Every type of gin made available in the market, including London dry, old tom, Plymouth, and the like, has been made possible and being continuously developed through the help of science. The process is known as a gin distillery, wherein distillers purify and combine the ethanol and the botanical materials being used. Moreover, the process also has three different methods in making it, which vary as per its price in the market; this is because of the complexity of the preparation. Therefore, this article would discuss the different methods of a gin distillery.
Sustainability of Gin Distillery
Before discussing the current techniques used for gin distillery, this article would also discuss the sustainability of its process and its importance in helping our environment. Here are some of the reasons why it is sustainable:
- Reduce Greenhouse Emissions – The process of making alcoholic drinks this way lowers not only the gas emissions but also the energy usage during its creation process.
- Promotes Life – As a sustainable way of production, it avoids harmful chemicals that can damage other living things once it is used.
Therefore, a gin distillery is an environmentally friendly way to produce an alcoholic drink and is very helpful in the long run. Moreover, distillers developed various techniques in distilling gin, wherein its flavours are purely extracted from natural raw materials. Thus, alcoholic drinks that come from distilleries taste good and are worthwhile.
Gin Distillery Techniques
According to Notman (2017), a gin is made of a raw material known as botanicals, infused with concentrated ethanol extracted from grains, grapes, or molasses. Furthermore, distillers differ in making gin through how they would infuse the ethanol with the botanical they will use, which include the following:
- Steeping – The fusion of the ethanol and the botanicals is made by heating, wherein the ingredients are mixed in a metal container over something that raises its temperature. Thus, the botanical flavours are being extracted and integrated into the clear spirit used for making gin using this technique. Furthermore, the botanicals’ duration of steeping would vary the flavour profile of the alcoholic beverage; hence, the taste’s outcome solely depends on the gin’s distiller.
- Vapour Infusion – Ethanol and botanicals are combined using vapour in this method, wherein, rather than using a metal container, the distiller would use a basket. In the process set up, the basket is used for the botanicals and hung above the base spirit of the beverage. Like the steeping process, it also uses heat to raise the temperature of the clear spirit to produce vapour. When the spirit’s vapour reaches the basket, its botanicals will produce essential oils, into which flavours would merge with the produced gas. The vapour would again turn into a liquid containing the produced flavours of the botanicals used inside the basket as it cools down.
- Vacuum Distillation. The fusion of the ethanol and the botanical in this method uses a much lower temperature than extensive heat like the other two, wherein it needs a low-pressure vacuum environment. A lowered pressure above the solvent and the vacuum requirement allows evaporation for the ingredient’s elements with lower vapour pressure to produce gas like the vapour infusion.
To sum it up, science has become a huge part of procuring techniques that would help fuse the best flavour of the botanicals with the base spirit in producing gin. Also, consumers must always choose sustainable products to satisfy their wants and needs and help the environment we’re living in.