP. Thanks & Keep Brewing.
Thanks for this Jessie. I will definitely be trying your base gin, I've only made Odins gin so far, or using essence. I still haven't made my mind up on the air still pro yet, do you think it is a worthy investment over the standard air still?
Nice Odin's is a great spring board too. I'd say its worth if you need to keep things compact and not have a larger still. In that case it's amazing iny limited experience with it. If you are happy to go bigger there are much better options.
Hey Jesse & Champions... what abv and vol for the basic gin using an air still pro? 700ml >40% and in pot still mode did you keep the copper and steel pieces or take them out as recommended? Thankx Gang!
Ive watched so many of your videos already and just found this channel but it's interesting.. still think I'd rather have someone with me that has knowledge before I try it.. I do want one of those air stills tho
@@StillIt Technically it is a flavored vodka. Rather than using the modern "Onion, Celery, and Bell Peppers", it is much better if made with the original "Green Onions, Parsley, and Louisiana Bells". Louisiana Bells are close to Bell Peppers, just smaller and with a hint of heat/spice. If you can't get them (you won't where you live) then a dash of hot sauce added to the wash will serve. The way I do it is split my ingredients. Cut the green onions in half, with the whites to one pile and nothing but green tops in the other. Chop up the same amount of celery for the whites pile and parsley for the green pile. For the bells just chop up an amount equal to the other ingredients into each pile. Pan sear the white pile with a little bacon grease until the whites are translucent, add a little garlic and sear for another minute, then scoop onto napkins to cool. Finally throw everything into a jar with ~60% spirit and macerate. I normally do it for a couple of days, but it is however strong you want the flavor. Distill and proof down to 40~45% (I use good well water), then fat wash with a little bacon grease. Taste like Mama's cooking. BTW loving the Air Still Pro.
At what temperature should we distill the macerated liquid so that we get best flavour & aroma without any off notes. Will low temperature such as 50 or 60 degree celcius woukd work or not. Or 80 degree is neccesary for distillation. Hoping for a quick reply from ur side it will help me a lot. Thanks in advance.
I just bought an Air Still Pro, am enjoying the journey thus far and your insight will definitely give me a starting point. I note that Still Spirits say to remove the tower saddles when running in Pot still mode, but not sure if you did that. Great video, and thank you.
I was thinking the same, instructions say to remove them. Love both machines and looking forward to trying the 'infusion basket' in the basic air still - the pro is definitely worth the extra dollars IMO. :)
No idea why people fight shy of louched gin. Think it's like drinking beer with the eyes. I deliberately make gin with more concentrated flavours which louche it. This means I can have a gin/juniper flavour bomb with a small amount of gin in my tonic - and have an extra couple in an evening without getting piddled. I did consider marketing a louched gin as friends who drink mine love it! Can't be arsed :-)
Mate, as always your video is very instructive and thought-provoking. Keep it up! As an aside, the tasting and commentary in front of your equipment are a lot more interesting than the bland purple background.
I am retiring in 2 days from a chemical plant as a distillation expert! I spent 45.5 yrs in distillation. I am looking forward to building my own distillation column and making spirits. Thanks for your videos!!!
How has your retirement been?
Jesse is like having a best mate that does home distilling and has the time to show you how to do everything.
indeed
Lol!
Couldn't agree more ur a straight G jesse
And a delightful personality.
I agree. Jesse is awesome and seems like a super chill guy
G’Day mate Greg from Australia here….I have been watching you since 1 BL (1 inch beard length) and I always love your work. I have to say that this video is one of the very best!!! Thank you….
Glad you liked it. You been around for a while then hahaha
i agree with so many of the comments.... great video...before watching i was daunted by the length but found out it was worth it. my favorite recipe has juniper berries, coriander seed, green cardamom and citrus peel. my base comes from molasses (i live near a sugar factory so i pay $1USD per gallon), ferment, copper packed reflux twice, infuse for 48 hours, then third distillation with a moonshine whisky head
my mouth is watering 😀
Not so much for gin, but I’ve enjoyed a botanical rum made with hibiscus, rose, orange peel, lemon grass, and a tiny bit of licorice root. Alone, chilled, it’s amazing. But in a citrusy, tropical, tiki-style cocktail, it’s insane.
