E 153 Air Still Gin

Still Works and Brewing is trying out our air still for the first time and making a Gin.
3) 750ml 80proof vodka
1.5 oz. juniper berry
.3 oz. coriander seed
.9 oz. orange zest
.06 oz. cardamom
.75 oz. angelica root
.25 oz. cascade leaf hops

[@val6112]

Great video...just what I needed to know to make my 1st batch of Gin with my Air Still. Thanks a bunch from the 🇬🇧.😄

[@OutlawSpirits]

I love my still spirits are still! That thing is absolutely fantastic for making a small batch of your favorite Spirit or just experimenting.

[@stillworksandbrewing]

Yes a air still is fun to play with

[@Rubberduck-tx2bh]

Hey Randy, get your power controller for next batch through Airstill. Use a spare laptop triple prong cable for full power to lid fan, & then the boiler cable into the controller. Set temp to 100C & use the controller just like on your big still. That way you won't get the power cycles on/off when the temp gets to setpoint & you'll maintain a stead thin stream.

[@frankromig]

I use an air still from still works. Temp. Is set at the factory, on and off. No guessing and no scorching👍 I love trying different things through mine. Leaving ingredients in the still makes for awesome flavor.

[@stillworksandbrewing]

Thanks for sharing

[@endenendenus7569]

perfect

[@ericenos1097]

Those air stills are great for gin less worry about scorching.

[@stillworksandbrewing]

Very true!

[@torandresyltesether7832]

Bought me a used airstill last week, and made some Ouzo for the first time. Came out damn good and tasty. Can't believe how easy it was. A great device for experimenting on small batches 😃

[@stillworksandbrewing]

I will have to agree they work great cheers

[@user-kb1hw2yq2f]

Do you have the Ouzo recipe by any chance?

[@torandresyltesether7832]

@@user-kb1hw2yq2f I did it very simple, just to see what happened. If I remember correctly I used 5 Star Anis, let them soak for 24 hours in 1l vodka before I did the run. But I recommend to collect in small cuts, the taste changes a lot throughout the run.

[@user-kb1hw2yq2f]

@@torandresyltesether7832 thank you

[@steviebboy69]

@@torandresyltesether7832 I got a water distiller and use SCR to control the element and it works well. I did a small batch like 750 mL of wine from a cask to test. Its very strong at the start and weak and crap at the end.

[@edwardbrown7571]

More air still experiments...

[@stillworksandbrewing]

ill see what i can do

[@mikew.1902]

I am not a gin guy,but I do appreciate your efforts. I guess i didn't realize that you would distill with the aromatics in the still. Didn't get around to saying anything about your salted caramel. That sounded like it would be quite tasty. Next time you make it try stirring your spirit and adding your caramel as you stir. Great idea as I am a salted caramel nut.

[@stillworksandbrewing]

Thanks for the tips!

[@andrewchapman261]

Hey, great video! How come your air still has temperature control on it? The ones ive seen are either on or off!

[@stillworksandbrewing]

I found it on amazon i seen that it had temp control

[@TimothyHigdonHiggs]

How do we make the mutual spirit???

[@toddbarlow3094]

I really like your videos Randy🍸. Would it be ok to start out with straight corn liquor?

[@stillworksandbrewing]

should be ok might be interesting flavor thats one thing i like about air still small batches

[@karlfowler3742]

Never put straight Liquor in your still. It needs to be cut with water to at least 80 proof. Too high a alcohol content in the still could lead to an accident and doesn't add anything of benefit.

[@morse2279]

I found collecting Gin until 40% with an Airstill keeps it nice and clear.

[@stillworksandbrewing]

Good to know!

[@frankromig]

Yes, when I run mine i run it using a parrot.

[@karlfowler3742]

You have to be careful when using Botanicals not to go too far down. That's where you start picking up oils that will cloud the finished product when you add water to proof it. If it clouds up then you should have cut it off sooner. I like 50%, but that's just me.

[@BenKilbry]

Great video! Where did you find that chart for temperatures?

[@stillworksandbrewing]

don't remember did a online search for the chart cheers

[@neilmac4730]

I was wondering if those water still would work well. Thanks.😊

[@stillworksandbrewing]

Cheers

[@MultiTut69]

What was the "flower" you added? It's not in ingredients list.

[@stillworksandbrewing]

chamomile sorry about that

[@kevinhoban4416]

I have a friend that made some hard apple cider and I was wondering if you can cook that the way he made it or do you have to add yeast to it

[@frankromig]

Not sure, I ran some older apple pie through mine. I bumped the av up with vodka I had made. The taste and smell for a clear spirit was amazing.👍

[@karlfowler3742]

If it's hard Cider then it already has alcohol in it and won't need yeast unless you add sugar to up the alcohol content. Hard Cider will have about 6% abv and you won't get much out of that in a 1 gallon still.

[@robertburnes807]

Hey Randy, what was the neutral spirit you used?

