While working at a distillery in Wales, I had the opportunity to distil numerous gins for different gin brands. Two of these gins were for a customer in Malta. According to my boss it was illegal to make alcohol on the island of Malta, so everything on the island had to be brought in from elsewhere. I prepared the two Malta gins using the unusual technique of distilling air still gin concentrates. Let me explain.
The Apple & Honey gin and Chili & Olive Oil gin were special in that they were prepared using air stills. Flavour concentrates were distilled on the air stills. Then, the concentrates were mixed with a gin spirit base and water to create the final gins.
Charging the Air Stills
First, I charged two air stills each with 4L of neutral grain spirit (NGS) diluted to 40%abv. NGS is flavourless and serves as a vehicle to carry flavours in. Once prepared, I measured out the rest of my ingredients. In one air still I put in my crushed red pepper flakes and olive oil tincture, then in the other air still I put in dried apple slices and honey.
Similar to how I cook at home, I left a big mess all over the table when preparing my ingredients. When the two air stills were ready, I put the top piece over the stills. The black tops of the air stills have fans in them; when the liquid boils the vapour travels up and passes through a small vent into the black top where they are cooled by the fan. The cooled vapours condense back into liquid and drip out of the collection spout.
The apple and honey concentrate smelled and tasted sweet, warm, and comforting. It was a classic combination that brought back memories of autumn and cosy evenings inside. In comparison, the chili and olive concentrate had an extremely savoury aroma and taste. It made me want to find a charcuterie board to eat with it.
Second Air Still Concentrate Distillation
Two and a half hours after starting the distillations, I noticed that the chili and olive oil concentrate was clear. However, the apple and honey one had a distinct yellow tint to it. Since my boss wanted them both to be clear, I put the honey and apple concentrate into another air still, added water, and did a second distillation. The second distillation produced a clear distillate, but some of the wonderful aroma and flavor of the apples and honey was lost in the process. I collected about 1.5 litres of each concentrate. I stopped collection when the distillates coming off the still no longer tasted nice.
It took almost an entire working day for me to complete these concentrates. Afterwards, I added them to their respective gin spirit bases to complete the two gin products for our customer.
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