Awesome 👍 that sounds awesome
I used spruce tips to make a wonderfully citrusy gin which really complimented the piney flavour of the juniper. Proves you can use just about anything in a gin.
Awesome that sounds like fun!
You can also slow down the dilution process to keep from louching your gin. My citrus gin will definitely louch if you whack a bunch of water in it to take it down to 50%. By adding a bit of water over the course of several days, I can take it down to 45% and maintain a crystal clear appearance. It's also good to blend the two at the same temperature. Cool water will cause problems.
Very good points! 👍🍻
no idea if this is related but I've made simple syrup that ended up WAY too thick because I walked away (generally a terrible idea but what can I say) so I added cool water to thin it out and it clouded.
Like when you add oil too quickly making mayonnaise :D
Earl Grey tea. Unbelievably wonderful citrus notes come out in it!
That sounds fun!
Earl Grey tea has bergamot blended into it. That's the source of the citrus flavor.
Just got my first setup and am excited to try out this and many more of your videos!
You're a wizard Jesse. Nothing like gin. Beefeater always been my favourite.
Just made the base gin and it's great!
Solid recipe for an unapologetic gin that made a fantastic gin and tonic!
How could you maintain temperature of air still bro ? Can u pls tell me about this
I'm not planning on starting distilling any time soon but your videos are still immensely entreating
Hi Jesse!
I'm totally new to the field since I'm a craft beer guy, so is my girlfriend, but she is getting into gin stuff nowadays and I want to make her a surprise homemade gin.
So the theory is:
I would make the basinc gin as your recipe, but want to use hibiscur and amarillo hops to have a beer-like aftertaste and the juicy tase of the hopps.
So my question is: should I exclude anything from the base recipe, how much of hibiscus petals should I use and if not dryhopping, how should I include the amarillo, make the gin ready dune, take out some of it, put the pellett into it and after like 5-6 hours filter it back into the done gin?
Thank you if you can answer, your videos gave me a more than perfect start to make this happen, and I would serve it when proposing to her!:)
I went to a tasting and was taught that you can reset your nose palate by sniffing the back of your hand, arm, or elbow... love your videos!
New into the distillation game. Love the digestible knowledge you're dropping for us all. Keep making the educational and entertaining videos. I.wish you well and look forward exploring more of this strange new world together. Cheers
We make a seaweed gin and its been a big hit. Although just because a seaweed tastes good in food, doesn't mean it will distill well. After a lot trial and error we went for a seaweed thats not that highly regarded in the culinary world, although it distills really well and very abundant in West Wales.
Another great video! I really like how you've gone into a lot of detail about the entire process, there's a tonne of good info in the video that I'll definitely be coming back to.
I'd be really interested to know how you decide how much (weight) of a botanical you'll use for maceration? Particularly for more niche botanicals like the seaweed you used
For the stuff I have used many times its trial, error and small alterations. For something like seaweed that I have not used before . . . . .pure guestimation! hahaha. Then adjust from there.
Fantastic, have to watch this with the hubster... and take ALL the notes!
Its odd and a little strange but my go to for mouth feel and to give the effect of sweetness is using coffee mate / coffee whitener. A fair amount. For every 1.4L of low wines use a heap tablespoon.
I'm wondering where I can acquire the distillation system you used in some of your videos
Left out the most important part - wife’s reaction 🥃
He is gay
Zero wife.
Great episode mate :) I really like these a little bit longer from start to finish kind of episodes :)
What is the smallest amount of gin you would run in a 25 liter still? Or does the still size dont matter as long as you are not in a risk of running dry?
Thx for the great content mate, cheers :)
Oh one more thing that I noticed, what about the unwritten rule about never putting anything higher than 40% abv in the still?
Oh oh and another thing, what about packing in the column? Yes, no, maybe? Or just run it as a potstill with empty column?
