I Distilled Hot Cross Bun Gin: Its Delicious

[@lisamoore6804]

American here, I have heard of hot cross buns. My daughter played the song in grade school on a recorder. Thank God it was at school.

[@jimsens805]

That was every kids first song, in our area, and not just the recorder. First thing that came to my mind, in fact.

[@sambate143]

Is anyone else worried about the barrel falling to oblivion at 6:49 ? Thanks for another great video

[@jnx2850]

Woah, didn't even notice. Good pick up. Next vid will have a missing barrel 😂

[@jacdee7595]

yes that barrel is freaking me out😮

[@ajaychapman2276]

Haha yes

[@sheerluckholmes5468]

Yeah nah, I aint worried about it at all, after all it isn't my barrel so why would I care.

[@Finwolven]

Yea, that thing needs to be shifted back on the counter asap!

[@verdatum]

In North America, the song "hot cross buns" is basically the first song every single child learns on some instrument; be it a piano, recorder, glockenspiel, it doesn't matter. The song has 3 notes. It is usually followed by the kid asking "wtf is a hot cross bun?" As I recall, I've only had one once, and only so that I could say "I've had a hot crossed bun". They are slightly more common in the Catholic realm, and where I was raised, Catholicism was almost nonexistent. But, yeah, the US is ALL ABOUT pastries, so we've got tons of things that come close: Sticky-buns, Cinnamon-raisin bread, cinnamon rolls, king cake (particular to Louisiana, and again, very Catholic), Sally Lunn Bread (rare now, but very common in centuries past)

[@stephenclifford3971]

Hot Cross buns have been a part of my Easter traditions for as long as I can remember! It is getting harder to find bakeries that do them around me anymore, but I do find them to keep it going!

[@curtishoffmann6956]

I grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. Went to a Methodist church, and we'd have hot cross buns every Easter. Pretty simple recipe from what I remember (I never made them myself). Standard bun dough, raisins, powdered sugar frosting, a little cinnamon, and lots of melted butter.

[@CloudaceMC]

please turn pizza into alcohol

[@lewisgiles8855]

😅

[@TheZombieSaints]

Oh dear God! Sounds interesting but I think it would be too oily. I don't think it would taste very nice either with all that meat, but still interesting idea 👍

[@CloudaceMC]

@@TheZombieSaints honestly in my mind was thinking like a margherita pizza the cheese would be the hardest flavor to impart

[@CloudaceMC]

and if you distilling something and it has a large amount of oil weight for the oil to separate the top and simply wicked off

[@dizzious]

Pizza please! If any of the ingredients are incompatible with fermentation then just take those ingredients off for fermentation and re-add them to the wort right before distillation so it's like a gin.

[@DeanRogers77]

I was hoping for a spirit made using HXBs in the mash.

[@SA12String]

Some stores, such as Raley's, make Hot Cross Buns during the American holiday season. They are an early winter/Christmas treat. My wife loves them.

[@YosheetaBoneeta]

They're and Easter thing down here

[@spud4242]

def an easter thing. the cross on the bun represents THE CROSS...lol

[@TrizzaW]

Sounds amazing! I miss hot cross buns. Living in Finland these days I had to learn to make my own sarsaparilla/root beer, and it's a tonne of fun. Basically make a tea from a bunch of botanicals (sarsaparilla, star anise, wintergreen, vanilla, licorice, and some others), filter, and then make it into a syrup. I bottle that and use it with a Sodastream machine. Easy, fun to tweak, and tastes *way* better than store bought. Using the same botanicals might make a delicious spirit, too!

[@roderickbrouwer6771]

Here in the Netherlands we don’t have hot cross buns, many people here also don’t celebrate easter. We do have a similar thing called “krentebol” though which is usually eaten around celebrations and especially new year and christmas dinner. Krentebol is like hot cross buns except with only raisins in it.

[@the_whiskeyshaman]

Yea idk about hot crosses buns. But we have like raisin bread. Or monkey bread. Which have a lot of those spices.

[@dylanmcgregor6496]

It is mostly known as a badly played song on a school recorder. However, we had them in Santa Fe, NM in the 70's as there was a pastry shop in the plaza that sold them.