[@stillworksandbrewing]

it was a sugar wash neutral

[@R_B69]

Is it vodka?

[@cramel8958]

I have bought the aquastill and there arnt any video on youtube about it I noticed when it reeached the temp it shuts down does the airstill does that also Its kinda anoyong becouse you have to play with themp high and low to keep it on could you guys do a video where you compare the airtstill to the aquastill would be realy nice

[@steviebboy69]

I have water still and use SCR from fleabay and it works well. I found the same thing with the on board temp on my vevor it would get to temp and then stop and I would ramp it up and go again.

[@brianpasco6097]

Can’t find a anjunka root or Junka root? What are you saying? Where do you buy? Thanks

[@karlfowler3742]

Angelica Root. It's on Amazon.

[@webcrawler3332]

You don’t use pure distilled water when proofing? That way the liquor doesn’t cloud up?

[@stillworksandbrewing]

I use just bottle water room temp

[@karlfowler3742]

Fusel oils from the tails cause the cloudiness when you add water. It's not the distilled water causing the problem. Boiling the Botanicals increases the chance of these oils. Make your final cut between 60 and 50% alcohol and it should improve finished clarity.

[@mark-hu3yp]

randy do you use the ink bird temp controller to run your still

[@stillworksandbrewing]

no i do not I use a PWM switch

[@karlfowler3742]

These little Air Stills have their own controller built in. I love my Ink Bird on my other set up. George at Barley and Hops has a great design he shared to build your own PID controller.

[@wordingreenville]

Do you have to worry about heads when doing this? I would imagine not, since you would have collected them on your first run.

[@stillworksandbrewing]

I did discard 2 oz. just because

[@wordingreenville]

@@stillworksandbrewing Thanks for the reply, man!

[@frankromig]

I also discard 2 oz. To be safe and for a cleaner heart run.

[@kjdevault]

Gores and heads are already gone if you made good cuts on your product to start with. You can get a bit of funky flavors at the beginning of a botanical run though, it’s usually only a few ml though. The flavors will change throughout the run though as the volatile flavors and aromas of the different ingredients are all different. Taste as you go, even every minute or so you’ll notice a difference on some flavors. Super small cuts will help to learn what to expect from each ingredient, their amount, and resulting Flavor and aroma. It may also be worth doing smaller batches of individual ingredients, run those out, and bottle separately. Then you can do a custom gin blend to your desired taste. More lemon, less juniper, other florals, whatever floats your boat!

[@fourdeadinohio8303]

where'd you get the botanicals?

[@stillworksandbrewing]

I'm luckey my local home brew shop has them

[@fourdeadinohio8303]

@@stillworksandbrewing I looked on amazon for gin kits but nothing I liked. my local brew shop is 60miles away since I moved...lol

[@williamarmstrong7199]

I cannot imagine hops adding anything good to the Gin. Never heard of anyone using that before.

[@stillworksandbrewing]

I was inspired by a local distillery hops add a neat flavor to the gin

[@karlfowler3742]

Hendricks Gin uses Cucumber in theirs. I would have never thought of that either.

[@kjdevault]

Hopped him and hopped whiskey’s even are starting to show up all over. Barrel aging gin is as well.

[@kjdevault]

Hopped gin and hopped whiskey’s even are starting to show up all over. Barrel aging gin is as well.

[@MrPug1970]

Your air still pot how many gallon pot is it?

[@stillworksandbrewing]

1 gallon

[@frankromig]

They are 1 gallon pot stills. I use 1 from still works. I love it for playing with small batches.

[@mihkeljaakson6701]

I see you left out the Chamomile from the list 😅

[@cramel8958]

Kay

[@stillworksandbrewing]

cheers

[@Miata822]

Yeah, but does it glow under a UV black light. That's why the young ladies order gin drinks at a club, the glowing glass.

[@stillworksandbrewing]

Cool

[@TheGreatest1974]

Wouldn’t you have been better just straining the 40% gin you had in the big jar? You’d have a full flavour then. And I’d never add hops to a spirit.

[@stillworksandbrewing]

great question I like clear gin and that is way to get it and the hops comes from a local Distillery uses hops in one of their gins it is fantastic cheers

[@TheGreatest1974]

@@stillworksandbrewing ah okay, thanks for the reply! I only use an air still. If I REdistill alcohol through the air still, do I need to throw away any heads?

[@stillworksandbrewing]

you should not have to BUT taste the first that comes off if it taste good to you keep it

[@TheGreatest1974]

@@stillworksandbrewing thanks!👍

[@paulkelley7445]

Sc

[@stillworksandbrewing]

cheers

[@jnx2850]

Chamomile is pronounced Kam-o-mile

[@stillworksandbrewing]

Thanks Cheers my Friend

[@liamdennis467]

Hey, great show! I can't wait to start distilling myself. Can I create you an animated intro for your channel, as a thank you for being a great teacher? Send me an email address or something and I'll create something for you. Free of charge ofcourse.

[@stillworksandbrewing]

that would be cool [e-mail]