Thx :)
This is possibly the best video of Jesse’s that I have seen. Absolutely killed it bro!
Hey Jessie, I had a go at your base gin, but following your 'mix it up' advice i put some elder berries in the vapour path in the v1 still head, came very nice..... looking forward to trying other things. I've also got the pro still head now, that's a game changer....
Just a really cool interesting video full of fun, informative and practical ideas. Thank you.
That initial vodka recipe would be great for macerating some fruit and making some nice drinks that don't need redistilling afterwards. Fruit+sugar for 1-2 days until it releases it's syrup (of course you shake/stir it multiple times that day) then add alcohol (this vodka) to stop it from fermenting further and then just store it for 1-2 weeks and you don't even have to strain and bottle it. You can leave the fruit in there as long as you can stop the fruit falling in your glass and being annoying.
Then after you are done you can reuse the leftover fruit for another batch or use it in a thumper or even in baking some nice deserts (like a cherry pie, but the cherries are filled with alcohol, yum)
Bit of work, your right. Great compression of the entire process of chasing the craft! Thank you.
The still I use runs five gallon batches and I'm supposed to take 200ml of floor shot but I always take a whole cup 250ml every time.
Then I reused the floor shot to clean my gear. Good parts was oil remover too
You should consider getting the pots where you can set the temperature in the pot. Those work awsome! Gives you the potion if running fast or slow. And leaving it a 50deg for 2 hours is easy
I have yet to find a small air still like this that lets you set power %. The ones I have seen let you set temp. Which is not a great help IMO check this video for my thoughts on the topic:
th-cam.com/video/cTvYaA53P74/w-d-xo.html
If you know of one that dose power% I'd be super keen to hear about it! You can of course diy it fairly easily. Cheers mate 🍻👍
@@StillIt well i guess you are right. The one i have is on temperature and not %. But it still give me the chance to regulate how fast to run the process.. lets say a want to runn it slow and clean, i would set the pot to 80deg that would give a slow dripp. And when there is less alkohol left i increase it to 90deg to keep a constant slow drip. And if i want to run it fast i can start at 90deg and go up to 95 at the end.
In many ways it is not far from % regulation. At at the very leaset it gives the option to regulate. But ye.. not sure if a % regulator would be much different, as long as you regulate your temperature based om drip rate.?
What an amazing resource for new folks to the hobby! Just bought myself an Air Still Pro on your recommendation as I live in a townhouse so no shed to keep much large gear in. I think this will be one of my first runs on the new still for sure.
Here's hoping for more recipes with the Air Still in mind. In your experience, do most mash/wash recipes tend to scale down well? If not, what kind of things should I look out for and adjust accordingly?
i'm putting my first recepie together at the moment for my first ever Gin. i'm planning on making a classic sweet gin and adding a small amount of Bergamot citrus as i think it balances nicely with the juniper.
Excellent video. Thanks for making it. Great to see the Air Still Pro.👍😊
G'Day from Tassie Jesse, Awsome video. Just looking at starting my journey into distilling and this comes at just the right time. Clear and understandable instructions Thanks
Awesome, welcome to the craft!
Love this channel, wish I had more time. Anyone with thoughts on purchasing the AS pro and keeping my T500 just for neutrals. That way I can always have neutral on hand and then just experiment lots and run the air still.. shine on peeops
Hi Jesse, thanks for another great video. I own both the SS T500 and the SS Air Still Pro. Can you tell me if, when you used the Air Still Pro in pot still mode, did you take the copper/stainless packing out of the column as per the instructions or did you just change the tip as shown in your vid?
Ahhh good q haha. I just left it in. You will get slightly more passive reflux with it in.
Thanks Jesse, I ran my first batch of Gin thanks to you. I bought my Pro last month and hit 92% on my final run!
Firstly a great video Jesse, loads of good info as normal.
I'm sure the Air Still Pro will be a fun gadget for some, but you can get so much more for the same money. Or just make your own still, tailored to what you want, more rewarding and more versatile.
Agreed. You would be surprised how many people really appreciate the small form factor. Tiny apartments, traveling, boats/campers or rules from significant others lol.