[@UPTAUT]

In Tasmania, Australia, hot cross buns are made by our local bakeries. I can't properly say in words how good these freshly baked fruit and spice buns are, especially smothered in butter.

[@ozziedudemike]

Gonna have a crack at a personalized version using my own hot cross bun recipe. cheers for the idea. Looks like my ''tropic fruit gin might have to wait. And lemon, lime and bitters for gin is an absolute ripper.

[@davecoleman6855]

Canadians know and love hot cross buns

[@friedfishfury]

Hi Team, Happy Easter! Here in Perth we are lucky enough to get HXB's all year round, I am so glad fruitless are available.

[@BradIvey]

Yeah, when I lived in Rockingham, Coles/Woolies (whatever it was we shopped at) had them year round too. Love them!

[@AlbeeSoaring]

Im in the US California to be exact. I have had hot cross buns before. Love them but cant find them very often. I have found that Cinnamon raisin bread is very similar. My grandmother use to make the best and after a few days it would become either the best Bread pudding or french toast.

[@Bob_Smith19]

Babka is traditional Easter bread here. But hit cross buns are available at pretty much every bakery on any day of the week. They’re just something you would eat in the morning.

[@thfield2417]

Midwest American here. Remember the hot cross buns song as a child. Saw the actual bakery item in the grocery store this week. Love how “old” things are making a comeback!

[@slftr5139]

I can imagine the Hot Cross Bun situation here in Aus is pretty similar to you lads across the pond - at the big grocery stores, Boxing Day onwards, the advent calendars get put away, and the Hot Cross Buns come out to play. Our family must go through at least a 6-pack or two a week. Always been this way for as long as I can remember, and before our bread maker went belly up, we used to make our own in the week or so leading up to Easter. I hope you and your family had a wonderful Easter break - take care, my friend :)

[@davesmith3562]

Amazing love these . Please don't stop making these small videos especially with air still 👍

[@yvonneburns2786]

Toasted hot cross buns spread with lurpack butter and a cup of tea... Heavenly 😋🤤

[@scoobtoober2975]

I'm not a distiller yet. I do infustions/tinctures with good to moderate vodka. Two recipes all in grams. 3 corriander, 7 juniper, 1 orris, 1 angelica 1 tsp lemon extract homemade, 1 tsp mandarin extract homemade round 2: 4 corriander, 10 juniper, 2 angelica, 2 orris, 1 cardamon seeds lately i've done up to 20 g juniper. soak for 3 days and it's pretty darn good. very herbaly, menthol.

[@flanneledguitarist9619]

I'm American and I've seen hot cross buns all over the place around Easter time, they are absolutely delicious.

[@andrewr.786]

Hot cross buns are a beloved family recipe for our Easter. Our main spice used is mace, which could be cool for distilling, but it can be hard to find in the US.

[@nicholassmith9051]

Hello from Montana..never had a Hot cross bun! New recipie to try...

[@OzzeyfromVek]

we like them in Canada, great video, i'm going to try it

[@TimmyB1867]

Hot cross buns are a staple around Easter around here. I'm not a fan of Ginger Beer by itself, but this makes me inclined to try it. With coke, sounds like another good one.

[@kyleo1236]

Just watched a video by Eddie Shepherd where he makes a gin with a vacuum distillation setup and he actually distills each ingredient separately at low temps to preserve the aromatics and blends them together at the end. It seemed like a very interesting take on gin.

[@danc6167]

As a Canadian, your flavour list is on point but I'd swap out the allspice and add some vanilla for the icing

[@stoddern]

We do have hot cross buns here in the states. The region where I am, New England, they are mostly made fresh at grocery stores though more local and independent bakers may make them for the spring season. In the states they are more popular among Catholic communities vs other Christen denominations

[@steammachine3061]

Hot cross buns are pretty much avalable all year round in the uk if you look for them. There's just a bigger marketing push for them around Easter time. They're pretty much just tea cakes with a cross shoved on the top though. I equally like tea cakes as well. Less common are cheese scones. It's always a good day when I spot those in my local supermarket

[@TheMichaellathrop]

So I absolutely used to love sarsaparilla before you stopped being able to get it made commercially with sassafras root here in the usa, I am curious if you could you use sassafras as the root for your gin? On a completely unrelated note I know you sometimes talk about using a nob of butter to cut foaming during distillation, but how much would you have to add to make the product taste like butter?

