Indian botanicals for craft gin and how they behave in the still

Juniper still leads

Gin is a neutral spirit flavoured with botanicals. Juniper must be the leading flavour for a drink to be called gin under most definitions. Indian botanicals work best as the second voice, not the first. A gin that tastes mostly of cardamom with a hint of juniper may be delicious, but it drifts away from the category.

Most recipes also rely on coriander seed for citrus and spice, angelica root for an earthy base and orris root to bind the aroma together. Build the Indian character on top of that frame. Our guide to gin, vodka and rum covers the category basics.

Steeping or the vapour basket

There are two common ways to get botanical flavour into the spirit. In steeping, botanicals soak in the diluted neutral spirit in the pot, often overnight, then distil with it. That pulls out heavier, deeper flavours. In vapour infusion, botanicals sit in a basket above the pot and the hot vapour passes through them. That gives lighter, fresher, brighter notes.

Robust spices such as cardamom, black pepper and cinnamon usually steep well. Delicate leaves and flowers such as tulsi, curry leaf or rose petals often taste fresher in the basket, where they are not stewed. Citrus peel can go either way.

When each botanical comes over

As the still runs, lighter and more volatile aroma compounds come over first, heavier ones later. Citrus top notes and bright, fresh aromas tend to arrive early in the hearts. Spicy, woody and rooty notes come later. If you cut to tails early, you lose the heavy notes. If you run long, you pull in more of them, along with bitterness and oily, vegetal flavours.

That timing shapes your recipe. A gin built on a fragile Indian citrus needs a cut point that protects the early fraction. Our guide to getting new make spirit right explains how cuts work.

Indian botanicals and how they behave

• Green cardamom. Strong, cooling and long. A little goes a very long way. It can dominate in a hurry.
• Black pepper. Malabar or Tellicherry pepper adds warmth and a piney edge. Steep it. Its pungency stays largely in the pot, so expect aroma rather than heat.
• Indian citrus. Gondhoraj lime from Bengal, Nagpur orange and other local citrus give vivid peel oils. Use fresh peel with as little white pith as possible, or the gin turns bitter.
• Tulsi. Holy basil gives clove and mint notes. It works well in the vapour basket.
• Curry leaf. Green and savoury. Excellent in small doses, odd in large ones.
• Kokum. Its sourness comes from non-volatile acids, which stay in the pot. You get a faint fruity note, not the tang.
• Turmeric. The yellow colour and much of the earthy flavour stay behind. Only some aroma carries over.
• Mahua flower. Honeyed and floral, with a long history in Indian distilling.

The rule of thumb: what gives a botanical colour, acidity or heat often does not distil. Aroma does.

Trial them one at a time

Before writing a full recipe, run single botanical distillates on a small pilot still. Steep a weighed amount of each botanical in neutral spirit diluted to around 40 to 50% ABV, distil it and dilute each distillate to the same strength for tasting. Keep a log of weight, steep time, cut points and tasting notes.

Then blend the distillates on the bench in measuring cylinders to find the balance. Once you like a blend, scale the botanical weights to the full still and distil them together. Expect a difference. Botanicals interact in the pot, so the first full run is a trial, not a release.

Sourcing, cloudiness and consistency

Spices vary by harvest, region and storage. Buy from suppliers who can give you the same grade each time, store botanicals cool, dry and sealed and smell every lot before use. Monsoon humidity can bring mould on dried leaves and flowers, so inspect them closely.

Oil-rich botanicals, particularly citrus peel and juniper, can make gin turn cloudy when it is diluted or chilled, a haze called louching. Lower the oil load, reduce the strength more slowly or chill filter before bottling. Test your bottled gin in a fridge and in ice before it goes on sale.

Common questions

Which Indian botanicals work best in gin?

Cardamom, black pepper, local citrus peel, tulsi and curry leaf all give clear aroma. Use them alongside juniper rather than in place of it.

Why does my gin go cloudy when I add water?

Oils from botanicals such as citrus peel and juniper come out of solution as the alcohol drops. Reduce the oil load or chill filter before bottling.

Does turmeric colour gin?

Very little. The colour compounds do not distil, so they stay in the pot. Only some aroma carries over.

Should botanicals be steeped or put in a vapour basket?

Robust spices usually steep well. Delicate leaves, flowers and some citrus taste fresher in a vapour basket.