If you can go bigger a t500 AND a standard air still is only slightly more and way more flexible and better reflux. And lots of other options depending on your location and amount of diy your happy with. But if you need the size restrictions. . . . It's pretty impressive.
Il do a review after using it some more and include all that and your point as well.
@@StillIt Could someone do the vodka part with a pot still ?
Could you say more about that? Me personally I want to get to the flavor creation part so the air still pro (although expensive) is attractive cause it skips the gear-head part for the mixology part. that said I'd love to save some $ and more versatile is always desirable as long as it's not overwhelming. What stills would you recommend more?
@@simonlevoyoubearded and bored has a video on that.
Great entertaining video as always! A thought occurred to me watching the seaweed distillation. At the end of your run you found some flavors you didn't want. Taking "rolling cuts" in mind maybe run that a bit longer and see if there are profiles after that portion of the run you might want to blend back in later. (What could it hurt to see?)
Hey mate, Love your work! Any chance of doing a blackberry brandy in the air still pro? Would be much appreciated if you could.
That sounds fun
One of the distilleries near me won best gin in Canada with a kelp gin! There's also a brewery that makes a kelp stout that's pretty good too.
Kelp stout. . . Interesting! That's awesome about the gin. Definitely something I want to play with more
The Vancouver Island brewery? Love a kelp stout
Jesse. I have a question. When you liquored back the vodka to start on the gin, you got about 1.5 Litres total, which you split into 750ml each for the maceration at roughly 50% ABV. When you run the 2 gins, did you further liquor back post maceration? I assume you did as you wouldn’t have collected what you did from just 750ml right? What ABV did the Gin still go in at (and therefore what volume in the Gin still). Thanks.
Instead of nori (seaweed) you might try kombu (kelp), might be fun (have to be careful though, it creates sour flavors if you cook it too hot too long)!
The trick with kombu is to add it to cold stock and then remove it just before it boils. That extracts the umami producing glutamates without extracting the weird bitter/sour compounds. The same would work with a kombu gin. Put it in the cold spirit, let it come up to temp (50 C, I think), and fish it out after a few minutes at the macerating temp.
@@chriscmoor correct :)
Great video, Jesse. Really enjoyed that. I have been charging the pot a lower ABV so as to arrive at my desired abv at the end of the distillation. Plus or minus a percent but its fairly negligible and can be fine tuned with the method you mentioned. A bit of neutral or a bit of water. Keep up the great work mate. Over the ditch, over and out. 🇦🇺 🇳🇿
Hi Jesse! Love the channel, dialling in from Wellington. A few questions for you or anyone who can answer.
1. I realised the fermenter bucket we got with our starter kit is 12 not 15 L. I only noticed that after I put down the ingredients for 15L. Is this an issue?
2. I used 2k of turbo sugar, and 1kg of dextrose. Is that ok to do? Mixing sugars?
3. I also put the yeast and DAP and nutrient in at 32 degrees (using turbo yeast 30 degree) - how much of an issue is a few degrees either side?
4. I’ve got a hydrometer to measure the fermentation, should I be trying to minimise the amount of time I take the lid off?
Cheers!
Cheers to the seaweed idea- Pacific House Gin uses kelp in their aromatics and the briny, funky flavor rocks.
Yeah I was hoping for a touch of brine. Il be trying this again and tweaking for sure.
@@StillIt Looking forward to learning how you approach it!
We have a really nice kelp flavoured gin in Cape Town, South Africa made by Blackwood Spirits. Award winning and really nice umami flavours.
@@michaelbeardwood4624 That sounds amazing!
Great video. I learned at ton! I have done your methods to make Absinthe and it turned out great.
Great to hear!