[@P-J-W-777]

I live in the U.S. and I use to love Hot Cross buns but haven’t had one in years as I haven’t seen the in the stores lately.

[@dafewl]

Great idea Jesse! - Quick one, am I the only one who would prefer the recipe against 1 litre of 'vodka' to help with the ratios on bigger batches? Excel is usually my friend here I suppose. Just on that, I have this recipe in a 'standard' 4 litre airstill run (with 40% neutral) looking at 126 grams of juniper?! I get that it's uncrushed (crushed, perhaps 25% less) but hey that's a shitetonne of Juniper for a usual 4lt run for mine....

[@jacobtezak9569]

You should take the spice blend that goes into a typical sausage and use that to make a gin.

[@jefferyformosa1448]

Hey Jessie,looks like something I love to have a go at ,was that 700mls of 40% vodka? Thanks mate great video.

[@darylbrander4851]

In canada I have bought from a local distiller was a gingerbread gin.

[@quarlow1215]

Here in west coast Canada hot cross buns are traditional Easter fair. Mom always bought a package of them for Sunday morning but we hardly ate them. To me they should have been sweeter but found them blah and boring. Typically they have mixed dried fruit bits. Mom would use them for Monday breakfast by slicing them and making them into french toast. Funny you mixed this with ginger beer because I've been drinking Crabbies alcoholic ginger beer. It comes in different flavors like raspberry, strawberry lime, cranberry. My daughter works at a cold beer/liquor store and this stuffs not popular so we get a huge discount on it. I think its the area as its a fishing village and tourist town. Sell where there's more Jamaicans and you wouldn't keep it in store.

[@danc6167]

Pretty similar here on the East coast too but bigger on cranberries where we grow them

[@victor9sur768]

we get hot cross buns year round in the UK but most people only buy them at Easter

[@Skauri]

So... hot cross buns are the bun form of raisan bread? Sounds just like RB but slightly more tasty bun form.

[@jhansen6152]

Pretty much, but maybe a bit sweeter, and some do have orange (peel) in them.

[@go4minrakulyx]

Hi , have you ever thought of destilling the spices seperately and mix them afterwartds together. That way you would avoid the tails of some early spices while collecting the hearts of the laters... I hope you can understand what i mean :))

[@DanielPotter311]

Pumpkin pie gin sounds amazing

[@A.C._Taylor]

Here in Canada, hot cross buns were a part of my childhood. As was learning how to play the hot cross bun song on recorders... I'm sure there are parents out there with PTSD from their children learning to play that song lol.

[@brianjones3530]

Nutmeg is the goat! But in the Caribbean we have to have All Spice and Star Anise.

[@flyingwombattv]

We just brewed a beer with hot cross buns! Great video!

[@bryanlovquist5337]

Looks/sounds good. On a slightly different taste. I understand that Sriracha is a fermented hot sauce, although I am not sure the commercial versions are. Could you still it? Might be interesting. If you have already done it, ... sorry.

[@tonydavies8683]

the lemon ginger is what the buttery flavor is you should try it in a tea

[@utoobrayray]

Jesse, what was the ABV on your base Vodka? Curious to see what you are macerating at.

[@MrJever180]

This gin sounds amazing

[@jessebedard2070]

Awee i was hoping in the description id get to taste the stuff you make lol. Not have to make it😅 hahaha this stuff sounds amazing. All the stuff does wish i was in New Zealand 🇳🇿 but im in Canada

[@chrisjones1896]

Hi Jessie I’ve just made up a ltr (having adjusted quantities) using FFV. At what % ABV. Did you cut for tails ? I normally stop at around 60/70% thanks very much 👍

[@WantedVisual]

I ran out of coriander seed and didn't notice before starting some batch cooking juuust as all the stores closed for the holidays this week. Made do with some substitutions and slunk off to youtube to forget my shame--aaaaand there is nowhere to hide. IT'S ON THE SHOPPING LIST, JESSE, I PROMISE.

[@domg.1011]

0:45 "It is super nostalgic for me this time of year" Ok yeah, halloween, all saints+souls days, & christmas, I also enjoy hot cross buns around november. "Let me know if you have hot cross buns at EASTERTIME" !?!?!?!?!?!!? EASTER? Oh, wait, southern hemisphere, nevermind that makes sense. Opposite holidays, but similar weather. (Hot cross buns are definitely english, & they are not super common in canada, but we have them & I enjoy them in november.) Asking for opinions on hot cross buns? Well as a professional cook & home baker I have things to say. Raisins or some type of dried fruit, warm spices, & sweetness. In a gin, I think a buttery flavour & a grain flavour are needed, otherwise it is hot cross gin, not hot cross BUN gin. The cross itself is an icing, so if some sweetness or starchyness can be added I think that is important. Orange peel makes sense especially because cardamom is often in the recipe, it can be used to compliment or help replace. Raisins are a must. I wonder if you could add some water to stale hot cross buns, throw in some yeast, distill literal hot cross bun alcohol, & what that would taste like. Pre-raisined raisins (grapes) are used to make brandy so I wonder what a brandy would be like flavoured with this. Cinnamon makes sense as a warm spice. It is one of the best or most common out there. Nutmeg makes sense as a warm spice. Ginger makes sense, but it is a more high-pitched flavour than the rest of these spices. I still like it & want it in. On mix-spice, it really depends on what brand. There are many different kinds of chinese five spice, there is somehow a difference between apple pie spice blend & pumpkin pie spice blend, there are different seasoning salts, it really doesn't matter. It's in some of them. I keep thinking of ginger as more of a savoury spice, but it does belong in sweet spice blends too. In fact, most sweet spices belong in savoury dishes too, look at garam masala. You're right in saying it is halfway between a warm spice & a hot spice. I wouldn't put that much in, but I'll wait until the end of the video. Allspice, another warm spice, makes sense. I think cardamom could go well but it is not needed, especially with the other warm spices & the orange peel. This is a hot cross bun flavour flavoured gin, not a hot cross bun flavoured gin. To be a true hot cross bun gin, I think it needs some sort of grain flavour. A lemon meringue pie flavoured dessert yogurt is not lemon yogurt, it needs the marshmallow chunks in it & some sort of grain flavour for the crust. Blueberry pie flavoured hard candies are not just blueberry, they are blueberry, spice, & a grain flavour. I think adding some oats or crushed wheat might fill that hole, but I am not a distiller, it is sadly & unnecessarily illegal where I live. Perhaps a spirit where you can still taste the base ingredient grain would work. Earlier I suggested a brandy. Either of those would be a nice experiment. I wonder what would happen if straight up hot cross buns are used.

[@ThrowingItAway]

I don't even drink anymore but love these experiments

[@jacquesvanvuuren3298]

Hi there Jess I have made olive liquir wich is awsome can you do something like that Kind regards Jacques South africa

[@KernsJW]

Saw hot cross buns at Shaws today, had no idea what they were and bought them for tomorrow! I have no idea what they taste like, but you focused just on spices. Any option to add the bread flavor in and maybe the buttery flavor?

[@prccap]

we make hot cross buns for easter every year in the states

[@amayakawaii]

I don't know about the USA but we certainly have hot cross buns in Canada!

[@bigron761]

came here to say this. feel I should add that Canada is the greatest part of North America (at least in terms of geographic area and prolly in other ways as well)

[@jonmongoallcorn7565]

How much base liquid did you start with in the still ,and how much did you run off ?

[@dallasajlee]

I’m a Aussie… Hotcross Buns are awesome

[@A16AdamWalker]

For the last few years I've been trying to use Hot Cross Buns as Burger Buns (basically making a British, New Zealand, Australian take on the Luthor Burger (which involved donuts)) - only one I found that worked was a spice pork and onion burger with spicy mayo (so sweet & spicy)... Now I'm wondering... hmm, spicy and sweet hot cross bun & chilli gin?

[@festerallday]

Sarsaparilla is made from sarsaparilla root. Root beer is made from root beer root

[@sambeauJonez]

I couldn't take my eyes of the barrel wobbling in the corner =8-0

[@jeffomalley100]

How about a coffee cake one.