Hey great show brotha! I appreciate you a ton. Without your channel I ABSOLUTELY WOULD NOT HAVE WVER TRIED THIS. So thank you. Last time we exchanged messages I told you that I was in the middle of building my first apparatus. Well at that point I had reengineered it three or four times and since then I have changed things at least two more times so it is not a running and functioning still yet. This changes will be worth it. This is a very strong design Iv made. I wish I had social media so I could actually show you
Question.. I thought when using reflux mode you can just take the lot (no cuts), then filter/dilute and you have your neutral. Then I suppose if you are using essence you add that or botanicals and run again on pot. Am I wrong or forgetting something or is this different because it started with a mash? Thank you 🙏 keep up this great content ***edit, the reason I thought no cuts in reflux was because StillSpirits say so on a reflux vs pot in an article on their site. I’m 🫤 confused. Maybe you always cut?
Hi Jessie, love your stuff and have been watching for some years now, finally got to my first TPW and planning to use your base gin recipe here for a wedding gin in April, I’m planning to make about 20L and I know you said the botanicals are scalable to x5 but how about x20 or should I make multiple vessels with x5 botanicals to macerate separately?
All the best
Kia Kaha.
Im doing a 20 gallon or for you metric people. 75.705 liters.
Of Teddy's fast fermenting Vodka except using grape nuts, now thinking my oatmeal back set. ???
For smoothness. Would it work.
Since the backset Is sour mash?.
Jesse you deserve an award you've helped me out so many times by just re watching Most of your video's.
As you say Chase the CRAFT Thanks brother
Hi, video is really good. What instrument do you use to measure alcohol% can you pls share purchase link or any details please
I love these longer videos
Hey !
Thank you for this video !
Are you using dryed junipers or fresh ?
Cheers !
Hell yeah dude! What a great video!
This was fun, here sloe gin is a thing, its a time of year thing and if you don't have sloe's (normally as infusion not re distilled, fruit of blackthorn, be careful, blackthorns almost always go septic )
Have you gone back to the old recipe navy/pirate rum? To taste it with some aging, for that matter have you had any surprises after aging anything
It sounds like the seaweed worked well as a start point, would be nice to see Mrs Jesse's reaction and comments and suggestions for future
Gentilly Gin from New Orleans has Persimmon and Elderflower: Very nice
Another awesome video Jesse. I live less than 3km from the coast so I'll be trying seaweed shortly. Where did you get the abv tester with the mobile app from? Never seen one of those before.
Great vid Jesse
I started doing a bottle here and there for my kids 21st's, some of which they've helped to make.
Thank you for this video. I don't like gin at all but always interesting watching your videos
I'd challenge you to try some more gins. It's a crazy wide gammet of flavours especially if you include the new school barley gin gins. Could be a fun indever regardless
Hey Jessie, (or any other of you experienced people here) 😊I’m about to do my first botanical run on my late fathers 50 litre still. (Thought I’d keep the legacy going 😉👍🏼)
I have 4.5litres @ 84% ABV from my spirit run that I plan to dilute down to 35% abv for my botanical run. Problem I see is this may only just cover the element in the still. Can I dilute it down a bit further? Thank you
Awesome and very educational video with perfect timing as I am currently making my first gin 🙂
I have one question though. When doing the last distillation with the spices. Do you run it on max power (considering we already did the cuts in the spirit run) or we still have to run it slow?
I usually run my stripping runs on 3500W and spirit runs on 1000W but I'm not sure what to do with the final gin (spices) run?
Find a short machine screw thats the same thread as the tips/nozzle and glue it to the machine, that way you have a place to mount the spare tip to instead of loosing it.
I got a question for you. Do you remove the bits in the column in the air still pro when you run it in pot still mode? Asking for a friend. LOL
Messi find all your videos extremely helpful.! I’ve been watching you from the start, your condenser build. But have difficulty in following your description on your tastes and smell of different elements!
Those coffee pot distillers seem like a whole lotta work for such a little bit! I kept thinking that your finger must be chapped by now! I suggest stick to the larger stills so you can spend more time drinking than testing for cuts! Thanks for the recipes and the explanations!
The gin was fascinating, but the marmalade toast has me drooling.
Hi Jesse
Please can I know how much yeast you used in this 15L vodka wash . Keep up you’re awesome videos ! Never miss one !