[@mr.slippyfist4170]

That sounds really good

[@x0rld159]

I've seen in US the sasparella is not authorized in food so it's only synthetic flavour, is it the same in new zealand ?

[@Bob-ru6nw]

Lol would you put juniper in your hot cross buns? Maybe a hot cross bun wheat vodka?

[@FinnBearOfficial]

What if you added soft whipped cream in it? And a little coffee? Do I need a cup of coffee, is that it?

[@mickeysbest9099]

I think our closest (common) equivalent would be cinnamon raisin bread

[@Ivan.A.Churlyuski]

I’ve never heard of a hot cross bun before but it looks like a blueberry bagel had a baby with a toaster strudel.

[@cari-joanjameson2989]

Hi. American here. We do have hot crossed buns here and they are delicious.

[@MrNinjaSmilez]

Watching this from Aus, eating a 6 pack of hot cross buns for dinner

[@44Mat]

Does Cannabis & Hemp Juice distill

[@Aaron-zu3xn]

peaches apples cherries and strawberries is it a cognac?

[@The7thSonSteve-O]

What is the “name” of the shirt you wore in this episode?

[@bradneat]

What ABV was the initial spirit used??

[@babygoback6576]

Have you tried chille distilled

[@Zidi1]

I know the song but never had them.

[@SlaserX]

Your wife is an amazing addition to the show

[@bonnieballew7762]

Have you tried to distill milk

[@dkbaker336]

Not really a thing in the states but they sound delicious

[@lordkell1986]

Hot cross bun spirits aint meme spirits; its real as it gets!

[@ic_trab]

Surely you can get Bundaberg Sarsaparilla in NZ?

[@jhansen6152]

We used to but I haven’t seen it for a long time.

[@thealchemist-hr8me]

I think the closest thing we probably get here is the states would be Cinnamon Bun Vodka as far as I'm aware🤔 Though there's so much in the craft spirits world... it's possible to be available outside my area somewhere🤷‍♂😅 --RuneShine, Michigan's Norse-Druid Alchemist✌💚🙃

[@AlbeeSoaring]

Its always so fun to watch your videos. You seem to have so much fun while distilling and genuine love for it. Best I can do is watch through my screen since Im hear in the "free" country of USA. Thanks for the great entertainment.

[@DrSpooglemon]

What about making a hard ginger beer and distilling it.

[@K_3_R_R]

Mix Spice includes: cinnamon, coriander, caraway, nutmeg, ground ginger and cloves.

[@yvonneburns2786]

The scientific term a pinch of this and a dash of this! lemon is also in hot cross buns it's subtle but there all the same.

[@dainjuras]

Thanks!

[@I-Am-Blue]

I live in New York City and I know exactly where to go to get hot cross buns and I know exactly what they are as well

[@mrscary3105]

you don't toast your spices?

[@timransby1774]

Snap ! It intensifies the flavours!! Why not ?

[@piratepete1961]

qld oz here hot x buns are an easter treat that seems to be coming long before easter i love the fruit ones but the worst one so far was last year vegemite hxt they where crap

[@michaellewis767]

Hot Cross buns look like they could taste similar to cinnamon raisin bread

[@outcast_performance]

That's exactly what it is

[@aaront7974]

Raisin bagels. pumpkin pie spice raisin bagels. It's a thing.

[@williamharvey124]

Look up Cinnabon, find a home recipe, make those and turn that into a spirit. Might be the closest thing we Americans have to hot cross buns. Definitely different, but also definitely delicious.

[@Tattooedfreak]

Lol I had my post removed on chasing the craft on Facebook for doing almond fingers 😂

[@nickdesi-tottenham2026]

Jesse can you please give original V or Blue V a go in meme spirits as a comparison piece for the Mountain Dew video?

[@Sunstreaker89]

Hot-cross dam! Im down for this 😂

[@DmillerLV264]

Hot crossed buns....I didn't know it was an actual food, thought it was just a kids song.

[@davo3839]

Could you just put the gin botanicals in and then actual hot cross buns? Would that work?