Hi mate I'm very very new at this I followed your recipe and I used butter fly pea to give it a bit of colour it changed the flavour just a little bit but it was good.
59:06 "unfortunately i'm not getting any brininess" shake it with Ice and Olive Brine , garnish with garlic stuffed colossal green olive.
I was greedy when I started and didn’t want to waste alcohol, that didn’t last long. That first stuff had my head pounding like hell
Very nice video, I love that you go through all the aspects of why and what to expect from the flavor profiles. You did however omit the 1g of angelica root from the Seaweed Recipe in the description. :)
I use a similar device. I plug in a variable power controller to the heating element, and instead of the internal connection, use a standard separate PC power cable for the fan. Lets me separate the power so I can run the fan at 100% full time, and run the heat into the boiler as fast or slow as I want.
Recommended. You can basically run the boiler up to the capacity of your condenser, whatever the contents of your wash. If you don't have a better still option, this is the best way I know for $150.
Bonus tip: copper scrubbie wedged in the air still offtake (most brands have an internal steel ledge that can hold it) for some copper in the offtake path for those sulphur nasties.
Double distilling on the benchtop of a home unit will get north of 85%. Respectable vodka if you don't have a putrid wash.
Good luck kids. Wish I had the internet at your age.
Epic video. I love it. That air still pro is putting in some work. I like to use lime peel. And some salt. And cucumber
You are freaking awesome and inspiring Jess. Keep on keeping on!,,,,,
hey Jess, I bought an/a "aqua still" distiller, not Still spirits brand, this distiller has temp control with timer for activating the fan>>>> i forced the fan with external source at 70 Celsius, but nothing cam out!!! YOU should help a chaser here>
this machine have temp control and lots of options.
If you can find it locally, kaffir lime leaves and more importantly the zest of the fruit will add a new almost tropical dimension to your gin
I am going to make a go of this (I am in the UK), could I use your vodka recipie and instead of GIN could I use fresh fruit (strawberry) and make a sort of liquir ?
Yes - if you follow the recipe in the video to make the Vodka part, you can create a fairly neutral grain spirit - in Jesse's video, he makes it about 86% abv (can't remember) before diluting it down to use to macerate his botanicals for the Gin part. In your case, you will find some fruits work better with a maceration in high-abv alcohol (Citrus peels in general) and others will work better with a slightly lower abv. Effectively you will be steeping your fruits in the alcohol, and then sweetening to taste afterwards.
@@BrazilSaint perfect time to buy some gear
I was thinking, could you go get a cheap vodka from the store and start from there? Saves time on the making the base spirit. Then you would have a quick and easy gin.
Yup could totally do that. Depending where you are it can be pretty pricey. A lot of people find the fun in start to finish distilling as well. But totally can if you would rather 🍻
First, very cool, I learned a lot with this one! On another note, maybe someone can give me a response; is the wheat bran and oats just for flavors or is it adding startch/sugars to the mix? I didn't see the conversion process so I was curious? Thank you.
Good question I did leave that very vague. It's there for flavour and nutrients for the yeast. No conversion, we are only ferment ting the sugar really. There is very little starch in the wheat bran anyway.
The oats are the same. But also add some silkyness and mouth feel. Making it drink a little "smoother"
@@StillIt Fantastic... I was just curious. I had an old timer give me a moonshine recipe and put in a butt load of corn into the mash and never converted it... I didn't understand. He said it was just for flavor.
I just got mate to order me an air still pro but the Wally only ordered the head unit do you know how I can order a pot please
Have you tried with a basket for the botanicals? If so, what is your opinion about the taste?
Jesse references yeast nutrient and DAP. Adding both to his fermentation. I have DAP yeast nutrient. What other yeast nutrient should I use that’s on the market
Hi Jesse, a great video as ever. But I have a question.. You add both Yeast Nutrient and DAP, but when I look at varieous Yeast Nutrients I find that they are DAP themselves. Please can you explain what your yeast nutrient is and how it differs frm DAP. Thanks & Keep Brewing.
Agreed. Sorry I let that be a little vague after editing it. My bad!
The first was a nutrient derived from yeast. The second was straight DAP.
What might be a good shelf gin to compare this too? e.g. Gordon's or Seagrams or what have you?
What were your thoughts on lemon in the vapour path as opposed to macerating?
Thanks for this Jessie. I will definitely be trying your base gin, I've only made Odins gin so far, or using essence. I still haven't made my mind up on the air still pro yet, do you think it is a worthy investment over the standard air still?
Nice Odin's is a great spring board too.
I'd say its worth if you need to keep things compact and not have a larger still. In that case it's amazing iny limited experience with it. If you are happy to go bigger there are much better options.
I wish I saw this a few weeks ago, I just purchased the air still without knowing about the pro!! ahhh well such is life!
aha! watched 10 more minutes and the air still head can be bought separately! nice. Thanks!
Hey Jesse & Champions... what abv and vol for the basic gin using an air still pro? 700ml >40% and in pot still mode did you keep the copper and steel pieces or take them out as recommended? Thankx Gang!
I made a herbel liker whit cardemom, Laurier, lemongrass, lime liever, black pepper end a bid of thyme. It taste very frech
Sounds awesome
Ive watched so many of your videos already and just found this channel but it's interesting.. still think I'd rather have someone with me that has knowledge before I try it.. I do want one of those air stills tho
Great video! Big shout out from Brazil.
When you added the wash it is clear did you filter it. Or is that why you gave it more time after finishing fermentation
I really want to see him try making Cajun Holy Trinity gin. It is totally not what you would expect gin to taste like, but really delicious.
Il look into it
@@StillIt Technically it is a flavored vodka. Rather than using the modern "Onion, Celery, and Bell Peppers", it is much better if made with the original "Green Onions, Parsley, and Louisiana Bells". Louisiana Bells are close to Bell Peppers, just smaller and with a hint of heat/spice. If you can't get them (you won't where you live) then a dash of hot sauce added to the wash will serve.
The way I do it is split my ingredients. Cut the green onions in half, with the whites to one pile and nothing but green tops in the other. Chop up the same amount of celery for the whites pile and parsley for the green pile. For the bells just chop up an amount equal to the other ingredients into each pile. Pan sear the white pile with a little bacon grease until the whites are translucent, add a little garlic and sear for another minute, then scoop onto napkins to cool. Finally throw everything into a jar with ~60% spirit and macerate.
I normally do it for a couple of days, but it is however strong you want the flavor. Distill and proof down to 40~45% (I use good well water), then fat wash with a little bacon grease. Taste like Mama's cooking.
BTW loving the Air Still Pro.
At what temperature should we distill the macerated liquid so that we get best flavour & aroma without any off notes. Will low temperature such as 50 or 60 degree celcius woukd work or not. Or 80 degree is neccesary for distillation. Hoping for a quick reply from ur side it will help me a lot. Thanks in advance.
Not quite this base recipe, but I've just made gin using fig leaves and it is tremendous
I just bought an Air Still Pro, am enjoying the journey thus far and your insight will definitely give me a starting point. I note that Still Spirits say to remove the tower saddles when running in Pot still mode, but not sure if you did that. Great video, and thank you.
I was thinking the same, instructions say to remove them.
Love both machines and looking forward to trying the 'infusion basket' in the basic air still - the pro is definitely worth the extra dollars IMO. :)
I am wondering if the saddles were removed too. I was also wondering if you can make gin in a reflux mode?
No idea why people fight shy of louched gin. Think it's like drinking beer with the eyes. I deliberately make gin with more concentrated flavours which louche it. This means I can have a gin/juniper flavour bomb with a small amount of gin in my tonic - and have an extra couple in an evening without getting piddled.
I did consider marketing a louched gin as friends who drink mine love it! Can't be arsed :-)
Mate, as always your video is very instructive and thought-provoking. Keep it up!
As an aside, the tasting and commentary in front of your equipment are a lot more interesting than the bland purple background.
Yess ! Long good videos ! More of that !
Bootleg Moonshine! Yes! What's not to love, ha ha ha. I'll be trying this :] Subbed!